Numerical Study on Coal–Sludge Cocombustion Characteristics and Emission Behaviors in a 330-MW Wall-Fired Boiler
Publication: Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 149, Issue 5
Abstract
Cofiring sludge with coal based on existing power plants is a promising method to realize harmless recycling treatment for sludge disposal. However, the influences of sludge addition on emission are still controversial. Moreover, the optimal operating strategies for the cocombustion boiler need further investigations. In this study, the influences of sludge blending ratio, moisture content, sludge inlet position, and air-staging parameter on the combustion characteristics and emission behaviors in a 330-MW boiler were analyzed numerically. The results show that with the increase of sludge blending ratio, the flue gas temperature in the primary zone decreases. The overall burnout ratio declines with the addition of sludge due to the higher ash and moisture contents. Although the sludge contains more N than coal, the emissions in the cofiring case are lower than those in the coal-fired case due to the lower temperature and stronger reducing atmosphere in the primary zone. Reducing the moisture in the sludge is beneficial to the combustion within the furnace. Nevertheless, because of the higher temperature and lower CO concentration within the furnace, the concentration at the furnace outlet increases. For wall-fired boilers, feeding the sludge from the lower burners should be avoided considering the potential surge in emission. When the excess air ratio in the primary zone increases from 0.74 to 0.96, the concentration at the furnace outlet rises by 58%. Hence, although relatively lower excess air ratio in the primary zone could bring adverse impacts on the burnout behaviors, air-staging combustion is still necessary when cofiring sludge in the coal-fired boiler.
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Data Availability Statement
Some data are available from the corresponding author by request. They include some boundary conditions and calculation results.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52176129).
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© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 2, 2022
Accepted: Apr 23, 2023
Published online: Jun 21, 2023
Published in print: Oct 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Nov 21, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Air pollution
- Analysis (by type)
- Chemical processes
- Chemistry
- Coal
- Combustion
- Computational fluid dynamics technique
- Emissions
- Energy engineering
- Energy sources (by type)
- Engineering fundamentals
- Environmental engineering
- Fluid dynamics
- Fluid mechanics
- Fuels
- Hydrologic engineering
- Measurement (by type)
- Non-renewable energy
- Numerical analysis
- Pollutants
- Pollution
- Sludge
- Temperature effects
- Temperature measurement
- Wastes
- Water and water resources
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