CFD Evaluation of Heat Transfer and NOx Emissions When Converting a Tangentially Fired Coal Boiler to Use Methane

Kang-Min Kim, Gyu-Bo Kim, Byoung-Hwa Lee, Yoon-Ho Bae and Chung-Hwan Jeon
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Kang-Min Kim: School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea
Gyu-Bo Kim: Pusan Clean Energy Research Institute, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea
Byoung-Hwa Lee: Pusan Clean Energy Research Institute, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea
Yoon-Ho Bae: School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea
Chung-Hwan Jeon: School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea

Energies, 2021, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: The need to reduce global carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions is driving the conversion of coal-fired power plants to use methane, which can reduce CO 2 emissions by >40%. However, conducting gas firing in coal boilers changes the heat transfer profile; therefore, preliminary evaluations using computational fluid dynamics are required prior to conversion. Here, methane was used as a heat input source in the simulation of an existing coal boiler, and combustion, nitrogen oxides (NOx) emission characteristics, and heat transfer profile changes inside the boiler were analyzed. Furthermore, changes in the burner zone stoichiometric ratio (BZSR) were simulated to restore the decreased heat absorption of the furnace waterwall, revealing that air distribution could change the heat absorption of the waterwall and tube bundles. However, this change was smaller than that caused by conversion from coal to methane. Therefore, to implement gas firing in coal boilers, alternatives such as output derating, using an attemperator, or modifying heat transfer surfaces are necessary. Despite these limitations, a 70% reduction in NOx emissions was achieved at a BZSR of 0.76, compared with coal. As the BZSR contributes significantly to NOx emissions, conducting gas firing in existing coal boilers could significantly reduce NOx and CO 2 emissions.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics; tangentially fired coal boiler; conversion to methane; nitrogen oxides; heat transfer; furnace exit gas temperature (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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