Oxy-fuel combustion of coal and biomass, the effect on radiative and convective heat transfer and burnout

This paper focuses on results of co-firing coal and biomass under oxy-fuel combustion conditions on the RWEn 0.5 MWt Combustion Test Facility (CTF). Results are presented of radiative and convective heat transfer and burnout measurements. Two coals were fired: a South African coal and a Russian Coal under air and oxy-fuel firing conditions. The two coals were also co-fired with Shea Meal at a co-firing mass fraction of 20%. Shea Meal was also co-fired at a mass fraction of 40% and sawdust at 20% with the Russian Coal. An IFRF Aerodynamically Air Staged Burner (AASB) was used. The thermal input was maintained at 0.5 MWt for all conditions studied. The test matrix comprised of varying the Recycle Ratio (RR) between 65% and 75% and furnace exit O₂ was maintained at 3%. Carbon-in-ash samples for burnout determination were also taken.Results show that the highest peak radiative heat flux and highest flame luminosity corresponded to the lowest recycle ratio. The effect of co-firing of biomass resulted in lower radiative heat fluxes for corresponding recycle ratios. Furthermore, the highest levels of radiative heat flux corresponded to the lowest convective heat flux. Results are compared to air firing and the air equivalent radiative and convective heat fluxes are fuel type dependent. Reasons for these differences are discussed in the main text. Burnout improves with biomass co-firing under both air and oxy-fuel firing conditions and burnout is also seen to improve under oxy-fuel firing conditions compared to air.     

Effect of oxy-fuel combustion with steam addition on coal ignition and burnout in an entrained flow reactor

The ignition temperature and burnout of a semi-anthracite and a high-volatile bituminous coal were studied under oxy-fuel combustion conditions in an entrained flow reactor (EFR). The results obtained under oxy-fuel atmospheres (21%O₂-79%CO₂, 30%O₂-70% O₂ and 35%O₂-65%CO₂) were compared with those attained in air. The replacement of CO₂ by 5, 10 and 20% of steam in the oxy-fuel combustion atmospheres was also evaluated in order to study the wet recirculation of flue gas. For the 21%O₂-79%CO₂ atmosphere, the results indicated that the ignition temperature was higher and the coal burnout was lower than in air. However, when the O₂ concentration was increased to 30 and 35% in the oxy-fuel combustion atmosphere, the ignition temperature was lower and coal burnout was improved in comparison with air conditions. On the other hand, an increase in ignition temperature and a worsening of the coal burnout was observed when steam was added to the oxy-fuel combustion atmospheres though no relevant differences between the different steam concentrations were detected.     

煤粉与生物质混燃的低温着火特性

利用自制的管式炉恒温热重测量实验台研究了掺混比、温度、煤种以及生物质种类等因素对煤粉与生物质混燃时低温着火特性的影响,并对煤粉与生物质混燃时的低温着火活化能进行了计算.结果表明:随着掺混比的增大,混合物的燃烧速率加快且燃尽程度提高;温度升高能改善煤粉与生物质混合物的燃烧特性;掺混生物质对难燃煤的着火特性影响比对易燃煤更明显;对于某一煤种,掺混水分和挥发分含量高的生物质,燃烧初期的失重速率加快;掺混灰分含量越多的生物质,在燃烧后期对煤粉的促燃作用越差;燃烧反应活化能随着生物质掺混比和温度区间的增大而减小.     

Thermal analysis and kinetics of coal during oxy-fuel combustion

The pyrolysis and oxy-fuel combustion characteristics of Polish bituminous coal were studied using non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis. Pyrolysis tests showed that the mass loss profiles were almost similar up to 870℃ in both N_2 and CO_2 atmospheres, while further mass loss occurred in CO_2 atmosphere at higher temperatures due to char-CO_2 gasification. Replacement of N_2 in the combustion environment by CO_2 delayed the combustion of bituminous coal. At elevated oxygen levels, TG/DTG profiles shifted through lower temperature zone, ignition and burnout temperatures decreased and mass loss rate significantly increased and complete combustion was achieved at lower temperatures and shorter times. Kinetic analysis for the tested coal was performed using Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose(KAS) method. The activation energies of bituminous coal combustion at the similar oxygen content in oxy-fuel with that of air were higher than that in air atmosphere. The results indicated that, with O_2 concentration increasing, the activation energies decreased.     

煤粉热解特性对其富氧气氛下着火机理的影响

利用非等温热重分析法对两种烟煤的热解特性及富氧下的燃烧特性进行研究.实验结果表明,煤粉中低温下的热解行为对其富氧气氛下的着火机理有明显影响.挥发分初析温度低、热解特性指数D大的煤,随着氧体积分数的增加,着火方式逐渐由非均相转变为均相.而挥发分初析温度高、D较小的煤,着火方式则无明显变化.热解活性高的煤,在着火机理转变后,着火温度显著降低,但燃尽温度基本不受影响.氧体积分数提高后两种煤粉的燃烧特性指数S都有所增大,但相同氧体积分数下不同煤种之间的S相差不多,说明着火机理的改变对S无明显影响.     

Single particle ignition and combustion of anthracite,semi-anthracite and bituminous coals in air and simulated oxy-fuel conditions

A fundamental investigation has been conducted on the combustion behavior of single particles (75–150 μm) of four coals of different ranks: anthracite, semi-anthracite, medium-volatile bituminous and high-volatile bituminous. A laboratory-scale transparent laminar-flow drop-tube furnace, electrically-heated to 1400 K, was used to burn the coals. The experiments were performed in different combustion atmospheres: air (21%O₂/79%N₂) and four simulated dry oxy-fuel conditions: 21%O₂/79%CO₂, 30%O₂/70%CO₂, 35%O₂/65%CO₂ and 50%O₂/50%CO₂. The ignition and combustion of single particles was observed by means of three-color pyrometry and high-speed high-resolution cinematography to obtain temperature–time histories and record combustion behaviors. On the basis of the observations made with these techniques, a comprehensive examination of the ignition and combustion behaviors of these fuels was achieved. Higher rank coals (anthracite and semi-anthracite) ignited heterogeneously on the particle surface, whereas the bituminous coal particles ignited homogeneously in the gas phase. Moreover, deduced ignition temperatures increased with increasing coal rank and decreased with increasing oxygen concentrations. Strikingly disparate combustion behaviors were observed depending on the coal rank. The combustion of bituminous coal particles took place in two phases. First, volatiles evolved, ignited and burned in luminous enveloping flames. Upon extinction of these flames, the char residues ignited and burned. In contrast, the higher rank coal particles ignited and burned heterogeneously. The replacement of the background N₂ gas of air with CO₂ (i.e., changing from air to an oxy-fuel atmosphere) at the same oxygen mole fraction impaired the intensity of combustion. It reduced the combustion temperatures and lengthened the burnout times of the particles. Increasing the oxygen mole fraction in CO₂ to 30–35% restored the intensity of combustion to that of air for all the coals studied. Volatile flame burnout times increased linearly with the volatile matter content in the coal in both air and all oxygen mole fractions in CO₂. On the other hand, char burnout times increased linearly or quadratically versus carbon content in the coal, depending on the oxygen mole fraction in the background gas.     

微富氧条件下煤粉燃烧及NO生成特性的研究

利用热重分析技术对微富氧条件下煤粉的燃烧特性进行了研究,并与富氧条件下煤粉的燃烧特性进行了对比,利用固定床测定了燃煤NO的生成规律,分析了反应气氛和煤种的影响．结果表明：随着氧体积分数增加,微富氧条件下煤粉的燃烧向低温区移动,综合燃烧特性指数S逐渐增大;在相同的氧体积分数下,由于N2和CO2的物性差异,煤粉的微富氧燃烧特性优于富氧燃烧特性,但当氧体积分数升高到40％时,两种气氛的燃烧特性差别不大;反应气氛和煤种均对燃料氮的转化率影响显著;氧体积分数升高或N2的参与会使反应温度上升,影响燃料氮的转化率;煤的挥发分和元素氮的质量分数也会影响燃料氮的转化率．     

运行参数对锅炉煤粉着火燃烧和飞灰含碳量影响的数值研究

为了达到锅炉的优化运行以保证煤粉气流及时着火和充分燃尽，采用IPSA两相流动模型和煤粉燃烧综合模型，在不同的一次风率和煤粉细度的工况下，对1台350MW锅炉煤粉燃烧过程进行了数值模拟，得出了炉内燃烧器区域以及出口处烟气温度场和燃烧产物的组分浓度分布。分析了一次风率和煤粉细度对煤粉着火燃烧和飞灰含碳量的影响规律，并确定了优化的运行参数。结果表明：一次风率对煤粉气流的着火影响较大，而对出口处烟气温度、氧量以及飞灰含碳量影响较小。煤粉细度对煤粉气流的着火、燃烧以及燃尽均有较大影响。图8表2参9     

The study of co-combustion characteristics of coal and microalgae by single particle combustion and TGA methods

The co-combustion characteristics of coal and microalgae with different blending ratios and under different atmospheres are studied by single particle combustion and thermogravimetric analysis methods. The combustion processes of coal, microalgae and their blends in the single particle combustion experiment have two stages, while the combustion process of coal in the thermogravimetric analysis experiment only has one stage. With the increasing blending ratio of microalgae, flames of volatiles and char of fuels become dimmer and smaller, and the average flame temperature decreases from about 1400 °C to about 1200 °C. The ignition delay time decreases from 200 ms to 140 ms, and the experimental ignition delay time of blended fuels is lower than the theoretical ignition delay time, which demonstrates that the synthetic effect between coal and microalgae exists. To analyze the influence of oxy-fuel atmosphere on the combustion characteristics, the air is replaced by the O₂/CO₂ atmosphere. The replacement decreases the luminosity, size and average temperature of flames. The average flame temperature of volatiles decreases from 1449.4 °C to 1151.2 °C, and that of char decreases from 1240.0 °C to 1213.4 °C. The replacement increases the ignition delay time of fuel from 80 ms to 100 ms. Increasing mole fraction of O₂ in O₂/CO₂ atmosphere can offset these influences. With the increasing mole fraction of O₂, flames of volatiles and char of fuels become brighter and larger, the average flame temperature increases from about 1100 °C to about 1300 °C, while the ignition delay time decreases from 100 ms to 77 ms.     

劣质混煤着火燃烬特性实验研究

以某台1 000MW超超临界电站锅炉设计煤种(劣质混煤:30%原煤+60%洗中煤+10%泥煤)为研究对象,采用热重分析方法实验研究了原煤、洗中煤、泥煤、设计煤(劣质混煤)4种煤样的着火温度、着火时间、燃烧最大速率、燃烬等燃烧特性。研究表明:相同条件下,上述4种煤的着火特性由易到难依次为泥煤→混煤→原煤→洗中煤,且混煤的前期着火燃烧特性与泥煤相接近;燃烬特性由易到难依次为:原煤→混煤→洗中煤→泥煤,且混煤的燃烬特性与洗中煤的燃烬特性相接近。     

Experimental study on oxygen-enriched combustion of biomass micro fuel

The oxygen-enriched combustion of biomass micro fuel (BMF) was carried out respectively in the thermogravimetric analyzer and cyclone furnace to evaluate the effects of oxygen concentration on combustion performance. The experimental results show that with the increasing oxygen concentration, the volatile releasing temperature, ignition temperature and burnout temperature were decreasing. Oxygen-enriched atmosphere subtracts burning time and improves combustion activity of biomass micro fuel. Oxygen-enriched atmosphere improves the combustion temperature of BMF in cyclone furnace; while the improvement is weaken as oxygen concentration is above 40%.     

Research on the combustion characteristics of anthracite and blended coal with composite catalysts

Composite catalysts composed of different proportion of chemical reagents and steel industrial wastes were used as coal-burning additives. The effects of additives on combustion characteristics of anthracite coal and blended coal were studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results showed that appropriate amount and proportion between chemical reagents and waste slag used as composite catalysts had good performances on the characteristics of coal combustion including ignition temperature, burnout temperature and burnout index, this will improve the coal combustion efficiency and also facilitate the comprehensive utilization of steel industrial waste slag.     

Experimental investigation of ignition and combustion characteristics of single coal and biomass particles in O2/N2 and O2/H2O

Oxy-steam combustion is a potential new-generation option for CO₂ capture and storage. The ignition and combustion characteristics of single coal and biomass particles were investigated in a flow tube reactor in O₂/N₂ and O₂/H₂O at various oxygen concentrations. The ignition and combustion processes were recorded using a CCD camera, and the two-color pyrometry was used to estimate the volatile flame temperature and char combustion temperature. In O₂/N₂ and O₂/H₂O, coal ignites heterogeneously at <O₂> = 21–50%. In O₂/N₂, biomass ignites homogeneously at <O₂> = 21–30%, while it ignites heterogeneously at <O₂> = 40–50%. In O₂/H₂O, biomass ignites homogeneously at <O₂> = 21–50%. With increasing oxygen concentration, the ignition delay time, volatile burnout time and char burnout time are decreased, and the volatile flame temperature and char combustion temperature are increased. At a certain oxygen concentration in both atmospheres, the ignition delay time, volatile burnout time and char burnout time of biomass are shorter than those of coal. Moreover, biomass has a higher volatile flame temperature but a lower char combustion temperature than coal. The ignition delay time, volatile burnout time and char burnout time in O₂/H₂O are lower than those in O₂/N₂ for coal and biomass. The presence of H₂O can improve the combustion rates of coal and biomass. The volatile flame shows a lower temperature in O₂/H₂O than in O₂/N₂ at <O₂> = 21–50%. The char combustion shows a lower temperature in O₂/H₂O than in O₂/N₂ at <O₂> = 21–30%, while this behavior is switched at <O₂> = 40–50%. The results contribute to the understanding of the ignition and combustion characteristics of coal and biomass in oxy-steam combustion.     

Experimental study on combustion of torrefied palm kernel shell (PKS) in oxy‐fuel environment

Oxy‐combustion of biomass can be a major candidate to achieve negative emission of CO₂ from a pulverized fuel (pf)‐firing power generation plants. Understanding combustion behavior of biomass fuels in oxy‐firing conditions is a key for design of oxy‐combustion retrofit of pulverized fuel power plant. This study aims to investigate a lab‐scale combustion behavior of torrefied palm kernel shell (PKS) in oxy‐combustion environments in comparison with the reference bituminous coal. A 20 kW_th‐scale, down‐firing furnace was used to conduct the experiments using both air (conventional) and O₂/CO₂ (30 vol% for O₂) as an oxidant. A bituminous coal (Sebuku coal) was also combusted in both air‐ and oxy‐firing condition with the same conditions of oxidizers and thermal heat inputs. Distributions of gas temperature, unburned carbon, and NO_x concentration were measured through sampling of gases and particles along axial directions. Moreover, the concentrations of SO_x and HCl were measured at the exit of the furnace. Experimental results showed that burnout rate was enhanced during oxy‐fuel combustion. The unburnt carbon in the flue gas was reduced considerably (~75%) during combustion of torrefied PKS in oxy‐fuel environment as compared with air‐firing condition. In addition, NO emission was reduced by 16.5% during combustion of PKS in oxy‐fuel environment as compared with air‐firing condition.     

Shock tube studies on ignition delay and combustion characteristics of oxygenated fuels under high temperature

A comparative study on ignition delay time and combustion characteristics of four typical oxygenated fuel/air mixtures of dimethyl ether (DME), diethyl ether (DEE), ethanol and E92 ethanol gasoline was conducted through the chemical shock tube. The fuel/air mixtures were measured under the ignition temperature of 1100 to 1800 K, initial pressure of 0.3 MPa and the equivalence ratios of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5. The experimental results show that the ignition delay time of these four oxygenated fuels satisfies the Arrhenius relation. The reaction H + O₂ = OH + O has a high sensitivity in four fuel/air mixtures during high-temperature ignition, which makes the ignition delay lengthen with the increase of the equivalence ratios. By comparing the ignition delay of four fuels, ether fuels have excellent ignition performance and ether functional group has better ignition promotion than hydroxyl group. Moreover, the carbon chain length also significantly promotes the ignition. Due to the accumulation of a large number of active intermediates and free radicals during the long ignition delay time before ignition, the four fuels all have intense deflagration and generate the highest combustion peak pressure at the relatively low ignition temperature (1150-1300 K). For DME, DEE and ethanol, due to the high content of oxygen in their molecules, the combustion peak pressure and luminous intensity increased with the equivalence ratio, and the combustion is intense after ignition. E92 ethanol gasoline with low oxygen content has a lower combustion peak pressure and a longer combustion duration than the other three fuels, and its highest combustion peak pressure appears in the stoichiometric ratio. The combustion process of E92 ethanol gasoline is more oxygen-dependent than the other three fuels.     

高炉瓦斯灰燃烧性能研究

对高炉瓦斯灰在空气气氛和富氧气氛下的燃烧性能进行了研究,结果表明在富氧气氛中燃烧,着火温度降低,燃尽温度前移,可燃指数和稳燃判别指数、综合判别指数均提高。通过与其他煤种对比可知,将瓦斯灰与煤粉混合有助于燃烧,将高炉瓦斯灰与煤粉混合后喷入高炉是利用高炉瓦斯灰的一项可行的技术。     

Kinetics of gasification of coal,biomass and their blends in air (N2/O2) and different oxy-fuel (O2/CO2) atmospheres

Kinetics of bituminous coal and palm shells were evaluated using thermo-gravimetric analysis under different environments (N₂/CO₂/O₂). The observed percent mass loss of biomass was higher than mass loss percentage of coal because biomass had higher reactivity and volatile matter content. Ignition temperatures of pure coal, biomass and their blends were also investigated and it was observed that biomass blends had improved ignition properties in both air and oxy-fuel environments. However, the combustion mechanism wasn’t affected. Different mixtures of CO₂/O₂ were also used on 10% palm shell–90% coal samples and compared with air as the reference. At the same composition of oxygen in oxy-fuel as that of simulated air, ignition temperatures were slightly higher and mass loss percentages were marginally lower. However, this difference due to heat capacities of N₂ and CO₂ was meager and was considered negligible. Upon increasing O₂ content, lower ignition temperatures were observed. Kinetics of coal, palm shell and their blends were determined at different gas mixture compositions using Doyle’s and Coats-Redfern’s models. For both models, E was found to decrease with increasing palm shell composition in coal as well as increasing O₂ concentration in oxy-fuel. However, a reverse trend was observed for the pre-exponentional factor(A).     

Ignition of wood and coal particle mixtures in conditions of steam and water boiler furnaces

The results of experimental studies of the ignition processes of a large set of particles (from 100 to 500) of wood-coal composite fuels under conditions of high-temperature radiation-convective heating are presented. The ignition of wood-coal fuel mixture fuel particles was studied under the conditions of their free fall along the quill ceramic cylinder passage in a high-temperature oxidizing medium (air). Such a configuration provides the conditions that most closely match the heating conditions of actual furnaces of heat generating installations.The experiments have been carried out on the mixtures of particles of subbituminous coal (that is quite typical of coal-fired power industry) with the particles of woody biomass of three types: birch, pine and larch, which are widely spread in the territory of many states of the northern part of the Earth hemisphere. The recording of the heating and ignition processes of the fuel mixture particles was carried out with a high-speed Photron FASTCAM CA45 (500 fps) camera. The air temperature in the passage along which the particles moved varied in experiments from 873 K to 1273 K. The purpose of the experiments performed was the ignition delay time (t_ign). The main variable factors are the ambient temperature and the concentration of woody components. The consistent errors in determining the main characteristics of the process did not exceed 5%, the random ones did not exceed 13%. The size of coal particles in the experiments did not exceed 60 μm, and of the wood - 5 mm.It has been established that in such a fuel system one of the fuel components of the coal particle is “conducting” (or leading), and the second is “conducted” in the reaction of the thermochemical response of the fuel mixture with air oxygen. According to the results of experimental studies, the ignition delay times for the wood-coal particle mixtures have been stated. The increase in the concentration of small-sized coal particles in fuel mixtures from 0% to 100% leads to the decrease in the entire induction period (up to 20%) at the relatively cold temperatures.It was also found that with typical sizes of coal particles up to 60 μm, stable ignition of sufficiently large wood particles (up to 5 mm), present in the mixture, is provided. The conditions and characteristics of ignition of wood-coal mixtures hardly depend on the type of wood, which is the second component of the mixture.According to the results of the research conducted and following the requirements for optimizing the processes of fuel combustion, the use of mixed coal- and wood-based fuels in boilers of large and small power plants is justified.     

Numerical calculation on combustion process and NO transformation behavior in a coal-fired boiler blended ammonia: Effects of the injection position and blending ratio

Ammonia (NH₃), as a potential carbon-free alternative fuel, can be blended into coal-fired boiler to achieve significant pollution reduction and carbon reduction, but there are concerns about high NOx emissions due to high nitrogen content. According to the characteristics of coal/NH₃ co-combustion, a dual-fuel co-combustion model with strong adaptability and high accuracy was established in this study through Chemkin software to study the influence of different injection positions and blending ratios on combustion characteristics and NOx generation process. Then, the co-combustion model was applied to the three-dimensional CFD calculation process of a 330 MWe front-fired boiler, and the combustion characteristics, NOx distribution and reaction process were calculated when cal. 20% NH₃ was blended in the primary air. The results show that when cal. 20% NH₃ is blended, the change of NO content mainly occurs in ignition zone and flame zone, and the transformation behavior of N in NH₃ is optimized to a 15-step elementary reaction; The temperature distribution in the furnace is similar, and the average temperature at the furnace outlet decreases from 1033 °C to 988 °C, while NH₃ have a preferential combustion reaction with air than coal, resulting in a decrease in the burnout rate of coal; The NOx concentration at the furnace outlet decreases from 355 mg/Nm³ to 281 mg/Nm³, which is 20.85% lower than that under the pure coal burning condition, and the variation range of O₂ concentration and unburned NH₃ concentration is small.     

烟煤与石油焦掺混燃烧特性研究

以小型试验台上煤焦混粉燃烧试验为基础,对烟煤与石油焦的燃烧特性,混合粉的着火性能,燃烧特性,以及煤粉细度,配风条件和热负荷强度对燃烧过程的影响进行了分析研究。