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Computationally Inexpensive CFD Approach for the Combustion of Sewage Sludge Powder, Including the Consideration of Water Content and Limestone Additive Variations

Author

Listed:
  • Benjamin Ortner

    (Institute of Thermal Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Economic Sciences, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 25B, 8010 Graz, Austria)

  • Christian Schmidberger

    (Institute of Combustion and Power Plant Technology, Faculty 4-Energy-, Process- and Bio-Engineering, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 23, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany)

  • Hannes Gerhardter

    (Institute of Thermal Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Economic Sciences, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 25B, 8010 Graz, Austria)

  • René Prieler

    (Institute of Thermal Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Economic Sciences, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 25B, 8010 Graz, Austria)

  • Hartmuth Schröttner

    (Austrian Centre for Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis, Steyrergasse 17, 8010 Graz, Austria)

  • Christoph Hochenauer

    (Institute of Thermal Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Economic Sciences, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 25B, 8010 Graz, Austria)

Abstract

As a result of growing interest in the thermal treatment of sewage sludge with methods such as combustion, gasification or pyrolysis, and also in processes that aim to recover precious components such as phosphorus from this waste, a growing demand has been observed for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models that provide solutions rapidly and accurately for efficient application in research and development. This study was carried out to develop a computationally inexpensive modelling approach for the combustion of pulverized sewage sludge in entrained flow furnaces. Sewage sludge is a very volatile-rich fuel. Therefore, the Steady Diffusion Flamelet model (SFM), in combination with a validated skeletal reaction mechanism, was applied to consider the pulverized firing of sewage sludge. It was possible to represent the complex composition of volatiles emitted from the sludge particles by releasing surrogate fuels. In addition, the influence of limestone additive (calcination reaction) and varying water content (water–gas shift reaction) was investigated experimentally and modelled via CFD. The simulation results confirm that the surrogate fuel approach is valid and can be used to describe pulverized sewage sludge effectively. The temperature and species concentration results, including the influence of the additive and different levels of water content, were confirmed by experimental data, which is usually hard to obtain due to the tendency of PSS to form agglomerates in entrained flow combustion furnaces. The model yields plausible and experimentally validated results for the combustion of sewage sludge powder across a wide range of operating conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin Ortner & Christian Schmidberger & Hannes Gerhardter & René Prieler & Hartmuth Schröttner & Christoph Hochenauer, 2023. "Computationally Inexpensive CFD Approach for the Combustion of Sewage Sludge Powder, Including the Consideration of Water Content and Limestone Additive Variations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-25, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:4:p:1798-:d:1065370
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    Cited by:

    1. Anirudh Kulkarni & Garima Mishra & Sridhar Palla & Potnuri Ramesh & Dadi Venkata Surya & Tanmay Basak, 2023. "Advances in Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling for Biomass Pyrolysis: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-32, November.

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