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Mixing and kinetic processes in pulverized coal combustors. Summary report

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6724813· OSTI ID:6724813

An atmospheric coal combustion furnace was designed and constructed to study the effects of turbulent mixing and the kinetic processes occurring in pulverized coal furnaces. The coal furnace feeds up to 57 kg of coal per hour. The reactor was constructed in sections with one section containing several sampling probes. The probes allow for simultaneous gas-particulate sampling and are positioned in the reactor to sample both radially and axially. The use of gas and particulate tracers in conjunction with the sampling and analysis permits the determination of the local extent of mixing of primary and secondary gases, the local extent of particle dispersion, the local extent of particle reaction and the local extent of pollutant formation. The atmospheric coal furnace has been constructed, checked out, and the test data have been collected. Two additional tasks have supported the combustion testing: a pulverized coal furnace modeling development and a series of cold-flow jet mixing experiments. Two computer models have been identified. The first, a one-dimensional model which is fully developed, empirically inputs jet and recirculation mixing rates and accounts for coal pyrolysis, radiation, char oxidation, gas phase reaction, and particle-gas heat transfer effects. The one-dimensional model has been successfully applied to predict the characteristics of laboratory and industrial pulverized coal and furnaces and gasifiers. The second model is a generalized multidimensional model whose development is continuing. The cold-flow tests have investigated the mixing characteristics of particle laden, confined jets under conditions that simulate the operations of industrial pulverized coal furnaces and gasifiers but without chemical reaction. The effects of geometry and flow conditions have been investigated in 120 cold tests.

Research Organization:
Brigham Young Univ., Provo, UT (USA). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
OSTI ID:
6724813
Report Number(s):
EPRI-FP-806-SY
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English