Establishment of an Environmental Control Technology Laboratory with a Circulating Fluidized-Bed Combustion System
On February 14, 2002, President Bush announced the Clear Skies Initiative, a legislative proposal to control the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO{sub x}), sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}), and mercury from power plants. In response to this initiative, the National Energy Technology Laboratory organized a Combustion Technology University Alliance and hosted a Solid Fuel Combustion Technology Alliance Workshop. The workshop identified multi-pollutant control; improved sorbents and catalysts; mercury monitoring and capture; and improved understanding of the underlying reaction chemistry occurring during combustion as the most pressing research needs related to controlling environmental emissions from fossil-fueled power plants. The Environmental Control Technology Laboratory will help meet these challenges and offer solutions for problems associated with emissions from fossil-fueled power plants. The goal of this project was to develop the capability and technology database needed to support municipal, regional, and national electric power generating facilities to improve the efficiency of operation and solve operational and environmental problems. In order to effectively provide the scientific data and the methodologies required to address these issues, the project included the following aspects: (1) Establishing an Environmental Control Technology Laboratory using a laboratory-scale, simulated fluidized-bed combustion (FBC) system; (2) Designing, constructing, and operating a bench-scale (0.6 MW{sub th}), circulating fluidized-bed combustion (CFBC) system as the main component of the Environmental Control Technology Laboratory; (3) Developing a combustion technology for co-firing municipal solid waste (MSW), agricultural waste, and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) with high sulfur coals; (4) Developing a control strategy for gaseous emissions, including NO{sub x}, SO{sub 2}, organic compounds, and heavy metals; and (5) Developing new mercury capturing sorbents and new particulate filtration technologies. Major tasks during this period of the funded project's timeframe included: (1) Conducting pretests on a laboratory-scale simulated FBC system; (2) Completing detailed design of the bench-scale CFBC system; (3) Contracting potential bidders to fabricate of the component parts of CFBC system; (4) Assembling CFBC parts and integrating system; (5) Resolving problems identified during pretests; (6) Testing with available Powder River Basin (PRB) coal and co-firing of PRB coal with first wood pallet and then chicken wastes; and (7) Tuning of CFBC load. Following construction system and start-up of this 0.6 MW CFBC system, a variety of combustion tests using a wide range of fuels (high-sulfur coals, low-rank coals, MSW, agricultural waste, and RDF) under varying conditions were performed to analyze and monitor air pollutant emissions. Data for atmospheric pollutants and the methodologies required to reduce pollutant emissions were provided. Integration with a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) slipstream unit did mimic the effect of flue gas composition, including trace metals, on the performance of the SCR catalyst to be investigated. In addition, the following activities were also conducted: (1) Developed advanced mercury oxidant and adsorption additives; (2) Performed laboratory-scale tests on oxygen-fuel combustion and chemical looping combustion; and (3) Conducted statistical analysis of mercury emissions in a full-scale CFBC system.
- Research Organization:
- Western Kentucky University
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- FC26-03NT41840
- OSTI ID:
- 941660
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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ESTABLISHMENT OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY WITH A CIRCULATING FLUIDIZED-BED COMBUSTION SYSTEM
Related Subjects
01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
AGRICULTURAL WASTES
CIRCULATING SYSTEMS
COMBUSTION
ELECTRIC POWER
FLUE GAS
FLUIDIZED BEDS
FLUIDIZED-BED COMBUSTION
HEAVY METALS
MERCURY
NITROGEN OXIDES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDIZERS
POWDER RIVER BASIN
POWER PLANTS
REFUSE DERIVED FUELS
SELECTIVE CATALYTIC REDUCTION
SOLID FUELS
SOLID WASTES
SULFUR
SULFUR DIOXIDE