Analysis of oxygen combustion characteristics of a low grade coal using IEA-CFBC model

The application of an oxy-combustion circulating fluidized bed combustor (Oxy-CFBC) for low grade coals has recently developed in the world to meet the continuous increase of energy demand and to achieve the reduction of greenhouse gases. Since demo plants for Oxy-CFBC have been developed, the combustion properties of Oxy-CFBC in various operation conditions, such as gas flow rates, combustion temperature, fuel, and so on, should be investigated to develop design criteria for a commercial Oxy-CFBC. In this study, a computational simulation tool for Oxy-CFBC was developed on the basis of the IEA-CFBC (International Energy Agency Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustor) model. Simulation was performed under various conditions such as reaction temperature (800 ^oC~900 ^oC), oxygen contents (21%~41%), coal feeding rate, Ca/S mole ratio (1.5~4.0), and so on. Simulation results show that the combustion furnace temperature is higher in oxy 1 than air fired. However, the temperature gradient tended to decrease with increasing oxy mixing percent. In case of SO_x, the higher the Ca/S mole ratio and oxy mixing percent, the higher the desulfurization efficiency.