Co-firing based on biomass torrefaction in a pulverized coal boiler with aim of 100% fuel switching

Jun Li, Artur Brzdekiewicz, Weihong Yang and Wlodzimierz Blasiak

Applied Energy, 2012, vol. 99, issue C, 344-354

Abstract: Torrefied biomass has several benefits, such as higher energy density, good grindability, higher flowability and uniformity. The process of torrefaction moves the chemical and physical properties of raw biomass close to that of bituminous coal, which allows co-utilization with high substitution ratios of biomass in the existing coal-fired boilers without major modifications. In this study, a torrefaction based co-firing system was proposed and studied. Devolatilization and char oxidize kinetics of the torrefied biomass have been investigated experimentally. CFD modeling of co-firing with varying substitutions of torrefied biomass in a pulverized coal boiler have been carried out. To figure out the boiler performance when co-firing torrefied biomass, five different cases were involved and simulated, coal only, 25% biomass, 50% biomass, 75% biomass, and 100% biomass on thermal basis, respectively. The results showed torrefaction is able to provide a technical option for high substitution ratios of biomass in the co-firing system. The case-study pulverized coal boiler could be fired 100% torrefied biomass without obvious decreasing of the boiler efficiency and fluctuation of boiler load. More positively, the net CO2 and the NOx emissions significantly reduced with increasing of biomass substitutions in the co-firing system.

Keywords: Co-firing; Torrefaction; Biomass; CFD; Pulverized coal boiler (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (68)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261912004199
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:appene:v:99:y:2012:i:c:p:344-354

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 405891/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2012.05.046

Access Statistics for this article

Applied Energy is currently edited by J. Yan

More articles in Applied Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().