Numerical investigation of ammonia/coal co-combustion in a low NOx swirl burner

Mingyu Liu, Sheng Chen, Hongwei Zhu, Zijian Zhou and Jingying Xu

Energy, 2023, vol. 282, issue C

Abstract: Co-firing of ammonia (NH3) and coal in boilers is a promising technology to reduce CO2 emissions from power plants. However, NH3/coal co-firing in swirl burners can impact the original flame structures and may lead to serious NOx emission issues due to the high concentration of nitrogen in NH3. In this study, a numerical simulation of a low-NOx swirl burner was carried out to investigate the changes in flame structure, carbon emission, and characteristics of NOx generation. The results show that, when the NH3 co-firing ratio is 10 cal%, the flame retains its original swirl structure, and a significant increase in NO formation is observed in situations with different injection positions. When the co-firing ratio increases to 20 cal% and 30 cal% and NH3 is injected through the central air pipe, the flame changes from a swirl flame to an elongated flame. The injected NH3 is wrapped by the low-temperature primary air, separating the NH3 from the high-temperature zone, and pyrolysis becomes the primary reaction pathway for NH3 consumption rather than oxidation. The NO concentrations measured at the chamber outlet can be reduced to 11.2mg/Nm3, which is lower than that from coal combustion. As the co-firing ratio further increases to 50 cal%, NH3 and air are well mixed and burned, forming a “candle-type” flame. This results in a significant rise in NO emissions.

Keywords: Computational fluid dynamics; Low-NOx swirl burner; NH3/Coal co-firing; NOx formation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:282:y:2023:i:c:s0360544223017528

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2023.128358

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