Oxy-fuel combustion: Laboratory experiments and pilot scale tests

Our focus is on oxy-fuel coal combustion and its associated heat transfer properties, especially radiative transport. Spectral intensity measurements have been obtained in a laboratory setting as well as on a pilot scale boiler. The pilot-scale experiments utilize a boiler retrofitted for oxy-fuel that operates at a temperature ranging to over 3000K. Due to such high temperatures, temperature measurements of the flame are not possible with probes and are instead inferred by a process called inverse radiation interpretation. Laboratory-scale dust cloud combustion studies are also being performed to characterize the radiative properties and flame speed while varying the coal type, particle size and oxygen content. Also, chemical equilibrium calculations are presented