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Title: Nitrogen chemistry during burnout in fuel-staged combustion

Journal Article · · Combustion and Flame
; ;  [1]
  1. Technical Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby (Denmark). Dept. of Chemical Engineering

A parametric study of the chemistry of the burnout zone in reburning has been performed in laboratory plug flow reactors in the temperature range 800--1,350 K. Inlet mole fractions of NO, NH{sub 3}, HCN, CO, and O{sub 2} were varied, together with different temperatures and residence times to simulate reaction conditions in practical systems. Under lean conditions, a minimum in NO emission exists as a function of temperature. Both HCN and NH{sub 3} can act as either NO reductants or as sources for NO by oxidation. Reactions and selectivities for HCN and NH{sub 3} are controlled by the radical pool produced by fuel (CO) oxidation. As increasing amounts of CO were added, temperatures for both ignition and the minimum in NO became lower. At 2% CO, 4% O{sub 2}, and 100 ms residence time, the minimum in NO was found at approximately 1,000 K. At low temperatures, significant amounts of N{sub 2}O were measured in the reactor outlet. This is attributed to N{sub 2}O formation by HCN/NO reactions and to the slow decomposition of N{sub 2}O at these temperatures. Large reductions in NO were seen under fuel-rich conditions and at high temperatures. The observed NO reduction was very much dependent on the inlet mole fraction of O{sub 2}. Detailed chemical kinetic modeling of the experiments showed reasonable predictions for overall fuel-lean conditions, but the model failed to predict experimental results under fuel-rich conditions. The present results provide guidelines for optimizing the conditions for the burnout process of reburning, as well as other processes for NO{sub x} reduction by staged combustion. The results also provide a test basis for verifying kinetic models for nitrogen chemistry at low temperatures (800--1,350 K).

OSTI ID:
413483
Journal Information:
Combustion and Flame, Vol. 107, Issue 3; Other Information: PBD: Nov 1996
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English