Coal devolatilization at high temperatures

Co-gasification of E-waste with sewage sludge for hydrogen production

The increasing accumulation of electronic waste (E-waste) and sewage sludge poses significant environmental and waste management challenges. This work taps on two non-conventional waste streams that have grown tremendously in the last decades, namely, E-waste (in the form of printed circuit boards (PCB)) and sewage sludge. We simulated entrained flow gasifier technology at 1250 °C and 30 bars of various mixture ratios of PCB and sludge (e.g., 40%, 60%, and 75% PCB with 60%, 40%, and 25% sludge) to produce valuable syngas. The primary objective is to optimize hydrogen production while addressing the limited research on E-waste gasification, particularly its synergistic interactions with sewage sludge. The work consists of studying the proximate, ultimate, and calorific analyses of these mixtures and FT-IR analysis to identify functional groups such as hydroxyls and carbonyls. Then, the XRD analysis to reveal the mix of crystalline and amorphous phases supporting diverse properties that enhances the gasification efficiency along with SEM imaging to show the distinct surface characteristics, with varied porosity that improves reaction dynamics. The equilibrium-based gasification based on energy and mass conservation principles is conducted first at sweeping temperatures up to 1,250 °C revealing the appropriate mixture fractions of 40% PCB and 60% sludge that produces the highest hydrogen moles fraction of 0.430 and cold gasification efficiency (CGE) of 49.86%. A high-fidelity 3D reactive flow then developed that integrates the effects of turbulence, heat transfer, and particle dynamics, offering a more realistic evaluation of the entrained flow gasification process, with the 40% PCB mixture yielding 0.03 mol of H2 at the gasifier's exit. Results showed lower and more reasonable syngas molar fraction and CGE (H2 = 0.03, CO2 = 0.12, and CGE = 17.50) than the equilibrium-based model. The findings suggest that increasing the mass percentage of PCB reduces CO and H2 concentrations due to lower volatile matter and higher oxygen content. This study highlights the potential of co-gasification of E-waste with sewage sludge as a viable solution and dually managing E-waste and sludges that are heavily increased in the MENA region for the production in hydrogen/syngas energy source.

Retrofit and application of pulverized coal burners with LNG and oxygen ignition in utility boiler under ultra-low load operation

An oxygen-rich and low NOx burner integrated with liquefied natural gas (LNG) was proposed to address unstable combustion and high NOx emissions from a 330 MW subcritical boiler under ultra-low load operation in China. To assess the effectiveness of the retrofit, Chemkin and Fluent softwares were utilized to construct a new NOx model and calculate NOx generation, based on the combustion of pulverized coal gas and LNG. Further, an eddy dissipation concept (EDC) model, which can reflect detailed chemical reactions, was applied to calculate gas-phase reactions in the furnace. The results showed that when performing the deep peak shaving after the retrofit, the combustion in the furnace was stable under 50% or more load, and NOx emission level at the furnace outlet was lower than 350 mg/m3 (6% O2 content, dry basis). Under 25% load, the oxygen-rich burner integrated with LNG was applied, and the pulverized coal flow entered the furnace in a state of high-intensity combustion, which effectively promoted the stability of combustion in the furnace. The reductive combustion state with reductive free radicals generated by LNG decomposition inhibited NOx formation. Consequently, NOx emissions from the furnace outlet decreased from 380 mg/m3 to 316 mg/m3.

Kinetic Modeling of the Devolatilization of Pulverized Coal, Poplar Wood, and Their Blends in a Thermogravimetric Analyzer and a Flat Flame Reactor

Devolatilization kinetics of coal, poplar wood, and blends containing 10 and 20 wt % of biomass were characterized. Measurements were carried out under inert atmosphere with heating rates between 10 K min-1 and ∼106 K s-1 using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) and a flat flame reactor (FFR). Measured data were simulated using the chemical percolation devolatilization (CPD) model and a global kinetic scheme based on two competitive reactions integrating a refined differential reaction model. The CPD model failed to simulate TGA results but reproduced FFR data relatively well. As for the global model, selecting kinetic parameters from the literature turned out to lead to unsuitable predictions. Fitted values of the activation energies Ea,i, pre-exponential factors Ai, mass stoichiometric coefficients Yi, and the reaction model factor n were therefore inferred using a genetic algorithm-based optimization procedure, leading to obtain an excellent agreement between simulated and measured data. The assessed Ea,i values were found to be lower for wood than for coal, which is consistent with the higher energy required to break the strong C-C bonds holding the highly cross-linked aromatic structures of coal. Besides, blending coal with 20 wt % of wood induced a decrease of Ea,i values, which went from 99.79 to 86.1 kJ mol-1 and from 186.72 to 171.57 kJ mol-1 for the first and second reactions prevailing at low and high temperatures, respectively. Finally, the fact that the activation energy of the first devolatilization reaction was found to be lower with the blend containing 20% of wood than for wood illustrated the probable existence of synergies, as also exemplified by the characteristic devolatilization times for blended samples, which were found to be relatively similar to and even lower than that of wood.

Volatile Releasing Characteristics of Pulverized Coals under Moderate or Intense Low-Oxygen Dilution Oxy-Combustion Conditions in a Flat-Flame Assisted Entrained Flow Reactor

There has been little research on volatile releasing characteristics of pulverized coals under moderate or intense low-oxygen dilution (MILD) oxy-combustion (MO) conditions. For the first time, volatile releasing characteristics of bituminous coal and semi-anthracite under both MILD air-combustion (MA) and MO conditions were investigated using a flat-flame assisted entrained flow reactor. Both heating rate (~105 K/s) and residence time (65 ms) were carefully selected to mimic the conditions in typical industrial boilers. The combustion processes and properties of the volatiles were characterized through direct observation and char analysis. The results showed that the lower diffusion rate of the volatile in CO2 resulted in the decreasing of the volatile envelope flame size and a longer volatile burnout time (more than 20%). For bituminous coal (volatile content of 25%), the lower amount of apparent volatile yield under MO conditions reduced the heating value of the volatile. For semi-anthracite coal (volatile content of 7%), the short devolatilization time led to char-CO2 gasification reaction, which increased the apparent volatile yield and the heating value of the volatile by 47% and the volatile-N by 19%. This paper indeed provided new insight into the MILD oxy-combustion of solid fuels.

Numerical investigation on optimization of wall jet to reduce high temperature corrosion in 660 MW opposed wall fired boiler

For an air staged combustion boiler, the rational organization of jets to form closing-to-wall film using as little air as possible plays a key role in resolving the high temperature corrosion problems. In this work, a comprehensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model including hydrodynamics and coal combustion is established for a 660 MW opposed wall fired boiler. Based on the grid independence and model validation, the flow field, temperature profile, and species concentration are predicted, and the influences of the structure of nozzles and the operation parameter of jets are further evaluated. The results show that the corrosion area of the side wall is dependent on the jet projection velocity and nozzle structures. The increase of the jet velocity does not always have an active influence on the reduction of corrosive area. Only increasing the nozzle diameter does not always have a positive impact on the improvement of the corrosion. The increase of the jet inclination angle can extend the jet trajectory, contributing to increase the oxygen coverage area. Reasonably adjusting the jet inclination angle of each layer can obtain the lower corrosion area. The increase of jet row number leads to a decrease in the spacing between rows, which enables the downstream jet to penetrate deeper into the cross stream. By increasing the number of jet layers and reducing the jet velocity of each layer, the lowest corrosion area can be obtained.

Impact of Chemistry–Turbulence Interaction Modeling Approach on the CFD Simulations of Entrained Flow Coal Gasification

This paper examines the impact of different chemistry–turbulence interaction approaches on the accuracy of simulations of coal gasification in entrained flow reactors. Infinitely fast chemistry is compared with the eddy dissipation concept considering the influence of turbulence on chemical reactions. Additionally, ideal plug flow reactor study and perfectly stirred reactor study are carried out to estimate the accuracy of chosen simplified chemical kinetic schemes in comparison with two detailed mechanisms. The most accurate global approach and the detailed one are further implemented in the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code. Special attention is paid to the water–gas shift reaction, which is found to have the key impact on the final gas composition. Three different reactors are examined: a pilot-scale Mitsubishi Heavy Industries reactor, a laboratory-scale reactor at Brigham Young University and a Conoco-Philips E-gas reactor. The aim of this research was to assess the impact of gas phase reaction model accuracy on simulations of the entrained flow gasification process. The investigation covers the following issues: impact of the choice of gas phase kinetic reactions mechanism as well as influence of the turbulence–chemistry interaction model. The advanced turbulence–chemistry models with the complex kinetic mechanisms showed the best agreement with the experimental data.

Simulation of Coal Gasification in a Low-Temperature, High-Pressure Entrained-Bed Reactor with a Volatiles Condensation and Re-Evaporation Model

The objective of this study is to implement a tar condensation and re-vaporization sub-model in a previously established Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model for the Entrained Slagging Transport Reactor (E-STR) gasifier, modified from the existing E-Gasifier simulation models in previous studies. The major modifications in E-STR, compared to the existing E-GasTM design, include higher operating pressure and lower temperature, with the aim of achieving a higher H2/CO ratio of syngas, which is more favorable for synthetic natural gas (SNG) production. In this study, the aforementioned sub-model is described by the UDF (User-Defined Function) and incorporated in a previously developed computational model for entrained-flow gasification process, to study the syngas composition without implementing a tars-cracking catalyst in the E-STR gasifier. The results show that incorporating the tar condensation model leads to a formation of approximately 6.47% liquid volatiles and an exit temperature increase about 135 K, due to the release of latent heat. These sub-models have been successfully implemented and will be useful in the condition that the gasifier temperature is intentionally kept low, just as the E-STR gasifier. The results indicate that high pressure and less oxygen feed produce a higher H2/CO ratio, more favorable for SNG production.

Development of Subair Technique for Combustibility Enhancement and NOx Reduction in a Pulverized Coal-Fired Boiler

In this work, subair injection was proposed to improve the combustibility and NOx emission in a 500 MW tangentially fired coal boiler. The location of injection ports was determined based on the coal particle trajectory and its effect was investigated numerically. The flow rate of subair was set to 0, 5, and 10% of the total combustion air. The secondary air flow rate was decreased appropriately to ensure that the total quantity of combustion air remained constant. The over-fire air was not adjusted to retain the effect of an air-staged combustion. The simulation results showed that the subair improved the combustibility of coal particles originating from burners A and B in the lower part of the furnace. Particles from other burners were not affected significantly. In addition, this method achieved reduction of NOx by 6.3 and 13.2% when the subair accounted for 5 and 10% of the combustion air, respectively. This reduction was attributed to the decrease in the peak temperature as a result of a wider combustion region. The proposed subair technique improved the coal combustibility and reduced the NOx emissions successfully in the furnace.

Application of the Numerical Techniques for Modelling Fluidization Process Within Industrial Scale Boilers

The numerical simulation of the large scale industrial circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boilers, working under air- and oxy-fuel combustion are presented in this paper. Moreover, two-dimensional experimental rig used for numerical model validation is described. For three-dimensional numerical simulations two industrial compact CFB boilers were selected installed in Polish Power Plants. Numerical simulations were carried out using three-dimensional model where the dense particulate transport phenomenon was simultaneously modelled with combustion process. The fluidization process was modelled using the hybrid Euler-Lagrange approach. Within the paper, readers can find information about used computational technique and a number of reference to specific work. The impact of radiative heat transfer on predicted temperature profile within the CFB boiler was investigated in presented work. Moreover, the novel model for retrieving radiative properties of gases under oxy-fuel combustion process was used. The evaluated temperature and pressure profiles during numerical simulations were compared against measured data collected during boiler air-fuel operation. Collected data was also used for validating numerical model of the oxy-fuel combustion model. Stability of the model and its sensitivity on changes of composition of the oxidizer were studied. This simulations were evaluated to check the response of the numerical model on changing the combustion conditions from air- to oxy-fuel combustion process. The comparison of the pressure and temperature profiles for all considered cases gave comparable trends in contrary to measured data.

Effects of combustion temperature on PCDD/Fs formation in laboratory-scale fluidized-bed incineration

Combustion experiments in a laboratory-scale fluidized-bed reactor were performed to elucidate the effects of combustion temperature on PCDD/Fs formation during incineration of model wastes with poly(vinyl chloride) or sodium chloride as a chlorine source and copper chloride as a catalyst. Each temperature of primary and secondary combustion zones in the reactor was set independently to 700, 800, and 900 degrees C using external electric heaters. The PCDD/Fs concentration is reduced as the temperature of the secondary combustion zone increases. It is effective to keep the temperature of the secondary combustion zone high enough to reduce their release during the waste incineration. On the other hand, as the temperature of the primary combustion zone rises, the PCDD/Fs concentration also increases. Lower temperature of the primary combustion zone results in less PCDD/Fs concentration in these experimental conditions. This result is probably related to the devolatilization rate of the solid waste in the primary combustion zone. The temperature decrease slows the devolatilization rate and promotes mixing of oxygen and volatile matters from the solid waste. This contributes to completing combustion reactions, resulting in reducing the PCDD/Fs concentration.

Carbon and char residue yields from rapid pyrolysis of kraft black liquor

The yields of char residue, fixed carbon, and inorganic carbonate were measured for oxidized black liquor char residues produced in a laboratory laminar entrained-flow reactor (LEFR) at heating rates of 4000-13,000 degrees C/s. The char residue yields at the end of devolatilization thus obtained decreased nearly linearly with temperature, from 75% at 700 degrees C to 58% at 1100 degrees C. There were explainable differences in the char residue yields from the liquor used in this study and those used in other studies. Char residue yields seemed to depend mainly on the temperature to which the particles or droplets were exposed and were not very sensitive to heating rate. Fixed carbon yields behaved similarly to those of the char residue. The fixed carbon remaining at the end of devolatilization decreased from 67% at 700 degrees C to about 45% at 1100 degrees C. The carbonate content in black liquor changed very little before and after devolatilization.