Combustion Technologies

Bengt-Johan Skrifvars

Chemistry in Combustion Processes I Intensive course, bo Akademi University, March 2010

Combustion technologies
Principles - Burning of gaseous-, liquid-, solid fuels Practice - Various firing techniques; burner firing, grate firing, fluidized beds - Furnace and flue gas - Boiler and power plant

Furnace, flue gas channel and steam cycle

Flue gas

Steam generator

Gas cleaning

Steam turbine G

Heat recovery

Combustion Condenser Air Fuel

Combustion of a gas
CO2 +H2O

Air
O2 CxHy

CO2 +H2O

Gas Diffusion flame

Gas + air Premixed flame

Combustion of a liquid fuel

CO2 +H2O

Air Liquid fuel

CxHy O2

Evaporation and gas combustion

Combustion of a liquid fuel

Liquid fuel

CO2 +H2O

Air
O2 CxHy

(Atomization)

Evaporation and gas combustion

Combustion of a char forming liquid fuel

Char forming liquid fuel
CO2 +H2O

Air
O2 CxHy CO2

Atomization
O2

Pyrolysis/ devolatilisation and gas combustion

Char combustion

Ash

Combustion of a solid fuel

H2O CO2 +H2O

Solid fuel Air

O2 CO2

Drying

CxHy

O2

Pyrolysis/ devolatilisation and gas combustion

Char combustion

Ash

Combustion of fuels
Gases; i) gas combustion (diffusion or pre-mixed) Liquids; i) heating and atomization ii) evaporation and gas combustion (diffusion flame) Char forming liquids; i) heating and atomization ii) devolatilization and gas combustion (diffusion flame) iii) heterogeneous char combustion Solids; i) heating and drying ii) devolatilization and gas combustion (diffusion flame) iii) heterogeneous char combustion

Combustion of fuels

Different amount of time needed to accomplish good combustion depending on the fuel Different types of techniques needed for different types fuels

Burner firing

Gas, liquid and pulverized solid fuels High combustion temperatures (> 1000oC) Short residence times

Burner firing of a gaseous fuel - turbulent diffusion flame

Combustion air in swirl like motion Burn-out pocket of combustion products

Gaseous fuel

Combustion air
Detached pocket of burning material

Burner firing of a liquid fuel

Droplets Filaments

Liquid sheet

Liquid fuel

Vaporized fuel droplets. Behave like a diffusion gas flame

Pressure atomizing nozzle

Burner firing of a solid fuel

Solid fuel + primary air Secondary air Devolatilization and gas combustion Char combustion

Ash

Burner firing concepts I Burner + furnace

Flue Gas + Fly Ash

Wall-fired
Fuel + Air

Boxer-fired

Bottom Ash (solid fuels)

Tangentially fired

Furnace size dependence of fuel

Flue Gas + Fly Ash Flue Gas

Coal + Air

Oil + Air

Bottom ash

Burner firing concepts II Gas turbine

Flue gas Fuel + Air

Burner firing
Gaseous fuels - turbulent diffusion flame premixed flame not possible in burners due to the back fire risk - good mixing with air essential (turbulence) laminar diffusion flame not possible in burners due to too incomplete combustion (soot) - practical applications: burner + furnace gas turbine

Burner firing

Liquid fuels - atomizing (droplet formation) and good mixing with air essential for good combustion (high burn-out) - fuel droplet size 10 - 100 m - char forming liquids need longer residence times than non-char forming ones - practical applications: burner + furnace gas turbine (non-char forming liquids)

Burner firing
Solid fuels - fuel milling important for good combustion (small, even particle size distribution) - good mixing with air essential for good combustion (high burn-out) - fuel particle size 0.1 - 1 mm - longer burn-out times required than for gas or liquid burners (affects the furnace size) - practical applications; burner + furnace wet bottom: ash removed as liquid slag from the furnace bottom dry bottom: ash removed as solid from the flue gases

Burner firing
+ + + + unlimited size efficient combustion, high burnout good load flexibility user friendly fly ash (solid fuels) high NOx emissions if no reduction device SOx reduction requires separate flue gas cleaning high dust load in flue gas (solid fuels) slagging and fouling (solid fuels)

Grate firing
Solid fuels stationary, moving grates, spreader stokers Fuel particle size > 1 cm High furnace temperature (> 1000oC) Ash removed mainly through the grate (80 %)

Grate firing
Fuel Air

Travelling Grate

Bottom ash Air Drying Pyrolysis and gas combustion Air Air Char combustion Ash

Grate Configurations
Fuel Travelling Grate Air Fuel Spreader Stoker Air

Travelling Grate

Bottom ash Air Air Air

Air Air Air

Grate firing
+ suitable for small scale (simple, cheap) + no pretreatment of fuel + ash removed mainly through grate - incomplete combustion (CO-emissions, rest char in ash) - slow load change rate - some fuels unsuitable (ash melting on the grate, fuel baking problems) - grate construction heavy - SOx and NOx reduction requires separate flue gas cleaning devices

Fluidized bed combustion

Solid fuels - bubbling fluidized bed boilers (BFB) fluidization velocity approx. 1-3 m/s - circulating fluidized bed boilers (CFBC) fluidization velocity approx. 6-10 m/s Atmospheric (AFBC) and pressurized (PFBC)

Bubbling Fluidized Bed Combustion

Flue Gas + Fly Ash Fuel: Fresh, Partly
Pyrolysed, Char

Bed material: Air Fuel Air

Quartz, Limestone; fresh, calcined, sulphated

Void Space Ash

Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion

Cyclone Flue Gas + Fly Ash Fuel: Fresh,
Partly Pyrolysed, Char

Limestone: Air Fuel Air

Fresh, Calcined, Sulphated

Void Space Ash

Fluidized bed combustion

Fuel particle size 0.1 - 10 mm Bed material particle size 0.1 - 1 mm Low furnace temperature (800 - 900oC) Long residence time of fuel in the furnace Addition of SOx sorbents to the furnace Ash removed through bed, rest from the flue gases

Fluidized bed boilers

+ + + + + low combustion temperature suitable for a variety of solid fuels good combustion efficiency no Thermal NOx formation easy SOx reduction possibilities

- ash-bed material interactions may lead to bed defluidisation - residual ash may be difficult to dispose - high efficiency reduction of all emissions (excl. CO2) (CO, NOx, SOx, N2O) simultaneously hard to achieve

Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion

Pressure vessel Pressure vessel

Air Fuel Air

BFB mode commercially available

Air Fuel Air

CFB mode at demonstration stage

Air Pressure vessel

Fuel

Pressurised Combustion Gas cleaning

Gas turbine

Steam turbine G

Heat recovery

Flue gas

Condenser

Pressurised combustion

Pressurized fluidized bed combustion

Boiler inside a pressure vessel Working pressures 10-20 bar BFB mode commercialized, CFB mode at demo stage + smaller size than atmospheric versions + gas (expansion) turbine gives additional electricity - new (uncertain) technology - solids cleaning from the flue gases problematic

Combustion technologies Definitions

Fixed bed firing: The bon fire Grate firing: A firing system where a fuel lies on a grid when it is burned and part of the combustion air is supplied through the grid Stoker firing (Stokers): A continuously functioning grate firing system, i.e. continuous fuel feed in and continuous ash feed out Burner firing (suspension firing): A firing system where the fuel is blown as a dust or as droplets into the furnace together with part of the combustion air and is burned in a gas suspension (pulverized coal PC, pulverized fuel PF, gas and liquid fuels also gas turbines) Fluidized bed combustion: A firing system where the fuel is fired in a suspension of an inert solid media and combustion air. circulating (CFBC), bubbling (BFBC), pressurized (PFBC)

Furnace, flue gas channel and steam cycle

Flue gas

Steam generator

Gas cleaning

Steam turbine G

Heat recovery

Combustion Condenser Air Fuel

Economizer Superheaters and reheaters

Furnace

Boiler tubes Burners

LUVO

Steam drum
Cyclone

Superheaters and reheaters Economizers

Fuel feed Air feed

Furnace

Boiler tubes

Ash hoppers LUVO

Furnace, flue gas channel, steam cycle Definitions

Furnace: The fireplace where the actual combustion takes place Burner: The device that feeds in the fuel and part of the air Heat exchangers: The device that transfers heat from the flue gas to the media to be heated (here water and/or steam) Super heater: The heat exchangers that heat up the steam Boiler tubes: The heat exchangers boil that boil the water Economizer: The heat exchangers that heat up the feed water Air pre-heater (LUVO): The heat exchanger that heats up the combustion air Steam drum: The device separating the steam from the water in the conventional steam boiler Condenser: The device condensing the steam exiting the steam turbine at a low as possible temperature

Conventional steam cycle

Flue gas

Steam turbine G

Steam generator

Condenser Air Fuel

Power plant

Meri-Pori power plant

- PC fired - Input: 1300MWth - Output: 560MWe - 440 kg/s, 540oC, 240 bar - Supercritical once-through type with reheater - SCR, ESP, wet FGD

Power plants Definitions I

Boiler: Closed pressurized vessel for production of hot water or steam Steam generator: Closed pressurized vessel for production of steam by vaporizing water with heat from a high temperature source Power plant: A plant that produces electricity only CHP plant (Combined heat and power): A plant that produces both both heat and electricity Combined cycle: A power or CHP plant that consists of both a gas turbine and a steam turbine Once-through type boiler: A steam cycle without a steam drum, working at pressures near or above the critical steam pressure of 221 bars Supercritical steam data: A steam cycle working at pressures above the critical steam pressure of 221 bars

Power plants Definitions II

Dust removal: The removing of fly ash ESP: Electrostatic precipitator, a device in the cold end of the flue gas channel that removes solid particles from the flue gas by a electrostatic (magnetic) field Bag filter: A device in the cold end of the flue gas channel that removes solid particles from the flue gas by textile bags Ash hopper: A fly ash collector, usually at the bottom end of a flue gas channel part where it turns. Forces the gas to turn more than what the particles can follow. Cyclone: A particle/gas or liquid/gas separator where the separation is based on gravitational and inertial forces

Power plants Definitions III

Primary air: That part of the combustion air that is fed into the lower furnace close to/together with the fuel Secondary air: That part of the combustion air that is fed into the furnace after the fuel feed Tertiary air: That part of the combustion air that is fed into the upper part of the furnace to ensure complete combustion Fly ash: That part of the uncombustible rest of the fuel, the ash, which is carried away from the furnace with the flue gases into the flue gas channel Bottom ash: That part of the ash which exits the furnace from its bottom part Bed: The inert solid particle bed in the furnace of fluidized bed combustion system into which the fuel is feed and through which part of the combustion air is fed

Power plants Definitions IV

FGD: Flue gas desulfurization device, usually based on wet or semi-dry absorption processes SCR: Selective catalytic reduction, a flue gas NOx removing system, consisting of ammonia injection into the flue gas at some 200oC followed by a catalysator SNCR: Selective non-catalytic reduction, a flue gas NOx removing system, consisting of ammonia injection into the flue gas at some 800oC