OXYGEN ENHANCED COMBUSTION FOR NOx CONTROL
Increased environmental regulations will require utility boilers to reduce NO{sub x} emissions to less than 0.15lb/MMBtu in the near term. Conventional technologies such as Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction (SNCR) are unable to achieve these lowered emission levels without substantially higher costs and major operating problems. Oxygen enhanced combustion is a novel technology that allows utilities to meet the NO{sub x} emission requirements without the operational problems that occur with SCR and SNCR. Furthermore, oxygen enhanced combustion can achieve these NO{sub x} limits at costs lower than conventional technologies. The objective of this program is to demonstrate the use of oxygen enhanced combustion as a technical and economical method of meeting the EPA State Implementation Plan for NO{sub x} reduction to less than 0.15lb/MMBtu for a wide range of boilers and coal. The oxygen enhanced coal combustion program (Task 1) focused this quarter on the specific objective of exploration of the impact of oxygen enrichment on NO{sub x} formation utilizing small-scale combustors for parametric testing. Research efforts toward understanding any limitations to the applicability of the technology to different burners and fuels such as different types of coal are underway. The objective of the oxygen transport membrane (OTM) materials development program (Task 2.1) is to ascertain a suitable material composition that can be fabricated into dense tubes capable of producing the target oxygen flux under the operating conditions. This requires that the material have sufficient oxygen permeation resulting from high oxygen ion conductivity, high electronic conductivity and high oxygen surface exchange rate. The OTM element development program (Task 2.2) objective is to develop, fabricate and characterize OTM elements for laboratory and pilot reactors utilizing quality control parameters to ensure reproducibility and superior performance. A specific goal is to achieve a material that will sinter to desired density without compromising other variables such as reaction to binder systems or phase purity. Oxygen-enhanced combustion requires a facility which is capable of supplying high purity oxygen (>99.5%) at low costs. This goal can be achieved through the thermal integration of high temperature air separation with ceramic OTM. The objective of the OTM process development program (Task 2.3) is to demonstrate successfully the program objectives on a lab-scale single OTM tube reactor under process conditions comparable to those of an optimum large-scale oxygen facility. This quarterly technical progress report will summarize work accomplished for the Program through the first quarter April--June 2000 in the following task areas: Task 1 Oxygen Enhanced Coal Combustion; Task 2 Oxygen Transport Membranes; and Task 4 Program Management.
- Research Organization:
- National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, and Albany, OR (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FC26-00NT40756
- OSTI ID:
- 788767
- Report Number(s):
- FC26-00NT40756-04; TRN: AH200136%%63
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Jul 2000
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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