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Title: Low pollution method of burning fuels

Patent ·
OSTI ID:6649292

A low pollution method of burning a fuel comprises gasifying the fuel in a gasifier bed containing particles which are fluidized by a fluidizing gas containing substantially no inert components. The resulting combustible gas is burned with air diluted with nitrogen to reduce NO /SUB x/ formation. In addition, NO /SUB x/ production from the nitrogen content of the fuel is reduced as a result of the gasification of the fuel to combustible gas before combustion with air. Preferably the gasifier bed contains CaO to fix sulfur from the fuel as CaS. In one embodiment, the gasifier bed (51) contains CaSO/sub 4/ and the fluidizing gas contains H/sub 2/, inter alia, which mediates the transfer to the fuel of chemically-bound oxygen from the CaSO/sub 4/ (which is thereby reduced to CaS). Particles containing CaS are passed to an oxidizer bed (72) wherein they are fluidized by air. The CaS is exothermically oxidized to CaSO/sub 4/ by extracting oxygen from the air which is thereby heated and substantially exhausted of oxygen. The hot CaSO/sub 4/ is transferred from the oxidizer bed (72) to the gasifier bed (51) for gasifying further amounts of fuel, and the hot oxygen-depleted air is cooled by heat exchange (in 80) with boiler feed water, and then added to combustion air (in 69) to reduce the peak flame temperature when the combustible gas is burned at the burner (56) thereby mitigating NO /SUB x/ production from reactions in the flame between oxygen and nitrogen from the atmosphere.

Assignee:
Exxon Research and Engineering Co.
Patent Number(s):
US 4435148
OSTI ID:
6649292
Resource Relation:
Patent Priority Date: Priority date 24 Mar 1981, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK); Other Information: PAT-APPL-360413
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English