20 research outputs found
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Subtask 3.4 - Fischer - Tropsch Fuels Development
Under Subtask 3.4, the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) examined the opportunities and challenges facing FischerâTropsch (FT) technology in the United States today. Work was completed in two distinct budget periods (BPs). In BP1, the EERC examined the technical feasibility of using modern warm-gas cleanup techniques for FT synthesis. FT synthesis is typically done using more expensive and complex cold-gas sweetening. Warm-gas cleanup could greatly reduce capital and operating costs, making FT synthesis more attractive for domestic fuel production. Syngas was generated from a variety of coal and biomass types; cleaned of sulfur, moisture, and condensables; and then passed over a pilot-scale FT catalyst bed. Laboratory and modeling work done in support of the pilot-scale effort suggested that the catalyst was performing suboptimally with warm-gas cleanup. Long-term trends showed that the catalyst was also quickly deactivating. In BP3, the EERC compared FT catalyst results using warm-gas cleanup to results using cold-gas sweetening. A gas-sweetening absorption system (GSAS) was designed, modeled, and constructed to sweeten syngas between the gasifier and the pilot-scale FT reactor. Results verified that the catalyst performed much better with gas sweetening than it had with warm-gas cleanup. The catalyst also showed no signs of rapid deactivation when the GSAS was running. Laboratory tests in support of this effort verified that the catalyst had deactivated quickly in BP1 because of exposure to syngas, not because of any design flaw with the pilot-scale FT reactor itself. Based on these results, the EERC concludes that the two biggest issues with using syngas treated with warm-gas cleanup for FT synthesis are high concentrations of CO{sub 2} and volatile organic matter. Other catalysts tested by the EERC may be more tolerant of CO{sub 2}, but volatile matter removal is critical to ensuring long-term FT catalyst operation. This subtask was funded through the EERCâU.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Program on Research and Development for Fossil Energy-Related Resources Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC26-08NT43291. Nonfederal funding for BP1 was provided by the North Dakota Industrial Commissionâs (NDIC) Renewable Energy Council
Subtask 3.4 - Fischer - Tropsch Fuels Development
Under Subtask 3.4, the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) examined the opportunities and challenges facing FischerâTropsch (FT) technology in the United States today. Work was completed in two distinct budget periods (BPs). In BP1, the EERC examined the technical feasibility of using modern warm-gas cleanup techniques for FT synthesis. FT synthesis is typically done using more expensive and complex cold-gas sweetening. Warm-gas cleanup could greatly reduce capital and operating costs, making FT synthesis more attractive for domestic fuel production. Syngas was generated from a variety of coal and biomass types; cleaned of sulfur, moisture, and condensables; and then passed over a pilot-scale FT catalyst bed. Laboratory and modeling work done in support of the pilot-scale effort suggested that the catalyst was performing suboptimally with warm-gas cleanup. Long-term trends showed that the catalyst was also quickly deactivating. In BP3, the EERC compared FT catalyst results using warm-gas cleanup to results using cold-gas sweetening. A gas-sweetening absorption system (GSAS) was designed, modeled, and constructed to sweeten syngas between the gasifier and the pilot-scale FT reactor. Results verified that the catalyst performed much better with gas sweetening than it had with warm-gas cleanup. The catalyst also showed no signs of rapid deactivation when the GSAS was running. Laboratory tests in support of this effort verified that the catalyst had deactivated quickly in BP1 because of exposure to syngas, not because of any design flaw with the pilot-scale FT reactor itself. Based on these results, the EERC concludes that the two biggest issues with using syngas treated with warm-gas cleanup for FT synthesis are high concentrations of CO{sub 2} and volatile organic matter. Other catalysts tested by the EERC may be more tolerant of CO{sub 2}, but volatile matter removal is critical to ensuring long-term FT catalyst operation. This subtask was funded through the EERCâU.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Program on Research and Development for Fossil Energy-Related Resources Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC26-08NT43291. Nonfederal funding for BP1 was provided by the North Dakota Industrial Commissionâs (NDIC) Renewable Energy Council
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JV 58-Effects of Biomass Combustion on SCR Catalyst
A portable slipstream selective catalytic reduction (SCR) reactor was installed at a biomass cofired utility boiler to examine the rates and mechanisms of catalyst deactivation when exposed to biomass combustion products. The catalyst was found to deactivate at a much faster rate than typically found in a coal-fired boiler, although this may have been the result of high ash loading rather than a general property of biomass combustion. Deactivation was mainly the result of alkali and alkaline-earth sulfate formation and growth in catalyst pores, apparently caused by alkaline-earth ash deposition on or near the pore sites. The high proportion of biomass in the fuel contributed to elevated levels of alkali and alkaline-earth material in the ash when compared to coal ash, and these higher levels provided more opportunity for sulfate formation. Based on laboratory tests, neither catalyst material nor ammonia contributed measurably to ash mass gains via sulfation. A model constructed using both field and laboratory data was able to predict catalyst deactivation of catalysts under subbituminous coal firing but performed poorly at predicting catalyst deactivation under cofiring conditions. Because of the typically higher-than coal levels of alkali and alkaline-earth elements present in biomass fuels that are available for sulfation at typical SCR temperatures, the use of SCR technology and biomass cofiring needs to be carefully evaluated prior to implementation
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JV Task 5 - Predictive Coal Quality Effects Screening Tool (PCQUEST)
PCQUEST, a package of eight predictive indices, was developed with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) support by the Energy & Environmental Research Center to predict fireside performance in coal-fired utility boilers more reliably than traditional indices. Since the development of PCQUEST, the need has arisen for additional improvement, validation, and enhancement of the model, as well as to incorporate additional fuel types into the program database. PCQUEST was developed using combustion inorganic transformation theory from previous projects and from empirical data derived from laboratory experiments and coal boiler field observations. The goal of this joint venture project between commercial industry clients and DOE is to further enhance PCQUEST and improve its utility for a variety of new fuels and systems. Specific objectives include initiating joint venture projects with utilities, boiler vendors, and coal companies that involve real-world situations and needs in order to strategically improve algorithms and input-output functions of PCQUEST, as well as to provide technology transfer to the industrial sector. The main body of this report provides a short summary of the projects that were closed from February 1999 through July 2007. All of the reports sent to the commercial clients can be found in the appendix
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JV TASK - PREDICTIVE COAL QUALITY EFFECTS SCREENING TOOL (PCQUEST)
PCQUEST, a package of eight predictive indices, was developed with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) support by the Energy and Environmental Research Center to predict fireside performance in coal-fired utility boilers more reliably than traditional indices. Since the development of PCQUEST, the need has arisen for additional fuel types into the program database. PCQUEST was developed using combustion inorganic transformation theory from previous projects and from empirical data derived from laboratory experiments and coal boiler field observations. The goal of this joint venture project between commercial industry clients and DOE is to further enhance PCQUEST and improve its utility for a variety of new fuels and systems. Specific objectives include initiating joint venture projects with utilities, boiler vendors, and coal companies that involve real-world situations and needs in order to strategically improve algorithms and input-output functions of PCQUEST, as well as to provide technology transfer to the industrial sector. The main body of this report provides a short summary of the projects that were closed from February 1999 through June 2006. All of the reports sent to the commercial clients can be found in the appendix
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ADVANCED POWER SYSTEMS ANALYSIS TOOLS
The use of Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) modeling tools and improved analytical methods has provided key information in optimizing advanced power system design and operating conditions for efficiency, producing minimal air pollutant emissions and utilizing a wide range of fossil fuel properties. This project was divided into four tasks: the demonstration of the ash transformation model, upgrading spreadsheet tools, enhancements to analytical capabilities using the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and improvements to the slag viscosity model. The ash transformation model, Atran, was used to predict the size and composition of ash particles, which has a major impact on the fate of the combustion system. To optimize Atran key factors such as mineral fragmentation and coalescence, the heterogeneous and homogeneous interaction of the organically associated elements must be considered as they are applied to the operating conditions. The resulting model's ash composition compares favorably to measured results. Enhancements to existing EERC spreadsheet application included upgrading interactive spreadsheets to calculate the thermodynamic properties for fuels, reactants, products, and steam with Newton Raphson algorithms to perform calculations on mass, energy, and elemental balances, isentropic expansion of steam, and gasifier equilibrium conditions. Derivative calculations can be performed to estimate fuel heating values, adiabatic flame temperatures, emission factors, comparative fuel costs, and per-unit carbon taxes from fuel analyses. Using state-of-the-art computer-controlled scanning electron microscopes and associated microanalysis systems, a method to determine viscosity using the incorporation of grey-scale binning acquired by the SEM image was developed. The image analysis capabilities of a backscattered electron image can be subdivided into various grey-scale ranges that can be analyzed separately. Since the grey scale's intensity is dependent on the chemistry of the particle, it is possible to map chemically similar areas which can also be related to the viscosity of that compound at temperature. A second method was also developed to determine the elements associated with the organic matrix of the coals, which is currently determined by chemical fractionation. Mineral compositions and mineral densities can be determined for both included and excluded minerals, as well as the fraction of the ash that will be represented by that mineral on a frame-by-frame basis. The slag viscosity model was improved to provide improved predictions of slag viscosity and temperature of critical viscosity for representative Powder River Basin subbituminous and lignite coals
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COAL SLAGGING AND REACTIVITY TESTING
Union Fenosa's La Robla I Power Station is a 270-MW Foster Wheeler arch-fired system. The unit is located at the mine that provides a portion of the semianthracitic coal. The remaining coals used are from South Africa, Russia, Australia, and China. The challenges at the La Robla I Station stem from the various fuels used, the characteristics of which differ from the design coal. The University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) and the Lehigh University Energy Research Center (LUERC) undertook a program to assess problematic slagging and unburned carbon issues occurring at the plant. Full-scale combustion tests were performed under baseline conditions, with elevated oxygen level and with redistribution of air during a site visit at the plant. During these tests, operating information, observations and temperature measurements, and coal, slag deposit, and fly ash samples were obtained to assess slagging and unburned carbon. The slagging in almost all cases appeared due to elevated temperatures rather than fuel chemistry. The most severe slagging occurred when the temperature at the sampling port was in excess of 1500 C, with problematic slagging where first-observed temperatures exceeded 1350 C. The presence of anorthite crystals in the bulk of the deposits analyzed indicates that the temperatures were in excess of 1350 C, consistent with temperature measurements during the sampling period. Elevated temperatures and ''hot spots'' are probably the result of poor mill performance, and a poor distribution of the coal from the mills to the specific burners causes elevated temperatures in the regions where the slag samples were extracted. A contributing cause appeared to be poor combustion air mixing and heating, resulting in oxygen stratification and increased temperatures in certain areas. Air preheater plugging was observed and reduces the temperature of the air in the windbox, which leads to poor combustion conditions, resulting in unburned carbon as well as slagging. A second phase of the project involved advanced analysis of the baseline coal along with an Australian coal fired at the plant. These analysis results were used in equilibrium thermodynamic modeling along with a coal quality model developed by the EERC to assess slagging, fouling, and opacity for the coals. Bench-scale carbon conversion testing was performed in a drop-tube furnace to assess the reactivity of the coals. The Australian coal had a higher mineral content with significantly more clay minerals present than the baseline coal. The presence of these clay minerals, which tend to melt at relatively low temperatures, indicated a higher potential for problematic slagging than the baseline coal. However, the pyritic minerals, comprising over 25% of the baseline mineral content, may form sticky iron sulfides, leading to severe slagging in the burner region if local areas with reducing conditions exist. Modeling results indicated that neither would present significant fouling problems. The Australian coal was expected to show slagging behavior much more severe than the baseline coal except at very high furnace temperatures. However, the baseline coal was predicted to exhibit opacity problems, as well as have a higher potential for problematic calcium sulfate-based low-temperature fouling. The baseline coal had a somewhat higher reactivity than the Australian coal, which was consistent with both the lower average activation energy for the baseline coal and the greater carbon conversion at a given temperature and residence time. The activation energy of the baseline coal showed some effect of oxygen on the activation energy, with E{sub a} increasing at the lower oxygen concentration, but may be due to the scatter in the baseline coal kinetic values at the higher oxygen level tested
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Advanced Heterogeneous Reburn Fuel From Coal and Hog Manure: Final Report
This study was performed to investigate whether the nitrogen content inherent in hog manure and alkali used as a catalyst during processing could be combined with coal to produce a reburn fuel that would result in advanced reburning NO{sub x} control without the addition of either alkali or ammonia/urea. Fresh hog manure was processed in a cold-charge, 1-gal, batch autoclave system at 275 C under a reducing atmosphere in the presence of an alkali catalyst. Instead of the expected organic liquid, the resulting product was a waxy solid material. The waxy nature of the material made size reduction and feeding difficult as the material agglomerated and tended to melt, plugging the feeder. The material was eventually broken up and sized manually and a water-cooled feeder was designed and fabricated. Two reburn tests were performed in a pilot-scale combustor. The first test evaluated a reburn fuel mixture comprising lignite and air-dried, raw hog manure. The second test evaluated a reburn fuel mixture made of lignite and the processed hog manure. Neither reburn fuel reduced NO{sub x} levels in the combustor flue gas. Increased slagging and ash deposition were observed during both reburn tests. The material-handling and ash-fouling issues encountered during this study indicate that the use of waste-based reburn fuels could pose practical difficulties in implementation on a larger scale
Testing of a Novel Post Combustion Acid Removal Process for the Direct-Fired, Oxy-Combustion Allam Cycle Power Generation System
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JV Task 126 - Mercury Control Technologies for Electric Utilities Burning Bituminous Coal
The EERC developed an applied research consortium project to test cost-effective mercury (Hg) control technologies for utilities burning bituminous coals. The project goal was to test innovative Hg control technologies that have the potential to reduce Hg emissions from bituminous coal-fired power plants by {ge}90% at costs of one-half to three-quarters of current estimates for activated carbon injection (ACI). Hg control technology evaluations were performed using the EERC's combustion test facility (CTF). The CTF was fired on pulverized bituminous coals at 550,000 Btu/hr (580 MJ/hr). The CTF was configured with the following air pollution control devices (APCDs): selective catalytic reduction (SCR) unit, electrostatic precipitator (ESP), and wet flue gas desulfurization system (WFDS). The Hg control technologies investigated as part of this project included ACI (three Norit Americas, Inc., and eleven Envergex sorbents), elemental mercury (Hg{sup 0}) oxidation catalysts (i.e., the noble metals in Hitachi Zosen, Cormetech, and Hitachi SCR catalysts), sorbent enhancement additives (SEAs) (a proprietary EERC additive, trona, and limestone), and blending with a Powder River Basin (PRB) subbituminous coal. These Hg control technologies were evaluated separately, and many were also tested in combination