Numerical and Experimental Investigations on Reducing Particle Accumulation for SCR-deNOx Facilities

Abstract

Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) is widely used to remove nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the flue gas of coal-fired power plants. The accumulation of ash particles inside the SCR-deNOx facility will increase the risk of catalyst deactivation or even damage. This paper presents the numerical and experimental investigations on the particle dispersal approach for the SCR-deNOx facility of a 1000 MW coal-fired power plant. The accumulation of different-sized particles is evaluated based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. To prevent particles from accumulation, an optimized triangular deflector is proposed and attempts are made to find out the optimal installing position of the deflector. For the π-type SCR-deNOx facilities, the particle accumulation predominantly occurred on one side of the catalysts’ entrance, which corresponds to the inner side of the wedge-shaped turning. It is indicated that particles larger than 8.8 × 10−2 mm are responsible for the significant accumulation. The triangular deflector is proved to be an effective way to reduce particle accumulation and is found most efficient when it is installed at the high-speed area of the vertical duct. Flow model test (FMT) is carried out to validate the dispersal effect for the particle with relatively large sizes and the optimal installing position of the triangular deflector.