skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Sorbent utilization prediction methodology: sulfur control in fluidized-bed combustors

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6892681· OSTI ID:6892681

The United States Government has embarked on an ambitious program to develop and commercialize technologies to efficiently extract energy from coal in an environmentally acceptable manner. One of the more promising new technologies for steam and power generation is the fluidized-bed combustion of coal. In this process, coal is burned in a fluidized bed composed mainly of calcined limestone sorbent. The calcium oxide reacts chemically to capture the sulfur dioxide formed during the combustion and to maintain the stack gas sulfur emissions at acceptable levels. The spent sulfur sorbent, containing calcium sulfate, is a dry solid that can be disposed of along with coal ash or potentially used. Other major advantages of fluidized-bed combustion are the reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions because of the relatively low combustion temperatures, the capability of burning wide varieties of fuel, the high carbon combustion efficiencies, and the high heat-transfer coefficients. A key to the widespread commercialization of fluidized-bed technology is the ability to accurately predict the amount of sulfur that will be captured by a given sorbent. This handbook meets this need by providing a simple, yet reliable, user-oriented methodology (the ANL method) that allows performance of a sorbent to be predicted. The methodology is based on only three essential sorbent parameters, each of which can be readily obtained from standardized laboratory tests. These standard tests and the subsequent method of data reduction are described in detail.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
W-31-109-ENG-38
OSTI ID:
6892681
Report Number(s):
ANL/CEN/FE-80-10
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English