Impact of Forest Fuels on Gas Emissions in Coal Slurry Fuel Combustion

Abstract

Anthropogenic emissions from coal combustion pose a serious threat to human wellbeing. One prospective way to solve this problem is by using slurry fuels instead of coal. The problem is especially pressing in China and Russia, so these countries need reliable experimental data on the SOx and NOx emissions reduction range more than others do. The experiments in this research are based on the components that are typical of Russia. Experimental research was conducted on the way typical forest fuels (ground pine needles, leaves and their mixtures, bark, sawdust, and charcoal) affect the gas emissions from the combustion of slurry fuels based on the wastes. It was established that using forest fuels as additives to coal-water slurries reduces SOx and NOx emissions by 5–91% as compared to coal or to slurries based on used turbine oil. It was revealed that even small concentrations of such additives (7–15%) could result in a several-fold reduction in SOx and NOx. The higher the temperature, the more prominent the role of forest biomass. The calculated complex criterion illustrates that forest fuels increase the performance indicator of fuel suspensions by 1.2–10 times.