A Combustion Process Optimization and Numerical Analysis for the Low Emission Operation of Pulverized Coal-Fired Boiler

The paper presents experimental and numerical investigation of pulverized coal combustion process analysis and optimization. The research was conducted on the front-fired pulverized coal boiler with dedicated low-NOx furnace installation. In order to find optimal boiler operating conditions the acoustic gas temperature measurement system and mass flow rate of pulverized coal measurement system was applied. The uniform temperature distribution as a result of uniform coal and air flow provides the optimal combustion process with low level of NOx emission and total organic carbon content in ash. Experimental results confirm that the monitoring and control of fuel and air flow distribution allows to optimize combustion process by increasing thermal efficiency of the boiler. In the numerical part of investigation, the complex CFD model of pulverized coal boiler was made. The calculations of turbulent, reactive, and thermal flow processes were performed at different boiler operating conditions retrieved from power plant on-line monitoring system. The results of numerical simulations enable to identify the optimal boiler operating conditions.