Pulverized coal combustion: the influence of flame temperature and coal composition on thermal and fuel NOx

Journal ArticleA laboratory combustor was used to investigate the factors that influence the conversion of fuel nitrogen in coal during coal combustion. Fuel NO was isolated by experimentation utilizing Argon / Oxygen / Carbon Dioxide mixtures as the oxidant, and care was taken to compare cases with air at matched conditions. For both well mixed and slowly mixed flame types, fuel NO contributed over 75% of the total NO emissions for all conditions examined. Fuel NO was insensitive to temperature changes except when the adiabatic flame temperatures were above 2480°K (4000°F). At the highest adiabatic flame temperature, 2580°K (4200°F), a 10% increase in fuel NO was observed