Effect of operating conditions on gas components in the partial coal gasification with air/steam

With increasing environmental considerations and stricter regulations, coal gasification, especially partial coal gasification, is considered to be a more attractive technology than conventional combustion. Partial coal gasification was conducted in detail under various experimental conditions in a lab-scale fluidized bed to study the factors that affected gas components and heating value, including fluidized air flow rate, coal feed rate, and steam feed rate, gasification temperature, static bed height, coal type and catalyst type. The experiment results indicate that gasification temperature is the key factor that affects components and the heating value of gas is in direct proportion to gasification temperature. There exists a suitable range of fluidized air flow rate, coal feed rate, steam feed rate and static bed height, which show more complex effect on gas components. High rank bitumite coal is much more suitable for gasification than low rank bitumite coal. The concentrations of H₂, CO and CH₄ of bitumite coal are more than those of anthracite coal. Compounds of alkali/alkaline-earth metals, such as Ca, Na, K etc., enhance the gasification rate considerably. The catalytical effects of Na₂CO₃ and K₂CO₃ are more efficient than that of CaCO₃. This work was presented at the 6 ^th Korea-China Workshop on Clean Energy Technology held at Busan, Korea, July 4–7, 2006.     

Co-firing of sugar cane bagasse with rice husk in a conical fluidized-bed combustor

This paper presents experimental results on co-firing of ‘as-received’ sugar cane bagasse and rice husk in a conical fluidized-bed combustor (FBC) using silica sand as the bed material. Axial temperature, O₂, CO₂, CO and NO concentration profiles in the conical FBC operated at 82.5-82.8 kg/h fuel feed rate and various values of excess air (of about 40, 60, 80 and 100%) for different rice husk energy fractions (of 0.60, 0.85 and 1.0) are discussed. The bed temperature, CO and NO emissions from the combustor, as well as the heat losses and combustion efficiency, are also provided for the above operating conditions. The axial temperature profiles in the conical FBC were almost independent of excess air but noticeably affected by the rice husk energy fraction. The CO emissions were found to reduce for higher values of excess air and rice husk energy fractions. Meanwhile, the NO concentrations at all the points over the combustor volume and, accordingly, NO emissions from the reactor increased with higher excess air and energy contributions by rice husk. The co-firing of these fuels in the conical FBC at the rice husk energy fractions greater than 0.6 resulted in the sustainable combustion, with 95-96% combustion efficiency, and lower NO emissions compared with those for firing pure rice husk. Through co-firing with rice husk, an effective use of ‘as-received’ sugar cane bagasse becomes feasible for energy conversion in the fluidized-bed combustion systems.     

Experimental studies on a novel swirling fluidized-bed combustor using an annular spiral air distributor

This work reports studies on hydrodynamics as well as combustion and emission characteristics of a conical swirling fluidized-bed combustor (SFBC) using an annular spiral air distributor as the swirl generator. In the experimental study on a ‘cold’ SFBC model, hydrodynamic regimes and characteristics of an air-sand bed were investigated for variable bed particle size and static bed height. Depending on the superficial air velocity, the bed exhibited four operational regimes. Based on the results from the ‘cold’ hydrodynamic study, optimum bed characteristics (sand particle size and bed height) and the range of primary air were determined prior to the combustion tests. In the second part of this work, a conical SFBC was tested for firing 80 kg/h rice husk. During the combustion tests, swirl motion of a fluidized bed was induced by primary air injected into the bed through the air distributor and, also, sustained by tangential injection of secondary air into the bed splash zone. Radial and axial temperature and gas (O₂, CO, NO) concentration profiles in the reactor were obtained for 20-80% excess air. Effects of operating conditions on formation and decomposition of major gaseous pollutants (CO and NO) in the reactor are discussed. Both CO and NO were found to be reduced significantly in the bed splash zone, resulting in quite low CO and moderate NO emissions from the reactor. High combustion efficiency, 99.4-99.5%, is achievable when burning rice husk in the proposed conical SFBC at 80 kg/h feed rate and excess air of 40-80%.     

Coal combustion characteristics in a circulating fast fluidized bed

The effect of coal size (0.73–1.03 mm), excess air ratio (1.0–1.4), operating bed temperature (750–900‡C), coal feeding rate (1–3 kg/h), and coal recycle rate (20–40 kg/h) on combustion efficiency, temperature profiles along the bed height and flue gas composition have been determined in a bubbling and circulating fluidized bed combustor (7.8 cm-ID x 2.6 m-high). Combustion efficiency increases with increasing excess air ratio and operating bed temperature and it decreases with increasing particle size in the bubbling and circulating fluidzing beds. In general, temperature profiles and combustion efficiency are more uniform and higher in a circulating bed than those in bubbling bed. Combustion efficiency also increases with increasing recycle rate of unburned coal in the circulating bed. The ratio of CO/CO₂ of flue gas decreases with increasing bed temperature and excess air ratio, whereas the ratio of O₂(CO + CO₂) decreases with bed temperature in both bubbling and circulating fluidized beds.     

High temperature desulphurization by fine limestone during staged fluidized‐bed combustion

This paper reviews the SO₂ emission from a 0.3 m² stainless‐steel fluidized‐bed combustor. Fine coal was premixed with fine limestone and fed pneumatically under the bed. The SO₂ emission was found to depend largely on air staging ratio and bed temperature, which agrees with previous observations. The SO₂ emission observed in sorbent‐free tests (reported earlier by Khan and Cibbs, 1995) was found to be proportional to the sulphur content of the fuel when limestone was added, the sulphur capture at a fixed Ca/S molar ratio was dependent on oxygen stoichiometry and bed temperature. Finely sized limestone enhanced the effectivity of the sorbent at low bed temperature and air staging ratio. During staged combustion, the combustion efficiency depended largely on primary air to coal ratio. Around 90% combustion efficiency was observed at 1 m/s fluidizing velocity which was reduced when fluidizing velocity was increased to 1.5 and 2 m/s. This reduction is due to increased elutriation of finer coal particles from the combustor.     

Co-combustion of rice husk with coal in a cyclonic fluidized-bed combustor (ψ-FBC)

Thailand is well-endowed with renewable energy resources. In Thailand, rice husk, a by-product of the rice-milling process and one of the most potentially sustainable cultivated biomasses, has an annual energy equivalent of 6.6 × 10⁷ GJ. Using rice husk alone, however, can be problematic, particularly if there is a deficit during the off-season. Coal, the most abundant fossil fuel, has thus been considered an appropriate supplementary fuel. This paper describes the combustion characteristics of co-firing rice husk with bituminous coal in a 120 kW_th-capacity cyclonic fluidized-bed combustor (ψ-FBC), and how excess air ratios and fuel blends impacted emissions and combustion efficiency (E_c). Overall, excess air and blending ratios did not have tremendous effects on E_c, easily achieving >97%. Radial temperature profiles revealed that vortex combustion prevailed along the combustor walls. Concurring with axial temperature profiles, axial O₂ profiles suggested that the combustion was confined chiefly to regions under the vortex ring. Despite massive CO production in the lower section, CO emissions were satisfactory (range 60-260 ppm, at 6% O₂). Due to the high bed temperatures, NO_x appeared rather high (260-416 ppm, at 6% O₂). Not only were NO_x emissions affected by coal ratio, it were also highly reliable on the operating conditions. SO₂ emissions varied directly, but not proportionally, with the sulfur content of the fuel mixture.     

Axial concentration profiles and N2O flue gas in a pilot scale bubbling fluidised bed coal combustor

Atmospheric Bubbling Fluidised Bed Coal Combustion (ABFBCC) of a bituminous coal and anthracite with particle diameters in the range 500–4000 μm was investigated in a pilot-plant facility (circular section with 0.25 m internal diameter and 3 m height). The experiments were conducted at steady-state conditions using three excess air levels (10%, 25% and 50%) and bed temperatures in the 750–900 °C range. Combustion air was staged, with primary air accounting for 100%, 80% and 60% of total combustion air.For both types of coal, virtually no N₂O was found in significant amounts inside the bed. However, just above the bed-freeboard interface, the N₂O concentration increased monotonically along the freeboard and towards the exit flue.The N₂O concentrations in the reactor ranged between 0–90 ppm during bituminous coal combustion and 0–30 ppm for anthracite. For both coals, the lowest values occurred at the higher bed temperature (900 °C) with low excess air (10%) and high air staging (60% primary air), whereas the highest occurred at the lower bed temperature (750 °C for bituminous, 825 °C for anthracite) with high excess air (50%) and single stage combustion.Most of the observed results could be qualitatively interpreted in terms of a set of homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions, where catalytic surfaces (such as char, sand and coal ash) can play an important role in the formation and destruction of N₂O and its precursors (such as HCN, NH₃ and HCNO) by free radicals (O, H, OH) and reducing species (H₂, CO, HCs).     

Effects of operational parameters on emission performance and combustion efficiency in small-scale CFBCs

A well-designed CFBC can burn coal with high efficiency and within acceptable levels of gaseous emissions. In this theoretical study effects of operational parameters on combustion efficiency and the pollutants emitted have been estimated using a developed dynamic 2D (two-dimensional) model for CFBCs. Model simulations have been carried out to examine the effect of different operational parameters such as excess air and gas inlet pressure and coal particle size on bed temperature, the overall CO, NO_x and SO₂ emissions and combustion efficiency from a small-scale CFBC. It has been observed that increasing excess air ratio causes fluidized bed temperature decrease and CO emission increase. Coal particle size has more significant effect on CO emissions than the gas inlet pressure at the entrance to fluidized bed. Increasing excess air ratio leads to decreasing SO₂ and NO_x emissions. The gas inlet pressure at the entrance to fluidized bed has a more significant effect on NO_x emission than the coal particle size. Increasing excess air causes decreasing combustion efficiency. The gas inlet pressure has more pronounced effect on combustion efficiency than the coal particle size, particularly at higher excess air ratios. The developed model is also validated in terms of combustion efficiency with experimental literature data obtained from 300 kW laboratory scale test unit. The present theoretical study also confirms that CFB combustion allows clean and efficient combustion of coal.     

Formation of metal oxide nanoparticles in combustion of titanium and aluminum droplets

A study was performed of the formation of metal oxide nanoparticles during combustion of aluminum and titanium drops which moved in air at a velocity of up to 3 m/sec. The source of the burning particles was a pyrotechnic mixture which contained an oxidizer, a binder, and metal particles of size 4–350 μm. Transmission electron microscopic studies showed that the combustion products were 1–10 μm aggregates of fractal structure consisting of primary particles (spherules) of Al₂O₃/TiO₂ 5–150 nm in diameter. The Brownian diffusion of the aggregates and their motion in electric and gravitational fields were observed using videomicroscopic recording. The charge distribution of TiO₂ aggregates and the equivalent radius of Brownian mobility were determined. In Al combustion, the zone of nanoparticle formation is separated from the particle surface by a distance approximately equal to the particle radius, and in Ti combustion, this zone is located directly near the surface. Coagulation of the oxide aerosol in the track of a burning particle leads to aerogelation with the formation of huge aggregates. Analytical expressions for approximate calculation of the parameters of the oxide particles and zones of their formation are proposed. __________ Translated from Fizika Goreniya i Vzryva, Vol. 42, No. 6, pp. 33–47, November–December, 2006.     

Co-firing characteristics of rice husk and coal in a cyclonic fluidized-bed combustor (Ψ-FBC) under controlled bed temperatures

This study extensively investigated temperature and emission characteristics, and the performance of co-firing rice husk with coal in a cyclonic fluidized-bed combustor (Ψ-FBC) of 125 kW_th nominal capacity. The Ψ-FBC integrated the distinct features of cyclonic/vortex and fluidized-bed combustion. Fluidization, without any inert material, can be accomplished by the stirring blades and vortex ring. The combustor was equipped with a multi-passes water coil to regulate the bed temperatures, varying 800-900 °C. Rice husk was co-fired with coal, a supplementary fuel, with coal blending ratios of 0-25% by thermal basis. The radial temperature profiles displayed vortex combustion along the wall, while the axial temperature profiles suggested a well-mixed condition in the lower part. The large depletion of O₂ and proliferation of CO in the lower part revealed vigorous combustion beneath the vortex ring. A reducing atmosphere appeared unfavorable to NO_x formation. The combustor showed satisfied E_c, mostly >98.5%. The optimum operating conditions with respect to NO_x emissions were: (1) the thermal percentage of coal not >20%, and (2) bed temperatures between 800 and 850 °C. Otherwise, NO_x emissions would exceed the regulations; even CO and SO₂ emissions were well acceptable.     

NO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> emission from incineration of organic liquid waste in a circulating fluidized bed

An incineration test of a toxic chemical organic waste liquid was conducted on a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) incinerator. The flue gas was measured online with the advanced SAE-19 flue gas analyzer. The effects of several factors, in terms of flow rate of waste liquid, ratio of waste liquid injected into dense bed of the CFB, excess air coefficient, the secondary air fraction and bed temperature on NO _x emissions, were verified. The experimental results show that NO emissions in flue gas increase with increase in the flow rate of the waste liquid injected into the bed or the excess air coefficient or the bed temperature and those decrease with increase in the ratio of waste liquid injected into the dense bed of the CFB or the secondary air fraction. During the test runs, NO _x concentration in flue gas met the national regulation on NO _x emissions due to suppressive effect of low temperature and staged combustion in CFB on NO _x formation. This paper was presented at the 6 ^th Korea-China Workshop on Clean Energy Technology held at Busan, Korea, July 4–7, 2006.     

Coal combustion characteristics in a pressurized fluidized bed

The characteristics of emission and heat transfer coefficient in a pressurized fluidized bed combustor are investigated. The pressure of the combustor is fixed at 6 atm. and the combustion temperatures are set to 850, 900, and 950 °C. The gas velocities are 0.9, 1.1, and 1.3 m/s and the excess air ratios are 5, 10, and 20%. The desulfurization experiment is performed with limestone and dolomite and Ca/S mole ratios are 1,2, and 4. The coal used in the experiment is Cumnock coal from Australia. All experiments are executed at 2 m bed height. In this study, the combustion efficiency is higher than 99.8% through the experiments. The heat transfer coefficient affected by gas velocity, bed temperature and coal feed rate is between 550-800 W/m² °C, which is higher than those of AFBC and CFBC. CO concentration with increasing freeboard temperature decreases from 100 ppm to 20 ppm. NO_x concentration in flue gas is in the range of 5-130 ppm and increases with increasing excess air ratio. N₂O concentration in flue gas decreases from 90 to 10 ppm when the bed temperature increases from 850 to 950 °C.     

Circulating fluidized bed combustion reactor: Computational Particle Fluid Dynamic model validation and gas feed position optimization

A 3D Computational Particle Fluid Dynamic (CPFD) model is validated against experimental measurements in a lab-scale cold flow model of a Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB). The model prediction of pressure along the riser, downcomer and siphon as well as bed material circulation rates agree well with experimental measurements. Primary and secondary air feed positions were simulated by varying the positions along the height of the reactor to get optimum bed material circulation rate. The optimal ratio of the height of primary and secondary air feed positions to the total height of the riser are 0.125 and 0.375 respectively. The model is simulated for high-temperature conditions and for reacting flow including combustion reactions. At the high temperature and reaction conditions, the bed material circulation rate is decreased with the corresponding decrease in pressure drop throughout the CFB for the given air feed rate.     

Effect of air flowrate on particle velocity profile in a circulating fluidized bed

The research was conducted in a cold flow circulating fluidized bed (CFB). The diameter and height of riser are 5 and 200 cm, respectively. The objective is to study effect of gas velocity on hydrodynamic of glass beads having mean diameter of 547 micron and density of 2,400 kg/m³. The measurement of particle velocity profile was achieved by using a high-speed camera and an image processing software. A probe of 0.5 cm in diameter was inserted into the riser at the height of 110 cm from gas distributor and was set at 3 positions along the radius of the riser; 0, 0.6, and 1.8 cm from center. Transport velocity (U _tr ), core-annulus velocity (V _CA ) and minimum pneumatic velocity (V _mp ) were employed in determining solid flow pattern in the riser. It was observed that the flow regimes changed from fast fluidization to core-annulus and to homogeneous dilute bed when the gas velocities increased from 7, 8 and 9 m/s, respectively. The results from high-speed camera showed that glass beads velocity existed a maximum value at the center of the riser and gradually decreased toward the wall for all three gas velocities. It was also found that most of solid traveled upward in the core of the riser, however, solid traveled downward was identified at the wall layer.     

Influence of limestone addition on the behaviour of NO and N2O during fluidised bed coal combustion

Atmospheric bubbling fluidised bed coal combustion (ABFBCC) of a bituminous coal and an anthracite with particle diameters in the range 500–4000 μm was investigated in a pilot-plant facility, with and without limestone addition. The experiments were conducted at steady-state conditions using three excess air levels (10, 25 and 50%) and bed temperatures in the range 750–900 °C. Combustion air was staged, with primary air accounting for 100, 80 and 60% of total combustion air.During limestone addition, in general, the NO emission decreases with the decrease in excess air and the increase in air staging, for both coals (as also observed without limestone). The bed temperature does not influence the NO emission significantly (as also observed without limestone); however, it was observed that during bituminous coal combustion there is a slight trend for a decrease on the NO emission with temperature increase in the range 825–900 °C, whereas for anthracite coal the trend is the opposite. On the other hand, the N₂O emission increases with: the decrease in excess air, the increase in air staging (as opposed to what was observed without limestone), and the decrease in bed temperature (as also observed without limestone).Taking the coal combustion without limestone as reference, it was observed that the effect of limestone addition on the NO and N₂O emission depends on the first stage stoichiometry: (1) under first stage fuel lean conditions the NO emission increases, while that of N₂O decreases, (2) under first stage fuel rich conditions (for example, high air staging) the opposite trend is observed.     

Prediction of gaseous pollutants and heavy metals during fluidized bed incineration of dye sludge

This research provides an equilibrium model for predicting both the emission of gaseous pollutants and the fate of heavy metals during incineration of biologically treated dye sludge in a bench-scale fluidized bed incinerator. Major gaseous pollutants and hazardous trace heavy metals have been also measured under various operating conditions. The predicted values, which were derived by using a thermodynamic equilibrium model, can be used to determine the optimum operating parameters and the risk associated with hazardous waste incineration by means of verifying experimental data. However, prediction of NO_x emission using a thermodynamic equilibrium model during incineration of waste was not simple. The reason is that the variation of NO_x emission during incineration of waste was affected by the various operating parameters, such as air-fuel ratio(λ _T ), primary air factor(λ ₁ /λ _T ), combustor geometry, method of heat release, and preheating of combustion air. According to the distributions of Cr and Pb simulated by the equilibrium model, all of the Cr in the feed was retained in the ash as the solid phase of Cr₂CO₃. However, most Pb was retained in the ash during incineration as the solid phase of PbSO₄, or heterogeneously deposited onto the fly ash as PbO(g) when the combustion gas becomes cool. Presented at the Int’/Sym. on Chem. Eng. (Cheju, Feb. 8–10, 2001), dedicated to Prof. H. S. Chun on the occasion of his retirement from Korea University.     

Three‐stage well‐mixed reactor model for a pressurized coal gasifier

Three Canadian coals of different rank were gasified with air‐steam mixtures in a 0.1 m diameter spouted bed reactor at pressures to 292 kPa, average bed temperatures varying between 840 and 960°C, and steam‐to‐coal feed ratios between 0.0 and 2.88. In order to analyze gasifier performance and correlate data, a three‐stage model has been developed incorporating instantaneous devolatilization of coal, instantaneous combustion of carbon at the bottom of the bed, and steam/carbon gasification and water gas shift reaction in a single well mixed isothermal stage. The capture of H₂S by limestone sorbent injection is also treated. The effects of various assumptions and model parameters on the predictions were investigated. The present model indicates that gasifier performance is mainly controlled by the fast coal devolatilization and char combustion reactions, and the contribution to carbon conversion of the slow char gasification reactions is comparatively small. The incorporation of tar decomposition into the model provides significantly closer predictions of experimental gas composition than is obtained otherwise.     

Continuous Adsorption of a Cationic Dye on Surface Modified Rice Husk: Statistical Optimization and Dynamic Models

The continuous adsorption of a cationic dye (Methylene Blue, MB) on surface-modified rice husk was investigated. First, rice husk was submitted to ultrasound-assisted, supercritical CO₂ and NaOH treatments. The adsorbents were characterized. Then, the continuous adsorption was optimized by response surface methodology (RSM), using raw rice husk as the adsorbent. Finally, under the optimal conditions, breakthrough curves were obtained using all adsorbents and the models were used to interpret these curves. The optimal bed performance was reached at a flow rate of 5?mL?min^?1 and an initial MB concentration of 10?mg?L^?1. Under these conditions, the breakthrough time was 109?min, the length of the mass transfer zone was 20.1?cm, and the maximum capacity of the column was 1.55?mg?g^?1. All surface modifications were able to improve the rice husk characteristics in relation to the MB adsorption. Consequently, the bed performance was significantly improved when the surface-modified adsorbents were used. The breakthrough times were 109, 240, 155, and 385?min, respectively, when raw rice husk, UA–rice husk, SCO₂–rice husk, and NaOH–rice husk were used. The length of the mass transfer zone was 20.1, 7.9, 15.9, and 9.3?cm for raw rice husk, UA–rice husk, SCO₂–rice husk, and NaOH–rice husk, respectively. The dynamic models were able to fit the adsorption data and provided physically consistent parameters.     

Effects of design features on combustion efficiency and emission performance of a biomass-fuelled fluidized-bed combustor

This paper presents an analysis of some measures leading to intensification of the combustion process in a biomass-fuelled fluidized-bed combustor with a cone-shape bed (or ‘conical FBC’). Two combustors firing rice husks with elevated fuel-ash content were the focus of this study. Compared to the pilot 350-kW_th conical FBC exhibiting combustion efficiency of up to 96%, the newly constructed 400-kW_th combustor included geometrical and design modifications aimed at improving the combustion efficiency and emission performance of the reactor. Differences between the air distributors and Δp–u diagrams (accounting for the total pressure drop across the air distributor and gas–solid fluidized bed) for the two reactors are discussed. Axial temperature and gas concentration (O₂, CO and NO_x) profiles in the combustors were compared for similar operating conditions (excess air and heat release rate per unit cross-sectional area). At excess air of 40–60%, the bed temperature in the advanced conical FBC was substantially, by about 180 °C, higher than that in the pilot combustor, mainly, due to better fuel–air mixing and higher residence time of reactants. The formation and decomposition of CO and NO in the bed region as well as in the freeboard of these two combustors showed quite different trends under similar operating conditions. At excess air of 40–60%, the CO emission from the advanced conical FBC was found to be much (7–8 times) lower than that from the pilot combustor, while the NO_x emissions were represented by almost the same values. High (over 99%) combustion efficiency was achieved when firing rice husk in the advanced 400 kW_th conical FBC for the range of excess air.     

Removal of hydrogen sulfide in a three phase fluidized bed bioreactor

To remove hydrogen sulfide biologically, a three phase fluidized bed bioreactor was used in whichThiobacillus sp.IW was immobilized on biosands. The optimum operating condition of the bioreactor was found to be 30 ‡C, pH 7, bed height of 0.85–1.0 m and aspect ratio of 1.0. At these conditions, the bioreactor removed more than 88 % of the hydrogen sulfide for an inlet concentration of 30–160 ppm and a gas flow rate of 2–5 Z/m. The maximum removal rate obtained was about 1,000 mg H₂S/min. In continuous operation of the bioreactor, the removal efficiency remained at 99 % for up to 16 hours and decreased to 91 % at 52 hours.