Advances in reduction of NO_x and N_2O emission formation in an oxy-fired fluidized bed boiler

Fossil fuel combustion is one of the major means to meet the mounting global energy demand. However, the increasing NO_x and N_2 O emissions arising from fossil fuel combustion process have hazardous effects. Thus, mitigating these gases is vital to attain a sustainable environment. Interestingly, oxy-fuel combustion in fluidized bed for carbon capture and minimized NO_x emissions is strongly sustainable compare to the other approaches. It was assessed that NO_x formation and fuel-N conversion have significant limitation under oxy-fluidized bed compared to air mode and the mechanism of NO_x formation is still deficient and requires further development. In addition, this review paper discussed the potential of primary measure as low emission process with others supplementary techniques for feasible NO_x reduction. The influences of combustion mode, operating parameters, and reduction techniques such as flue gas recirculation, oxygen staging, biomass co-firing, catalyst, influence of fluidized bed design and structure, decoupling combustion and their merges are respectively evaluated. Findings show that significant minimization of NO_x emission can be achieved through combination of primary and secondary reduction techniques.     

Emissions of NOx and N2O during co-combustion of dried sewage sludge with coal in a circulating fluidized bed combustor

Emissions of NO_x and N₂O were measured during mono-combustion of dried sewage sludge and co-combustion with coal in a bench-scale circulating fluidized bed combustor (CFBC). The results were compared with previous results obtained using a bubbling fluidized bed combustor (BFBC). The increase in NO_x with sludge ash accumulation in the combustor was less for the CFBC than the BFBC, partly because of the higher attrition rate of sludge ash in CFBC resulting from the higher gas velocity. The influence of sludge ash on the formation of NO_x in CFBC was less than that in BFBC during sludge combustion. The effects of fuel type on NO_x and N₂O emissions were also evaluated.     

Fluidized bed combustion of pre-dried Thai bagasse

Sugar cane bagasse is one of the most viable biomass fuels in Thailand. However, because of high moisture content in the fuel (of 45–55%), combustion of “as-received” bagasse is rather ineffective and unstable process.In this experimental work, the bagasse was preliminarily dried before conducting combustion tests on a fluidized bed combustor with a conical bed. Silica sand was used as the inert bed material for ensuring sustainable fuel ignition and combustion in this reactor. Effects of operating variables (fuel feed rate and excess air) as well as static bed height on the axial temperature and gas concentration profiles (for O₂, CO₂, CO and NO_x) in the combustor were investigated. For estimating the environmental impact by this bagasse-fuelled system, CO and NO_x emissions from the combustor were quantified. The combustion efficiency was found to be in the range of 96 to 99.7% for firing the pre-dried sugar cane bagasse in wide ranges of the operating variables.     

Effect of Operating Conditions on NOx and CO Emissions in a Pilot‐Scale Vortexing Fluidized‐Bed Combustor with Flue Gas Recirculation

In order to study the effect of flue gas recirculation (FGR) by primary air mixed with FGR or nitrogen on NO_x emissions in a fixed total primary air flow rate, the bed temperature, stoichiometric oxygen ratio in the combustion chamber, and excess oxygen ratio were investigated in a pilot‐scale vortexing fluidized‐bed combustor (VFBC). As a result, the NO_x emissions could effectively be decreased with FGR in the VFBC. The lower NO_x emissions were attributed to the fact that the FGR allows NO_x to enter the reactor again with the chance of being reduced and that the FGR contains more CO₂ to suppress NO_x formation or promote NO_x reduction through its conversion to CO by reaction with char.     

Emissions of NOx and N2O during co-combustion of dried sewage sludge with coal in a bubbling fluidized bed combustor

Emissions of NO_x and N₂O were measured during mono-combustion of dried sewage sludge and co-combustion with coal in a bench-scale bubbling fluidized bed combustor. After starting the sludge feed, emissions of NO_x increased with time, but N₂O emissions changed only slightly. After a certain amount of sludge was burned, the fuel was switched from sludge to coal. Emissions of NO_x from coal combustion after sludge combustion were higher than those before sludge combustion. These results suggest that the accumulation of sludge ash influenced NO_x emissions. A simple model of ash accumulation and removal was proposed. The transient change in NO_x after starting co-combustion was explained using the model presented here.     

Effects of operational parameters on emission performance and combustion efficiency in small-scale CFBCs

A well-designed CFBC can burn coal with high efficiency and within acceptable levels of gaseous emissions. In this theoretical study effects of operational parameters on combustion efficiency and the pollutants emitted have been estimated using a developed dynamic 2D (two-dimensional) model for CFBCs. Model simulations have been carried out to examine the effect of different operational parameters such as excess air and gas inlet pressure and coal particle size on bed temperature, the overall CO, NO_x and SO₂ emissions and combustion efficiency from a small-scale CFBC. It has been observed that increasing excess air ratio causes fluidized bed temperature decrease and CO emission increase. Coal particle size has more significant effect on CO emissions than the gas inlet pressure at the entrance to fluidized bed. Increasing excess air ratio leads to decreasing SO₂ and NO_x emissions. The gas inlet pressure at the entrance to fluidized bed has a more significant effect on NO_x emission than the coal particle size. Increasing excess air causes decreasing combustion efficiency. The gas inlet pressure has more pronounced effect on combustion efficiency than the coal particle size, particularly at higher excess air ratios. The developed model is also validated in terms of combustion efficiency with experimental literature data obtained from 300 kW laboratory scale test unit. The present theoretical study also confirms that CFB combustion allows clean and efficient combustion of coal.     

The application of FLOX/COSTAIR technologies to reduce NOx emissions from coal/biomass fired power plant: A technical assessment based on computational simulation

Nitrogen oxides (NO_x) is one of the harmful emissions from power plants. Efforts are made to reduce NO_x emissions by researchers and engineers all the times. NO_x emissions are from three resources during the combustion: prompt NO, fuel NO and thermal NO. The last one - thermal NO, which is described by ‘Zeldovich-mechanism’, is the main source for NO_x emissions. The thermal NO emission mainly results from the high combustion temperature in the combustion process. In order to control the NO formation, the control of peak combustion temperature is the key factor, as well as the oxygen concentration in the combustion areas. Flameless oxidation (FLOX) and continuous staged air combustion (COSTAIR) are two relatively new technologies to control the combustion temperature and the reaction rate and consequently to control the NO_x emissions.In this study both FLOX and COSTAIR technologies are assessed based on a 12 MW_e, coal-fired, circulating fluidised bed combustion (CFBC) power plant by using ECLIPSE simulation software, together with a circulating fluidised bed gasification (CFBG) plus normal burner plant. Two different fuels - coal and biomass (straw) are used for the simulation. The technical results from the study show that the application of FLOX technology to the plant may reduce NO_x emissions by 90% and the application of COSTAIR technology can reduce NO_x emissions by 80-85% from the power plant. The emissions from the straw-fuelled plants are all lower than that of coal-fuelled ones although with less plant efficiencies.     

Numerical investigation on the flow, combustion and NOx emission characteristics in a 500 MWe tangentially fired pulverized-coal boiler

The characteristics of the flow, combustion, temperature and NO_x emissions in a 500 MW_e tangentially fired pulverized-coal boiler are numerically studied using comprehensive models, with emphasis on fuel and thermal NO_x formations. The comparison between the measured values and predicted results shows good agreement, which implies that the adopted combustion and NO_x formation models are suitable for correctly predicting characteristics of the boiler. The relations among the predicted temperature, O₂ and CO₂ mass fractions are discussed based on the calculated distributions. The predicted results clearly show that NO_x formation within the boiler highly depends on the combustion processes as well as the temperature and species concentrations. The results obtained from this study have shown that overfire air (OFA) operation is an efficient way to reduce the NO_x emissions of the pulverized-coal fired boiler. Air staging combustion technology (OFA operation) adopted in this boiler has helped reduce fuel NO_x formation as well as thermal NO_x formation under the present simulated conditions. The decrease in the formation of fuel NO_x is due to the decreased contact of the nitrogen from the fuel with the oxygen within the combustion air, while the decrease in thermal NO_x formation is caused by a decrease in temperature. The detailed results presented in this paper may enhance the understanding of complex flow patterns, combustion processes and NO_x emissions in tangentially fired pulverized-coal boilers, and may also provide a useful basis for NO_x reduction and control.     

Biodiesel engine performance and emissions in low temperature combustion

Engine performance and emission comparisons were made between the use of soy, Canola and yellow grease derived B100 biodiesel fuels and an ultra-low sulphur diesel fuel in the high load engine operating conditions. Compared to the diesel fuel engine-out emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO_x), a high-cetane number (CN) biodiesel fuel produced comparable NO_x while the biodiesel with a CN similar to the diesel fuel produced relatively higher NO_x at a fixed start of injection. The soot, carbon monoxide and un-burnt hydrocarbon emissions were generally lower for the biodiesel-fuelled engine. Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) was then extensively applied to initiate low temperature combustion (LTC) mode at medium and low load conditions. An intake throttling valve was implemented to increase the differential pressure between the intake and exhaust in order to increase and enhance the EGR. Simultaneous reduction of NO_x and soot was achieved when the ignition delay was prolonged by more than 50% from the case with 0% EGR at low load conditions. Furthermore, a preliminary ignition delay correlation under the influence of EGR at steady-state conditions was developed. The correlation considered the fuel CN and oxygen concentrations in the intake air and fuel. The research intends to achieve simultaneous reductions of NO_x and soot emissions in modern production diesel engines when biodiesel is applied.     

Chemical kinetic modelling of the effect of NO on the oxidation of CH4 under fluidized bed combustor conditions

The ignition and burnout of the volatiles in fluidized bed combustor are essential for its performance and emissions. NO_x are known to sensitize the oxidation of hydrocarbons, CO, and H₂. This effect is relevant especially for fluidized bed combustors, which are operated at relatively low temperatures (i.e. about 850 °C). Different reaction mechanisms and modifications to existing mechanisms have been proposed in the literature to account for these low temperature interactions of NO_x and hydrocarbons. In this work, an existing widely used reaction mechanism is adapted and tested for its capability to describe the NO sensitized oxidation of CH₄ under conditions relevant to fluidized bed combustion. NO lowers the ignition temperature to about 300 °C under the conditions investigated. Three different oxidation paths for the oxidation of CH₄ have been identified and discussed. Their relative importance strongly depends on combustion temperature, indicating that the presence of NO_x significantly affects the oxidation of the volatiles in fluidized bed combustion.     

DETERMINATION OF DILUTE SLURRY DENSITIES IN A VERTICAL ANNULUS USING ISOKINETIC SAMPLING

The effects of coal properties on N₂O and NO_x formation from circulating fluidized bed combustion of coal was examined through burning nine typical coals and a coal shale, widely used in China over a wide range of coal ranks, in a bench-scale circulating fluidized bed. It was found that N₂O and NO_x formation had similar dependence on coal rank. Fixed carbon content and nitrogen content were the most important coal properties to influence N₂O and NO_x emissions from circulating fluidized bed combustion of coal. A coal with high fixed carbon content had high conversion ratio of fuel-N into N₂O and NO_x. The conversion ratio of fuel-N into N₂O or NO_x increased with nitrogen content of coal, whereas it decreased with O/N ratio. No significant correlation between conversion ratio of fuel-N into N₂O or NO_x and C/N ratio was identified. To clarify the coal property effect, investigation of a wide range of coal rank, is important.     

NOx and SOx emissions of a high sulfur self-retention coal during air-staged combustion

NO_x and SO_x emissions of air-staged combustion were investigated in a 1 MW tangentially-fired furnace combusting a high sulfur self-retention coal. Two variables including the air stoichiometric ratio of primary combustion zone and the relative location of over-fire air (OFA) injection ports were studied. These results suggest that NO_x reduction efficiency monotonically increases with increasing the relative location of OFA injection ports, and the lowest NO_x emissions are achieved when the air stoichiometric ratio of primary combustion zone is 0.85. In the meantime, SO_x emissions can be effectively reduced when the air stoichiometric ratio of primary combustion zone is 0.85 or 0.95, and SO_x emissions monotonically decrease with increasing the relative location of OFA injection ports.     

Catalytic effect of biomass ash on CO, CH4 and HCN oxidation under fluidised bed combustor conditions

In fluidised bed combustion heterogeneous reactions catalysed by the bed material, CaO, and char are significant for the emission levels for instance of NO, N₂O, and CO. The catalysts present in the bed affect significantly the selectivity of HCN and NH₃ oxidation, which are known as precursors of NO_x (i.e. NO and NO₂) and N₂O emissions from solid fuel combustion. Thus the catalytic activity of biomass ashes may also be responsible for the negligible N₂O emissions from biomass combustion due to the presence of a large amount of solids in fluidised bed combustion, homogeneous oxidation may be suppressed within the bed by the quenching of the radicals. For this reason the catalytic oxidation of hydrocarbons and CO on the bed material may be of significance for the total burnout within the fluidised bed combustor.Within this study the effect of different ashes from spruce wood, peat, and for comparison bituminous coal on the oxidation of CH₄, CO, and HCN was studied. The different ashes were shown to have a strong catalytic activity for the oxidation of CH₄, CO, and HCN. In HCN oxidation the selectivity towards NO is high, whereas very little N₂O is formed. The activity of the ashes is strongly dependent on the fuel, which may be explained by their composition.The kinetics of the oxidation of CO and HCN in the temperature range relevant for fluidised bed combustion, i.e. 800-900 °C, has been evaluated for spruce wood ash.     

NOx emission from a 71 MWe pressurized fluidized bed combustor

Flue gas NO_x concentration was measured at the outlet of gas turbine (the inlet of de-NO_x catalyst) of a 71 MWe pressurized fluidized bed combustor. The effect of operating parameters on NO_x emission was approximated by assuming a linear combination of three independent parameters, concentration of O₂ in the flue gas, SO₂ removal efficiency, and dense bed temperature. Sensitivity factors for different type of coals were obtained. The relationship between the sensitivity factors and fuel ratio (fixed carbon/volatile matter ratio) was obtained. NO_x emission was well approximated by the present approximation, even for coals/coal mixtures that were not used to determine the sensitivity factors. NO_x emissions for coal/coal mixtures and combustor operation under fly ash recycle conditions can be predicted approximately from the equation derived from other coals under conditions without fly ash recycle.     

Experimental investigation of NOx emissions in oxycoal combustion

This work presents the results of an experimental investigation on NO_x emissions from coal combustion in a pilot scale test facility. Three oxidiser atmospheres have been compared, namely air, CO₂/O₂, and O₂ enriched recirculated flue gas. NO_x emissions from two different combustion modes have been studied, swirl flame and flameless combustion. The influence of the burner oxygen ratio and the oxidiser O₂ concentration on NO_x formation and reduction have been analysed. With increasing burner oxygen ratio, an increase of NO_x emissions has been obtained for air and CO₂/O₂ in both, swirl flame and flameless combustion. In case of the swirl flame, flue gas recirculation leads to a reduction of NO_x emissions up to 50%, whereas in case of flameless combustion this reduction is around 40% compared to CO₂/O₂. No significant impact of the oxidiser O₂ concentration in the CO₂/O₂ mixture on NO_x emissions is observed in the range between 18 and 27 vol.% in swirl flames. An analysis of NO_x formation and reduction mechanisms showed, that the observed reduction of NO_x emissions by flue gas recirculation cannot be attributed to the reduction of recirculated NO_x alone, but also to a reduced conversion of fuel-N to NO.     

Co-firing characteristics of rice husk and coal in a cyclonic fluidized-bed combustor (Ψ-FBC) under controlled bed temperatures

This study extensively investigated temperature and emission characteristics, and the performance of co-firing rice husk with coal in a cyclonic fluidized-bed combustor (Ψ-FBC) of 125 kW_th nominal capacity. The Ψ-FBC integrated the distinct features of cyclonic/vortex and fluidized-bed combustion. Fluidization, without any inert material, can be accomplished by the stirring blades and vortex ring. The combustor was equipped with a multi-passes water coil to regulate the bed temperatures, varying 800-900 °C. Rice husk was co-fired with coal, a supplementary fuel, with coal blending ratios of 0-25% by thermal basis. The radial temperature profiles displayed vortex combustion along the wall, while the axial temperature profiles suggested a well-mixed condition in the lower part. The large depletion of O₂ and proliferation of CO in the lower part revealed vigorous combustion beneath the vortex ring. A reducing atmosphere appeared unfavorable to NO_x formation. The combustor showed satisfied E_c, mostly >98.5%. The optimum operating conditions with respect to NO_x emissions were: (1) the thermal percentage of coal not >20%, and (2) bed temperatures between 800 and 850 °C. Otherwise, NO_x emissions would exceed the regulations; even CO and SO₂ emissions were well acceptable.     

Influence of CeO2 on NOx emission during iron ore sintering

The evolution of NO_x during coke combustion in the presence and absence of CeO₂ was studied in a quartz fixed bed reactor. The distribution of CeO₂ in the coke was examined by SEM, and the effects of CeO₂ loading and CeO₂ particle size on NO_x emission were discussed. NO_x emission was also investigated by sintering pot tests with CeO₂ modified coke as sintering fuel. The results showed that CeO₂ was catalytically active in promoting not only coke combustion but also NO_x reduction. SEM examination indicated that the CeO₂ particles were well distributed on the surface and in pore canals of coke. In coke combustion experiments, NO_x and CO emission decreased with increasing CeO₂ loading up to 2.0 wt.% and decreasing CeO₂ particle size (28–150 µm), while sintering pot tests showed that NO_x emission decreased by 18.8% with 2.0 wt.% CeO₂ modified coke as sintering fuel.     

Experimental study of n-butanol additive and multi-injection on HD diesel engine performance and emissions

Experimental study was conducted to investigate the influence of the diesel fuel n-butanol content on the performance and emissions of a heavy duty direct injection diesel engine with multi-injection capability. At fixed engine speed and load, exhaust gas recirculation rates were adjusted to keep NO_x emission at 2.0 g/kW h. Diesel fuels with different amounts (0%, 5%, 10% and 15% by volume) of n-butanol were used. The results show that the n-butanol addition can significantly improve soot and CO emissions at constant specific NO_x emission without a serious impact on the break specific fuel consumption and NO_x. The impacts of pilot and post injection on engine characteristics by using blended fuels are similar to that found by using pure diesel. Early pilot injection reduces soot emission, but results in a dramatic increase of CO. Post injection reduces soot and CO emissions effectively. Under each injection strategy, the increase of fuel n-butanol content leads to further reduction of soot. A triple-injection strategy with the highest n-butanol fraction used in this study offers the lowest soot emission.     

Future Challenges in Automotive Emission Control

The emissions from automotive vehicles are discussed in a global perspective. Scenarios for future energy production, energy consumption, growth of population and trade are considered as major drivers for the emission legislation. In particular the propulsion chain from energy via fuel and drive train is considered as a coupled system and innovation or breakthrough in one area will change the competitiveness for technologies in other areas. Presently the trade-off between engine-out NO _x emissions and fuel consumptions put focus on NO _x reduction in oxygen excess. The major technological and scientific challenges for catalytic lean NO _x reduction are discussed.     

Improved emission characteristics of HCCI engine by various premixed fuels and cooled EGR

This work investigates partial HCCI (homogeneous charge compression ignition) combustion as a control mechanism for HCCI combustion. The premixed fuel is supplied via a port fuel injection system located in the intake port of DI diesel engine. Cooled EGR is introduced for the suppression of advanced autoignition of the premixed fuel. The premixed fuels used in this experiment are gasoline, diesel, and n-heptane. The results show that with diesel premixed fuel, a simultaneous decrease of NO_x and soot can be obtained by increasing the premixed ratio. However, when the inlet charge is heated for the improved vaporization of diesel fuel, higher inlet temperature limits the operational range of HCCI combustion due to severe knocking and high NO_x emission at high premixed ratios. Gasoline premixing shows the most significant effects in the reductions of NO_x and soot emissions, compared to other kinds of premixed fuels.