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

Title: Atmospheric Fluidized Bed Combustion testing of North Dakota lignite

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5290712

The sulfur retention by the inherent alkali, and added limestone sorbent, perform about the same and are reasonably predictable within a range of about +-10% retention by application of alkali to sulfur ratio. Temperature has a substantial effect on the retention of sulfur by the inherent alkali or limestone. The temperature effect is not yet fully understood but it appears to be different for different coals and operational conditions. The emission of SO/sub 2/ from the fluid bed burning the Beulah lignite sample used for these tests can be controlled to meet or better the current emission standards. The injection of limestone to an alkali-to-sulfur molar ratio of 1.5 to 1, should lower the SO/sub 2/ emissions below the current requirement of 0.6 lb SO/sub 2//10/sup 6/ Btu to 0.4 lb SO/sub 2//10/sup 6/ Btu, a safe 33% below the standard. Agglomeration of bed material, and consequent loss of fluidization quality can be a problem when burning high sodium lignite in a silica bed. There appears, however, to be several ways of controlling the problem including the injection of calcium compounds, and careful control of operating conditions. The heat transfer coefficients measured in the CPC and GFETC tests are comparable to data obtained by other researchers, and agree reasonably well with empirical conditions. The NO/sub x/ emissions measured in all of the tests on Beulah lignite are below the current New Source Performance Standard of 0.5 lb NO/sub 2//10/sup 6/ Btu input. Combustion efficiencies for the Beulah lignite are generally quite high when ash recycle is being used. Efficiencies in the range of 98% to 99%+ have been measured in all tests using this fuel.

Research Organization:
Combustion Power Co., Inc., Menlo Park, CA (USA); Department of Energy, Grand Forks, ND (USA). Grand Forks Energy Technology Center
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC03-78ET12297
OSTI ID:
5290712
Report Number(s):
CONF-800428-7
Resource Relation:
Conference: 6. international conference on fluidized bed combustion, Atlanta, GA, USA, 9 Apr 1980
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English