Computational investigation of hydrodynamics,coal combustion and NOx emissions in a tangentially fired pulverized coal boiler at various loads

This work presents a computational investigation of hydrodynamics,coal combustion and NOx emissions in a tangentially fired pulverized coal boiler at different loads(630,440 and 300 MW;relative loads of 100%,70%and 48%)to clarify the effect of load change on the furnace processes.A computational fluids dynamics model was established;the flow field,temperature profile,species concentration and NOx emissions were predicted numerically;and the influence of burner tilt angles was evaluated.Simulation results indicate that a decrease in boiler load decreases the gas velocity,attenuates the airflow rotations,and increases the tangent circle size.The high-temperature zone and flame moved toward the side walls.Such behaviors impair air-fuel mixing,heat transfer and steady combustion in the furnace.In terms of species concentrations,a decrease in boiler load increased the O2 content,decreased the CO content,and decreased the char burnout rates only slightly.A change in boiler load from 630 to 440 and 300 MW increased the NOx emissions from 202 to 234 and 247 mg/m^(3),respectively.Burner tilt angles are important in coal combustion and NOx emissions.A burner angle of-15°favors heat transfer and low NOx emissions(<185 mg/m^(3))for the current tangentially fired boiler.