Computational fluid dynamics modeling of biomass co-firing in a 300 MW pulverized coal furnace

Abstract

Biomass energy is one of the most accessible and readily available carbon-neutral energy options as a RES. It is regarded as a viable alternative fuel for coal combustion, particularly for biomass co-firing with pulverized coal, with numerous applications. The CFD can provide reasonably accurate solutions to complex thermo-chemical-fluid interactions, which is useful for understanding the design or retrofit of boilers and can save time, money, and effort. In this study, a CFD simulation of a 300 MW pulverized coal boiler with biomass co-firing was performed to investigate the impact of biomass co-firing with coal, considering the biomass co-firing ratio, mixing effect, and feeding temperature. The results show that the flow field in the furnace does not change significantly under different bio-mass blending ratio. Biomass co-firing can reduce peak temperatures in the furnace and make the temperature distribution more uniform. The concentration of unburned carbon in the furnace decreases as the biomass blending ratio increases. Furthermore, biomass blending has a significant impact on nitrogen oxide reduction, with NOx emissions reduced by 20% and 28%, respectively, when the biomass blending ratio is 15% and 30%. The change of parameters inside the furnace caused by the reduction of biomass powder feeding temperature about 80 K is not significant. On the other hand, co-firing biomass with coal, reduces the risk of biomass spontaneous combustion while maintaining the furnace combustion stability and boiler combustion efficiency. The optimum ratio of biomass co-firing ration is deduced in this study is up to 20%.