G. X. Yue

Latest Development of CFB Boilers in China

The circulating fluidized bed (CFB) coal-fired boiler has being rapidly developed in China since 1980s and becomes a key clean coal technology used in thermal and power generation. In this paper, the development history and development status of the CFB boiler in China are introduced. The development history of the CFB boiler in China is divided into four periods and the important features of each period are given. Some latest research activities and important results on CFB boilers, and the typical achievements and newest development of the CFB boiler in China are also introduced. In addition, a few challenges and development directions including the capacity scaling up, SO2 removal and energy saving are discussed.

Research on Flow Non-Uniformity in Main Circulation Loop of a CFB Boiler with Multiple Cyclones

Maldistribution of gas-solid tow-phase flow field in circulating fluidized bed (CFB) can cause a series of problems, such as thermal deviation, wear of water walls, etc. In this study, a cold model CFB facility, which was scaled down from a commercial 300MWe CFB boiler with three cyclones placed in an array, was built up and a series of experiments were conducted the flow non-uniformity. The results showed that in CFB boiler with multiple cyclones, the distribution of bed material in the circulation loops is different and uncertain. The gas-solid two-phase flow in the furnace is unbiased, even the circulating rates in the circulation loops are different. The circulating rate in the middle loop is larger than that in the side loops. The difference is less than 10%.

Heat Transfer Coefficient Distribution in the Furnace of a 300MWe CFB Boiler

Properly understanding and calculating the distributions of heat flux and heat transfer coefficient (α) in the furnace is important in designing a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler, especially with supercritical parameters. Experimental study on the heat transfer in a commercial 300MWe CFB boiler was conducted. The α from the bed to the water wall was measured by the finite element method (FEM), at five different heights. The influence of suspension density and bed temperature on α was analyzed. It was found that the pressure difference between the inlet and exit of the three cyclones, and the chamber pressure of the corresponding loop seal were not equal. The results indicated the suspension solid density was non-uniform in the cross section at a certain height. Consequently, the distributions of heat flux and α in the horizontal plane in the furnace was non-uniform. The furnace can divided into three sections according to the arrangement of the platen superheaters hanging in the upper CFB furnace. In each section, the heat flux near the center showed increasing trend.

Destruction of N2O over Different Bed Materials

Since under fluidized bed conditions N2O is produced as a by product of the De-NOx process, the thermal decomposition of N2O was investigated under conditions relevant to those in FBC installations. Laboratory experiments were made in a current of nitrogen using a fixed bed of pure quartz sand or sand with 10% (wt.) of the solids tested, CaO and Fe2O3. With a sand bed the decomposition was slightly faster than in the empty reactor and the reaction was first order with respect to [N2O]. Both fresh CaO and Fe2O3 strongly catalysed N2O decomposition. Their effectiveness diminished after they were heated to temperatures typical for FBC, but they still retained appreciable activity. This activity went down with increasing particle size. The flue gas components investigated were O2, water vapour and CO2. Their presence appeared to interfere with N2O decomposition and increased with the concentration of the additive. The observations indicated that this could only be due to heterogeneous effects. Thus the effects of the bed solids and of the gas phase components are opposed. The effects associated with N2O decomposition have proved to be surprisingly complex and instead of supplying simple answers, this work uncovered more problems.

Combustion Model for a CFB Boiler with Consideration of Post-Combustion in the Cyclone

Severe post combustion in the cyclone of CFB boilers could destroy heat absorbing balance among the heating surfaces and cause overheating problem for reheaters and superheaters. However, post combustion in the cyclone is rarely considered in the design phase of a CFB boiler. Based on our previous experiment results, group combustion model is used in this study to estimate the combustion of particles in the cyclone. It is found that the combustion of particles in the cyclone did not contribute as much as we anticipated to the temperature augment in the cyclone because of great oxygen diffusion resistance in near-wall particle layer. Post combustion model in the cyclone is then added into a one-dimensional combustion model of CFB boiler, in which the gas-solid flow, reaction, and heat absorption at different vertical locations in a CFB boiler can be well predicted with the knowledge of operation parameters. The new model was used to estimate the influence of some operation parameters on the post combustion in the cyclone and heat releasing fraction in the cyclone. The prediction results are very good.

Hydrodynamic Model with Binary Particle Diameters to Predict Axial Voidage Profile in a CFB Combustor

A hydrodynamic model with binary particle diameters was developed to better predict axial voidage profile in a CFB combustor. In the model, the CFB is regarded as a superposition of two sub-beds, a fast fluidized bed in the upper riser with a characteristic particle diameter of O.2mm and a bubbling fluidized bed or turbulent bed in the bottom riser with a characteristic particle diameter of 2mm. Furthermore, a variable critical particle diameter whose terminal velocity equals to the superficial gas velocity was employed to determine which flow regime the particle belongs to. The results show that binary particle diameter model has the advantages in describing wide particle diameter distribution while reducing the complexity of computation. The model was verified by the field data of voidage profile in a 300MW CFB boiler.

Experimental Study on Gas-Solid Flow Charcteristics in a CFB Riser Of 54M in Height

Understanding the height effect on the gas-solid flow characteristics in a CFB riser is important as more and more large capacity CFB boilers are used and to be developed. In this study, a cold CFB test rig with a riser of 240mm in LD. and 38m and 54m in height was built. The influences of operating conditions, such as solid inventory and fluidizing gas velocity, on the axial voidage profile along the riser were assessed. When the gas velocity exceeds the transport velocity, the S-shaped profile of voidage in the riser was established. At the same time, the voidage in top-dilute section reached the saturation carrying capacity, and the solids circulation rate did not vary with the height of the riser nor the solids inventory. It was also found the critical solids inventory for the saturation carrying capacity increases as the riser height increases. When the height was changed from 38m to 54m, the critical solids inventory increased about 25% from about 40kg to about 50kg, and pressure drop in the furnace also increased about 25%.

Characteristics of a Modified Bell Jar Nozzle Designed for CFB Boilers

One of the most important factors for trouble free operation of CFB boilers is the pressure drop of the gas distributor. The pressure drop characteristic of the gas distributor depends on the nozzles used. A modified bell jar nozzle was designed and developed for use with large-scale industrial circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boilers. The nozzle consists of a vertically tapered tube with a larger end at the top, a float which is free to move within the tube and a cover with holes. The pressure drop characteristics of the nozzle were measured experimentally by using different floats and moving out the float respectively. The gas distributor equipped with the modified bell jar nozzle has a unique pressure drop characteristic. It has a higher resistance than other nozzles which results in the formation of an effective barrier against backflow at low boiler loads, which results from the pressure fluctuation caused by bubble burst and solids coming from the recycle system. In addition, it has a relatively low pressure drop at high or full boiler loads, which can greatly reduce the energy cost of the primary air fan.

Experimental Study on Heat Transfer in a Rolling Ash Cooler used in the CFB Boiler

From the view of the reliability and the techno-economy, the rolling ash cooler is feasible for the large-scale CFB boilers. However, existing studies on heat transfer in rolling ash cooler mainly focused on heat balance calculation and cold, hot test on the ash cooler outputs. In the heat balance calculation, the value of the overall heat transfer coefficient (a) is usually estimated by the experience, lacking of the support of experimental data.

Combustion characteristics of refuse derived fuels in circulating fluidised bed combustor

AbstractFluidised bed combustion (FBC) is a technology which can use waste materials and low quality fuels along with coal. Mixed with wastes, coal can burn more efficiently. The present study aimed at the co-combustion of refuse derived fuels (RDF) with coal in a bench scale circulating fluidised bed combustor (CFBC). Tests were carried out at different ratios of RDF/coal at temperatures from 830 to 960°C. Compared with coal alone, RDF–coal mixtures gave a more uniform temperature distribution in the combustor and the emissions were lower when burning. Improved efficiency and stability of co-combustion were attributed to the higher volatile matter content in RDF. However, the advantages could be lessened if a too high secondary air ratio was used. NOx and SO2 emissions were due to the presence of S (mainly in the coal) and fuel N (more than S) in both fuels. The SO2 concentration decreased with increasing RDF rich in Ca in the fuel. It was shown that CFBC units could burn RDF efficiently and cleanly.