Investigating methods to improve the co-firing of biomass with coal using CFD simulations

Biomass as a renewable energy source can be burnt with coal in a coal-fired plant to reduce the impact of fossil fuel on the environment. The aim of this research is to investigate methods that can improve the co-firing of biomass with coal. Initially, a CFD model was validated by comparison with experimental data reported in the literature. Three mesh sizes were tested to prove that simulation results are mesh independent. The model was then applied to simulate the co-firing process with a 3:2 biomass-to-coal mixing ratio. Unsophisticated modifications of the furnace geometry near the inlet and the swirl angle were introduced to study their effect on co-firing. CFD simulations were extended to study the influence of particle shrinkage on co-firing due to biomass pelletization. Furthermore, fine coal tailings generated from coal processing (CT), raw biomass (RB), and torrefied biomass (TB) were characterized for subsequent CFD investigation on mono-firing and co-firing of the different fuels. Simulation results show that the modified furnace geometry with gradual expansion and a larger swirl angle leads to uniform temperature distribution (1650-1720 K) in the furnace vs. a more variant temperature profile (950-1500 K) for the original furnace geometry. Besides, an increase in the tangential component of gas velocity near the center from 1 m/s to 3 m/s with the modified furnace geometry results in a longer residence time of the particles and further reduction of unburnt fixed carbon by 55% from coal at the exit. With biomass pelletization, simulation outputs show that the compressed particles with particle density 1000 kg/m³ have slower volatilization rate and surface reaction, as well as a shorter residence time. This in turns causes a higher percentage of unburnt fixed carbon at the exit though NO emission is slightly lower. As for the co-firing of biomass with fine coal tailings, results indicate that CT alone, CT+TB, and CT+RB blended fuel are associated with 13%, 10% and 28% unburnt carbon, respectively. It may be concluded that co-firing coal tailings with torrefied biomass is better for co-firing since CT+TB also has the lowest NO emission among the different fuels.Applied Science, Faculty ofChemical and Biological Engineering, Department ofGraduat