Publications Details

Effect of O2/CO2-firing on coal particle ignition

MOLINA OCHOA, Alejandro N.; Shaddix, Christopher R.

Oxygen-enhanced and oxygen-fired pulverized coal combustion is actively being investigated, to achieve emission reductions and reduction in flue gas cleanup costs, as well as for coal-bed methane and enhanced oil recovery applications. To fully understand the results of pilot-scale tests and to accurately predict scale-up performance through CFD modeling, fundamental data are needed concerning coal char combustion under these conditions. In the work reported here, the effect of enhanced oxygen levels and CO2 bath gas are independently analyzed for their influence on a single-particle pulverized coal ignition of a U.S. bituminous coal and its char. The experiments show that the presence of CO2 and a lower O2 concentration increase the ignition delay time of both coal and char particles. The char particle results are explained by the difference in the mass diffusivity of CO 2 and N2, whereas the coal particle results require further analysis. © (2005) by the International Pittsburgh Coal Conference.