Experimental study on preheated combustion of pulverized semi-coke

In a test rig, pulverized semi-coke was preheated to 850oC in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) and then combusted at 1100oC in a down-fired combustor (DFC). Experiments were conducted to reveal the effects of three secondary air nozzle cases (co-axial jet, top circular jet and wall circular jet) on the NO emission. The results show that the optimized secondary air nozzle can reduce NO emission. O2 concentration profile is the major factor affecting NO generation and emission, which is led by the secondary air nozzle. The lower O2 concentration led to the generation of lower initial NO. The NO emission at the exit of the DFC was reduced from 189 to 92 mg/m3 (@ 6% O2) with the decrease of initial generation. The peak of NO at 100 mm below the nozzle should be attributed to the oxidization of NH3 in the syngas, rather than the oxidization of fuel-N in the char. The low and well-distributed O2 concentration contributes to the reduction of initial NO, which helps to reduce the NO emission. The combustion efficiencies of the cases of the co-axial jet, the top circular jet, and the wall circular jet are 97.88%, 98.94% and 98.74%, respectively.