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Effects of biomass particle size during cofiring under air-fired and oxyfuel conditions

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  • Holtmeyer, Melissa L.
  • Kumfer, Benjamin M.
  • Axelbaum, Richard L.

Abstract

Carbon capture and storage (CCS), when applied to biomass cofiring systems, can remove atmospheric CO2 since the CO2 that is consumed by the biomass during growth is not released back into the atmosphere. Biomass cofiring can also potentially contribute to meeting renewable portfolio standards (RPS), and result in reduced pollutant emissions, including sulfur oxides (SOx) and mercury. However, biomass fuels are widely variable in composition, particle size, and nitrogen content, which can make utilization of these fuels challenging. In this work, a numerical study was conducted for cofiring of pulverized coal and sawdust under air-fired and oxyfuel conditions to investigate the effects of cofiring on flame length and nitric oxide (NO) formation. Previous experiments have shown an increase in nitrogen conversion to NO when cofiring under both air-fired and oxyfuel combustion, despite the fact that the sawdust cofired had less fuel-bound nitrogen. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to determine the cause of the increased NO conversion and to identify differences between air-fired and oxyfuel cofired flames. The simulations reveal that cofired flames have longer volatile-flame regions (the flame envelope), and this length is influenced by the increased volatile fraction and particle size associated with the biomass. Flame length theory for turbulent, non-premixed gaseous diffusion flames was found to be useful in interpreting the observed results in both air-fired and oxyfuel combustion. Large biomass particles that are not entrained in the near-burner region breakthrough the flame envelope, and this was shown to be detrimental to controlling NO formation. During oxy-cofiring combustion, particle breakthrough occurs at smaller diameter, leading to increased nitrogen conversion to NO when compared to air-fired conditions. This is a direct result of a decreased flame envelope length and elevated oxygen concentrations.

Suggested Citation

  • Holtmeyer, Melissa L. & Kumfer, Benjamin M. & Axelbaum, Richard L., 2012. "Effects of biomass particle size during cofiring under air-fired and oxyfuel conditions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 606-613.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:93:y:2012:i:c:p:606-613
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2011.11.042
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    Cited by:

    1. Liu, Zhengang & Quek, Augustine & Parshetti, Ganesh & Jain, Akshay & Srinivasan, M.P. & Hoekman, S. Kent & Balasubramanian, Rajasekhar, 2013. "A study of nitrogen conversion and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emissions during hydrochar–lignite co-pyrolysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 74-81.
    2. Wang, Xuebin & Zhang, Jiaye & Xu, Xinwei & Mikulčić, Hrvoje & Li, Yan & Zhou, Yuegui & Tan, Houzhang, 2020. "Numerical study of biomass Co-firing under Oxy-MILD mode," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 2566-2576.
    3. Chi, Chung-Cheng & Lin, Ta-Hui, 2013. "Oxy-oil combustion characteristics of an existing furnace," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 923-930.
    4. Liu, Yingzu & He, Yong & Wang, Zhihua & Xia, Jun & Wan, Kaidi & Whiddon, Ronald & Cen, Kefa, 2018. "Characteristics of alkali species release from a burning coal/biomass blend," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 523-531.
    5. Williams, Orla & Newbolt, Gary & Eastwick, Carol & Kingman, Sam & Giddings, Donald & Lormor, Stephen & Lester, Edward, 2016. "Influence of mill type on densified biomass comminution," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 219-231.
    6. Restrepo, Álvaro & Bazzo, Edson, 2016. "Co-firing: An exergoenvironmental analysis applied to power plants modified for burning coal and rice straw," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 107-119.
    7. Masami Ashizawa & Maromu Otaka & Hiromi Yamamoto & Atsushi Akisawa, 2022. "CO 2 Emissions and Economy of Co-Firing Carbonized Wood Pellets at Coal-Fired Power Plants: The Case of Overseas Production of Pellets and Use in Japan," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-10, February.
    8. Xu, Mingxin & Li, Shiyuan & Wu, Yinghai & Jia, Lufei & Lu, Qinggang, 2017. "The characteristics of recycled NO reduction over char during oxy-fuel fluidized bed combustion," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 553-562.
    9. Mikulčić, Hrvoje & von Berg, Eberhard & Vujanović, Milan & Wang, Xuebin & Tan, Houzhang & Duić, Neven, 2016. "Numerical evaluation of different pulverized coal and solid recovered fuel co-firing modes inside a large-scale cement calciner," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 1292-1305.
    10. Yin, Chungen & Yan, Jinyue, 2016. "Oxy-fuel combustion of pulverized fuels: Combustion fundamentals and modeling," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 742-762.
    11. da Fonseca, Maryegli Borges & Poganietz, Witold-Roger & Gehrmann, Hans-Joachim, 2014. "Environmental and economic analysis of SolComBio concept for sustainable energy supply in remote regions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 666-674.
    12. Fakudze, Sandile & Zhang, Yu & Wei, Yingyuan & Li, Yueh-Heng & Chen, Jianqiang & Wang, Jiaxin & Han, Jiangang, 2023. "Taguchi-optimized oxy-combustion of hydrochar/coal blends for CO2 capture and maximized combustion performance," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    13. Giostri, A. & Binotti, M. & Macchi, E., 2016. "Microalgae cofiring in coal power plants: Innovative system layout and energy analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 449-464.
    14. Álvarez, L. & Yin, C. & Riaza, J. & Pevida, C. & Pis, J.J. & Rubiera, F., 2013. "Oxy-coal combustion in an entrained flow reactor: Application of specific char and volatile combustion and radiation models for oxy-firing conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 255-268.
    15. McIlveen-Wright, David R. & Huang, Ye & Rezvani, Sina & Redpath, David & Anderson, Mark & Dave, Ashok & Hewitt, Neil J., 2013. "A technical and economic analysis of three large scale biomass combustion plants in the UK," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 396-404.
    16. Álvarez, L. & Gharebaghi, M. & Jones, J.M. & Pourkashanian, M. & Williams, A. & Riaza, J. & Pevida, C. & Pis, J.J. & Rubiera, F., 2013. "CFD modeling of oxy-coal combustion: Prediction of burnout, volatile and NO precursors release," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 653-665.
    17. Bailera, Manuel & Lisbona, Pilar & Romeo, Luis M. & Espatolero, Sergio, 2016. "Power to Gas–biomass oxycombustion hybrid system: Energy integration and potential applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 221-229.
    18. Shen, Yafei & Yu, Shili & Ge, Shun & Chen, Xingming & Ge, Xinlei & Chen, Mindong, 2017. "Hydrothermal carbonization of medical wastes and lignocellulosic biomass for solid fuel production from lab-scale to pilot-scale," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 312-323.
    19. Bolea, Irene & Romeo, Luis M. & Pallarés, David, 2012. "The role of external heat exchangers in oxy-fuel circulating fluidized bed," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 215-223.
    20. Chiang, Kung-Yuh & Chien, Kuang-Li & Lu, Cheng-Han, 2012. "Characterization and comparison of biomass produced from various sources: Suggestions for selection of pretreatment technologies in biomass-to-energy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 164-171.

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