SPECIFIC EMISSIONS FROM BIOMASS COMBUSTION

This paper deals with determining the specific emissions from the combustion of two kinds of biomass fuels in a small-scale boiler. The tested fuels were pellets made of wood and pellets made of rape plant straw. In order to evaluate the specific emissions, several combustion experiments were carried out using a commercial 25 kW pellet-fired boiler. The specific emissions of CO, SO2 and NOx were evaluated in relation to a unit of burned fuel, a unit of calorific value and a unit of produced heat. The specific emissions were compared with some data acquired from the reference literature, with relatively different results. The differences depend mainly on the procedure used for determining the values, and references provide no information about this. Although some of our experimental results may fit with one of the reference sources, they do not fit with the other. The reliability of the references is therefore disputable

NOx EMISSIONS FROM BUBBLING FLUIDIZED BED COMBUSTION OF LIGNITE COAL

This paper presents experimental results of NOx emission measurements for combustion of two kinds of coal in a bubbling fluidized bed combustor. The tested fuels were Czech brown coal (CBC) and German young brown coal (GYC). These fuels have different nitrogen contents. The experiments were performed in the pilot scale BFB experimental unit with power output of 500 kW. The influence of several parameters on NOx formation are investigated in this paper. The parameters studied here include the effect of the nitrogen content in the fuel, the effect of the oxygen concentration in the bed, the effect of bed temperature, the effect of air staging, and the effect of fluidization velocity. Significantly different behaviour of the fuels was found. Although GYC has a lower nitrogen content than CBC, it is more reactive and produces higher NOx emissions. The biggest dependence of NOx production for CBC was found for the effects of air staging and fluidization velocity. As the fluidization velocity increases and the amount of secondary air decreases, there is an increase in NOx emissions. The oxygen concentration in the bed has the strongest effect on the NOx production of GYCs. With increasing oxygen concentration, the production of NOx also increases. On the basis of the NOx measurements, the N-NO conversion factor was calculated and the effect of the operating parameters on this conversion factor was investigated

PREDICTION OF NOX EMISSIONS FOR FBC BOILERS BY EMPIRICAL MODELS – THE INFLUENCE OF SCALE-UP

Reliable prediction of NOX emissions can provide useful information for boiler design and fuel selection. The disadvantages and complexity of recently used kinetic NOX prediction models could be overcome by developing a simple empirical model. However, existing empirical models for prediction of NOX are used exclusively for pulverized coal boilers. This paper aims to modify some commonly used pulverized coal combustion empirical NOX prediction models – Pohl´s model and Ibler´s model – to fit the fluidized bed combustion boilers. The data from large scale fluidized bed combustion units are used for empirical models modification and compared with the data from pilot scale 0.5 MW fluidized bed combustion boiler. The reliability of proposed modifications to physical models and the influence of scale-up are discussed. The maximum reliability was achieved by modified Ibler´s model. If fuel mixtures were excluded the reliability increased. The NOX emissions of pilot scale boiler were higher compared to large scale units. However, these values were in agreement with Ibler´s model prediction, meaning the cause of higher values are fuel and combustion parameters and not the scale-up

Experimental verification of the efficiency of selective non-catalytic reduction in a bubbling fluidized bed combustor

Controlling nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions is still a challenge as increasingly stringent emission limits are introduced. Strict regulations will lead to the need to introduce secondary measures even for boilers with bubbling fluidized bed (BFB), which are generally characterized by low NOX emissions. Selective non-catalytic reduction has lower investment costs compared to other secondary measures for NOX reduction, but the temperatures for its efficient utilization are difficult to achieve in BFBs. This paper studies the possibility of an effective application of selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) of nitrogen oxides in a pilot-scale facility with a bubbling fluidized bed. The effect of temperatures between 880 and 950 °C in the reagent injection zone on NOX reduction was investigated. For the selected temperature, the effect of the amount of injected reagent, urea solution with concentration 32.5%wt., was studied. The experiments were carried out using 500 kWth pilot scale BFB unit combusting lignite. In addition, an experiment was performed with the combustion of wooden pellets. With reagent injection, all experiments led to the reduction of nitrogen oxides and the highest NOX reduction of 58% was achieved

Experimental verification of the impact of the air staging on the NOx production and on the temperature profile in a BFB

The results of an experimental research on air staging in a bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) combustor are presented within this paper. Air staging is known as an effective primary measure to reduce NOX formation. However, in the case of a number of industrial BFB units, it does not have to be sufficient to meet the emission standards. Then selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) can be a cost-effective option for further reduction of the already formed NOX. The required temperature range at the place of the reducing agent injection for an effective application of the SNCR without excessive ammonia slip is above the temperatures normally attained in BFBs. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of staged air injection on the formation of NOX in BFB combustors and to examine the possibility of increasing the freeboard temperature. Several experiments with various secondary/primary air ratios were performed with a constant oxygen concentration in the flue gas. The experiments were carried out using wooden biomass and lignite as fuel in a 30 kWth laboratory scale BFB combustor. Furthermore, the results were verified using a 500 kWth pilot scale BFB unit. The results confirmed that the air staging can effectively move the dominant combustion zone from the dense bed to the freeboard section, and thus the temperatures for an effective application of the SNCR can be obtained

Experimental verification of the efficiency of selective non-catalytic reduction in a bubbling fluidized bed combustor

Controlling nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions is still a challenge as increasingly stringent emission limits are introduced. Strict regulations will lead to the need to introduce secondary measures even for boilers with bubbling fluidized bed (BFB), which are generally characterized by low NOX emissions. Selective non-catalytic reduction has lower investment costs compared to other secondary measures for NOX reduction, but the temperatures for its efficient utilization are difficult to achieve in BFBs. This paper studies the possibility of an effective application of selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) of nitrogen oxides in a pilot-scale facility with a bubbling fluidized bed. The effect of temperatures between 880 and 950 °C in the reagent injection zone on NOX reduction was investigated. For the selected temperature, the effect of the amount of injected reagent, urea solution with concentration 32.5%wt., was studied. The experiments were carried out using 500 kWth pilot scale BFB unit combusting lignite. In addition, an experiment was performed with the combustion of wooden pellets. With reagent injection, all experiments led to the reduction of nitrogen oxides and the highest NOX reduction of 58% was achieved

Applicability of Secondary Denitrification Measures on a Fluidized Bed Boiler

This article compares performance of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) applied on the same pilot unit, a 500 kW fluidized bed boiler burning Czech lignite. Correlation of the denitrification efficiency on the normalized stoichiometric ratio (NSR) is investigated. The fundamental principle of the SCR and SNCR is similar with the same reaction scheme. The difference is in the use of the catalyst that lowers the activation energy of the key reaction. As a result, the reduction is performed in the SCR method at lower temperatures. During experiments, the NSR was up to 1.6 for the SCR method. For the SNCR method, which has a higher reducing agent consumption, maximum denitrification efficiency was reached for NSR about 2.5. The efficiency of both secondary methods was investigated. The denitrification efficiency during experiments exceeded 98 % for the SCR method, and the SNCR method, together with the primary measures, reached an efficiency of 58 %

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF THE OXYFUEL COMBUSTION CONDITIONS IN A BUBBLING FLUIDIZED BED

Oxyfuel combustion is a promising approach for capturing CO₂ from power plants. This technology produces a flue gas with a high concentration of CO₂. Our paper presents a verification of the oxyfuel combustion conditions in a bubbling fluidized bed combustor. It presents a theoretical analysis of oxyfuel combustion and makes a comparison with combustion using air. It is important to establish a proper methodology for stoichiometric calculations and for computing the basic characteristic fluidization properties. The methodology presented here has been developed for general purposes, and can be applied to calculations for combustion with air and with oxygen-enriched air, and also for full oxyfuel conditions. With this methodology, we can include any water vapour condensation during recirculation of the flue gas when dry flue gas recirculation is used. The paper contains calculations for a lignite coal, which is taken as a reference fuel for future research and for the experiments

NOx EMISSIONS FROM BUBBLING FLUIDIZED BED COMBUSTION OF LIGNITE COAL

This paper presents experimental results of NO_x emission measurements for combustion of two kinds of coal in a bubbling fluidized bed combustor. The tested fuels were Czech brown coal (CBC) and German young brown coal (GYC). These fuels have different nitrogen contents. The experiments were performed in the pilot scale BFB experimental unit with power output of 500 kW. The influence of several parameters on NO_x formation are investigated in this paper. The parameters studied here include the effect of the nitrogen content in the fuel, the effect of the oxygen concentration in the bed, the effect of bed temperature, the effect of air staging, and the effect of fluidization velocity. Significantly different behaviour of the fuels was found. Although GYC has a lower nitrogen content than CBC, it is more reactive and produces higher NO_x emissions. The biggest dependence of NO_x production for CBC was found for the effects of air staging and fluidization velocity. As the fluidization velocity increases and the amount of secondary air decreases, there is an increase in NOx emissions. The oxygen concentration in the bed has the strongest effect on the NO_x production of GYCs. With increasing oxygen concentration, the production of NO_x also increases. On the basis of the NO_x measurements, the N-NO conversion factor was calculated and the effect of the operating parameters on this conversion factor was investigated

Experimental verification of the impact of the air staging on the NOx production and on the temperature profile in a BFB

The results of an experimental research on air staging in a bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) combustor are presented within this paper. Air staging is known as an effective primary measure to reduce NOX formation. However, in the case of a number of industrial BFB units, it does not have to be sufficient to meet the emission standards. Then selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) can be a cost-effective option for further reduction of the already formed NOX. The required temperature range at the place of the reducing agent injection for an effective application of the SNCR without excessive ammonia slip is above the temperatures normally attained in BFBs. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of staged air injection on the formation of NOX in BFB combustors and to examine the possibility of increasing the freeboard temperature. Several experiments with various secondary/primary air ratios were performed with a constant oxygen concentration in the flue gas. The experiments were carried out using wooden biomass and lignite as fuel in a 30 kWth laboratory scale BFB combustor. Furthermore, the results were verified using a 500 kWth pilot scale BFB unit. The results confirmed that the air staging can effectively move the dominant combustion zone from the dense bed to the freeboard section, and thus the temperatures for an effective application of the SNCR can be obtained