Jin-Han Yun

Thermogravimetric study for the co-combustion of coal and dried sewage sludge

The co-combustion of dried sewage sludge with coal is a promising method to dispose of and treat sewage sludge waste. Because sewage sludge has a different elemental composition than coal, the co-combustion of sewage sludge with coal may have different combustion characteristics than the single combustion of coal. In this study, the co-combustion of dried sewage sludge with coal was tested varying heating rates and mixing ratios of the dried sewage sludge. The results were analyzed using thermogravimetric (TG) and derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) curves and modeled using Ozawa-Flynn-Wall and Vyazovkin models. The mixed samples of coal and dried sewage sludge showed similar TG curves to the coal sample. The co-combustion showed activation energies close to that of the single coal combustion. This suggests that the co-combustion of coal and dried sewage sludge has similar combustion behavior to the single combustion of coal for mixing percentages of dried sewage sludge up to 20%.

Effects of Hydrocarbon Addition on Cellular Instabilities in Expanding Syngas-Air Spherical Premixed Flames

Experiments were conducted in a constant-pressure combustion chamber to investigate the effects of hydrocarbon addition on cellular instabilities of syngas-air flames. The measured laminar burning velocities were compared with the predicted results computed using reliable kinetic mechanisms with detailed transport and chemistry. The cellular instabilities that included hydrodynamic and diffusional-thermal instabilities of the hydrocarbon-added syngas-air flames were identified and evaluated. Further, experimentally measured critical Peclet numbers for fuel-lean flames were compared with the predicted results. Experimental results showed that the laminar burning velocities decreased significantly with an increase in the amount of hydrocarbon added in the reactant mixtures. With addition of propane and butane, the propensity for cell formation was significantly diminished whereas the cellular instabilities for methane-added syngas-air flames were not suppressed.

Behavior of heavy metals in air pollution control devices of 2,400 kg/h municipal solid waste incinerator

We analyzed the behavior of heavy metals, such as Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, and Hg, in air pollution control devices of a municipal solid waste incinerator. For this study, a municipal solid waste incinerator with a burning capacity of 2,400 kg/h was selected. A semi-dry reactor (SDR), fabric filter, and wet scrubber were installed to serve as air pollution control devices. Flue gas was sampled upstream and downstream of each air pollution control device to determine the heavy metal concentrations therein. Ash was collected from the furnace, boiler, SDR, and fabric filter to determine the heavy metal concentration in the ash produced by each device. Each heavy metal was found to have a different fate in the incinerator and air pollution control devices. Cd and Pb were mostly present in the fabric filter ash, whereas Cr, Cu, and Ni were most prevalent in the bottom ash of the furnace and boiler, and Zn was present in the bottom and fabric filter ash at a ratio of 7: 3. However, only a few percent of Hg was identified in the ash from the furnace, boiler, SDR, and fabric filter; the majority of Hg passed through the fabric filter and existed in an oxidized form. The wet scrubber exhibited high control efficiency for oxidized mercury, and the injection of commercial activated carbon at a rate of 0.2 g/Sm3 resulted in 93.2% mercury removal efficiency.

Study on Heat-Loss-Induced Self-Excitation in Laminar Lifted Jet Flames

We experimentally investigated lifted propane jet flames diluted with nitrogen to obtain flame-stability maps based on heat-loss-induced self-excitation. We found that heat-loss-induced self-excitations are caused by conductive heat loss from premixed flame branches to trailing diffusion flames as well as soot radiation. The conductive-heat-loss-induced self-excitation at frequencies less than 0.1 Hz is explained well by a suggested mechanism, whereas the oscillation of the soot region induces a self-excitation of lift-off height of the order of 0.1 Hz. The suggested mechanism is also verified from additive experiments in a room at constant temperature and humidity. The heat-loss-induced self-excitation is explained by the Strouhal numbers as a function of the relevant parameters.