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Thermal processing Combustion/Incineration

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Combustion/Incineration: Five elements Water

1. All the living systems need water and contain
1. Water, जल water
2. Air, वायु 2. Life on earth is due to water, 70% water cover
3. Earth, पथ्ृ वी 3. Hydrogen and oxygen elements
4. Electrolysis of water
4. Space, आकाश
5. Fire, अग्नि

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Air Earth
1. Air needed by all the living systems
1. We eat which is grown on earth
2. Without air no survival
2. Photosynthesis process: biomass, agricultural
3. 78.08% Nitrogen and 20.95% Oxygen + other gases
residues, aquatic life
4. Combustion/Incineration: CO2, NOx, SOx, SPM, PM10,
PM2.5, PM1.5, Hg, As, HCs, VOCs etc. 3. Soil is getting contaminated, chemicals usage
Paper industry: Dioxins 100 times lethal than cyanide Pollution - air/water
Carbon dioxide: 419 ppm (March 18, 2022)
280 ppm (1750)
185 ppm (2 million years ago)
Greenhouse gases: CO2(Global Warming- Major Contributor)
N2O, H2O, O3 ,CH4, CFCs

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Space
1. Solar energy, solar insolation
2. Thermonuclear reactions
3. Photosynthesis process : Solar energy required
i. Each leaf of a plant : chemical reactor
4. Solar energy into biomass and other forms of
energy: hydro, coal, petroleum, wind etc.
Fire
1. Combustion/Incineration
2. Carbon, Hydrogen, Sulphur : Exothermic
reactions
3. Steam engine, CI and SI engines, cooking,
thermal power plants: steam and gas turbines,
blast furnaces, cupolas, boilers etc.
Every thing is getting into CO2 and H2O which are converted back by
photosynthesis process to complex biomass species and the process goes on
…..goes on…..

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Combustion/Incineration Basics of Combustion

• Combustion ✓ Main parameters for proper combustion
✓ Generation of heat through rapid chemical reactions of - Temperature: To initiate and sustain combustion:
fuels is known as combustion spark plug in SI engines, kitchen igniter
• Products of Combustion - Turbulence: For proper mixing of fuel and air
- CO2 (Bunsen Burner-1854, LPG burner, Gas welding torch)
- H2O Complete Combustion - Time: Sufficient for complete combustion
- NO2
- SO2 3Ts : Temperature, Turbulence, Time
- CO, Incomplete
- HCs, Combustion
- NOX, SOX, ….

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Flames BASICS OF COMBUSTION

• Combustion Reactions
Flame: is the visible part of fire
Hydrogen flame not visible ✓ During combustion, molecules undergo chemical
reactions.
✓ The reactant atoms are rearranged to form new
combinations (oxidized).
✓ The chemical reaction can be presented by reaction
equations.
✓ However, reaction equations represent initial and final
results and do not indicate the actual path of the reaction,
which may involve many intermediate steps and
intermediate products.
✓ This approach is similar to thermodynamics system
analysis, where only end states and not path mechanism
are used.

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BASICS OF COMBUSTION BASICS OF COMBUSTION

• Combustion Reactions • Combustion Reactions

✓ Some fundamental reactions of combustion: ✓ In fuels, the combustion reactions are more complex than
➢ C + O2 → CO2 + 33.8 MJ/kg-C above:
➢ 2H2 + O2 → 2H2O + 121.0 MJ/kg-H ➢ In general, air is used in combustion than pure oxygen
➢ S + O2 → SO2 + 9.3 MJ/kg-S ➢ Fuels consist of many elements such as C, H, N, S, O: Ultimate
analysis
➢ 2C + O2 → 2CO + 10.2 MJ/kg-C
➢ In addition to complete combustions, fuels undergo incomplete
✓ Note: Above equations are in accordance with
combustions also.
conservation of mass. For example consider the first
reaction: ✓ Heat generation during combustion:
- 1 kmol C + 1 kmol O2 → 1 kmol CO2, or - Combustion reactions together with enthalpies of
components could be used to predict the net heat
- 12 kg C + 32 kg O2 → 44 kg CO2, or
generation.
- 0 vol. C + 1 vol. O2 → 1 vol. CO2.
- This needs identification of all the combustion products.

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BASICS OF COMBUSTION BASICS OF COMBUSTION

• Composition of Air • Combustion in Air

✓ On a molar (or volume) basis, dry air is composed of: ✓ At ordinary combustion temperatures, N2 is inert, but
– 20.9% oxygen O2 nonetheless greatly affects the combustion process
because its abundance, and hence its enthalpy change,
– 78.1% nitrogen N2 plays a large part in determining the reaction
– 0.9% CO2, Ar, He, Ne, H2, and others temperatures (Adiabatic flame temperature).
✓ A good approximation of this by molar or volume is: 21% oxygen, - This, in turn, affects the combustion chemistry.
79% nitrogen
- Also, at higher temperatures, N2 does react, forming
✓ Thus, each mole of oxygen is accompanied 0.79/0.21 = 3.76 moles
species such as oxides of nitrogen (NOx), which are significant
of nitrogen
pollutants.
✓ We may go for oxygen combustion: separation of nitrogen and
oxygen
❖ Liquefaction of air: Linde cycle, cryogenic
❖ Membrane separation: In last 20 years big development - Polymers
❖ Pressure swing adsorption (PSA)

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BASICS OF COMBUSTION BASICS OF COMBUSTION

• Stoichiometry and Air/Fuel Ratios • Stoichiometry and Air/Fuel Ratios

✓ Oxidation of all the elements in a fuel is known as complete ✓ Eg: Combustion of Methane
combustion or “Stoichiometric Combustion”.
CH4 + 2(O2 + 79/21N2 ) → CO2 + 2H2O + 158/21N2
✓ The amounts of fuel and air taking part in a combustion
Therefore, AFRStoich = (232 + 22879/21)/(12 + 41) = 17.16
process are often expressed as the ‘air to fuel’ ratio:
mair Fuel Phase AFRStoich
AFR =
m fuel Very light fuel oil liquid 14.27
Light fuel oil liquid 14.06
✓ Minimum amount of air required to have a complete Medium heavy fuel oil liquid 13.79
combustion is represented by Stoichiometric Ratio AFRstoich. Heavy fuel oil liquid 13.46
✓ For a fuel CxHyOz Generic biomass solid 5.88
Coal (typical) solid 6.97

34.32  (4 x + y − 2 z )
LPG (90 P : 10 B) gas 15.55
AFRStoich = Carbon solid 11.44
(12 x + y + 16 z )
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BASICS OF COMBUSTION BASICS OF COMBUSTION

• Stoichiometry and Air/Fuel Ratios Excess Air/Fuel Ratio

✓ In order to obtain complete combustion, supply of excess
Excess air %
amount of air is required in practice. Fuel Type of Furnace or Burners
by weight
▪ Completely water-cooled furnace for slag-tap or dry-ash- 15 – 20
✓ The amount of excess air required depends on the Pulverized Coal removal 15 - 40
properties of the fuel and the technology of the ▪ Partially water cooled furnace for dry-ash-removal

combustion device. Crushed coal Cyclone furnace – pressure or suction 10 - 15

▪ Spreader stroker 30 – 60
✓ Amount of excess air is usually represented by the Coal
▪ Water-cooled vibrating grate stroker 30 – 60
▪ Chain-grate and traveling grate strokers 15 – 50
equivalence ratio, φ, or the ‘lambda’ ratio λ: ▪ Underfeed stroker 20 - 50
▪ Oil burners 5 – 10
Fuel oil ▪ Multi-fuel burners and flat-flame 10 - 20
1 𝐴𝐹𝑅𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 Acid sludge Cone and flat-plate-type burners, steam-atomized 10 - 15
φ= =
λ 𝐴𝐹𝑅𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑖𝑐ℎ Natural coke ovens and
refinery gas
▪ Single-fuel burners
▪ Multi-fuel burners
5 – 10
7 - 12
Blast furnace gas Intertube nozzle-type burners 15 - 18
Wood Conventional designs 35 – 50
Bagasse All furnaces 25 - 35
Black liquor Recovery furnace for kraft and soda-pulping processes 5-7

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BASICS OF COMBUSTION BASICS OF COMBUSTION

Combustion Reactions of Fuels • Estimation of Heating Values

Representation of complete combustion of a fuel ✓ Eg: Methane
representation: CH4 + 2(O2 + 79/21N2 ) → CO2 + 2H2O + 158/21N2
Enthalpies
 y − 2x  y  y − 2x 
CH y O x + 1 + O 2 + 3.76 N 2  → CO 2 + H 2 O + 3.761 +  N 2 + Heat CH4 : -4.667 MJ/kg; O2 : 0.0; N2 : 0.0
 4  2  4 
CO2 : -8.942 MJ/kg; H2O : -13.423 MJ/kg (Gas) / -15.866 MJ/kg (Liquid)

(i) Net Calorific Value

NCV = - (Hproducts – Hreactants)/mass of CH4
= - [{-8.94244 + -13.423218} – {-4.66716}]/16 = 50.125 MJ/kg

(ii) Gross Calorific Value

GCV = - (Hproducts – Hreactants)/mass of CH4
= - [{-8.94244 + -15.866218} – {-4.66716}]/16 = 55.622 MJ/kg
Note: NCV = GCV – (Mwater/Mmethane)hfg
= 55.622 – (36/16)2.443 = 50.125 MJ/kg.

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Combustion/Incineration

Combustion/Incineration

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Method of Combustion of Solid Fuels Top Fed Combustor

O2+CO2+N2+H2O

Secondary Air
Flame

VM+CO+CO2+N2+H2
Biomass/Coal

Incandescent coke
CO+CO2+N2+H2

ASH
Grate

Primary Air

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Combustion Factors Affecting the Combustion

➢ A bed of coal/biomass particles is supported by a grate.

➢ Air flows upwards through the grate and the fuel bed. o Fuel Size - smaller size vs larger-Biomass
➢ Upon heating, coal/biomass particles first undergo stages of briquettes
thermal decomposition.
o Rate of firing - Feed rate
▪ Evaporation of moisture - drying
o Supply of air - % of excess air
▪ Pyrolysis and production of VM
▪ Combustion of VM
o Moisture content - should be lower
▪ Combustion of char
➢ The coal/biomass flows slowly downward as the combustion
proceeds.
➢ Ash is collected from the bottom

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Firing Systems Hand/Grate Firing System

➢ Suitable for small units- Steam engines
➢ Hand/Grate fired ➢ Grate is used to support the fuel and the
openings are provided for air to enter on the
➢ Stoker fired
grate for the combustion of fuel
➢ Fluidized bed fired ➢ Low combustion efficiency
➢ Pulverised fuel fired ➢ Pollution: SPM generation, CO

❖ Capacities 0.3 to 175 MWth in industry and CHP

❖ Fuel fired per grate area 1-2 MW/m2, maximum grate area 100 m2
❖ Grates are typical only suitable for coarse particles, for fine particles a
spreader is required, increases max. capacity
❖ Primary air through the grate (also used for cooling) and secondary
air

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Stoker Firing System Advantages of Stoker Firing

▪ A stoker is a power operated fuel

feeding mechanism with grate ➢Low grade fuel can be used- Heating value
▪ The term stoker implies that ➢High efficiency – Sufficient air supply
automatically feeds (or " stokes”) ➢Smokeless combustion – Causes of smoke?
▪ Stoker fuel size is typically ~1.25 inches ➢Less labour cost
➢Reliable system
➢Low maintenance cost
➢Less capital investment

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Disadvantages of Stoker Firing Chain Grate Stoker

➢Slightly complicated construction

➢For very large units the initial investment may be
higher
➢Loss of fuel through the grates
➢Excessive wear of moving parts

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Chain Grate Stoker Chain Grate Stoker-Advantages

➢ Traveling or chain grate stokers feed fuel out onto a ➢ Simple construction
rotating metal belt. ➢ Low cost
➢ Fuel is fed from a hopper. ➢ Self cleaning stoker
➢ Grate speed is automatically controlled to maintain ➢ Maintenance cost is low
desired combustion rate. ➢ Reliable
➢ Burning progresses as the belt moves from front to back ➢ Heat release rate can be controlled by speed of stoker
➢ Combustion is essentially complete at the end of belt ➢ High heat rate release per unit volume of furnace
and ash is dumped off into an ash pit there.

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Chain Grate Stoker-Disadvantages Spreader Stoker

➢ Temperature of preheated air is limited to 180 0C.

➢ Loss of final fuel which drops along with ash.
➢ Quantity of fuel carried on grate is small due to which it
cannot be used for high capacity boilers.
➢ Clinker formation is common.

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Spreader Stoker Advantages/Disadvantages Underfeed Stokers Mechanism

Advantages
➢ Wide variety of fuel can be burnt.
➢ Clinker difficulties are reduced even with the fuel having
high clinkering tendency.
➢ Preheated air with high temperature can be used.
➢ Volatile matter is easily burnt.
➢ It is simple to operate with low operation cost.
➢ It can response quickly with load changes on since it has a
small depth of bed on grate at any time.

Disadvantages
➢ Difficulty in operating spreader with variable sizes of fuel
and varying moisture content.
➢ Fly ash is more, so dust collector is necessary.
➢ Clinker troubles cannot be avoided.

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Fluidized Bed Combustion Advantages of FBC

The basic principle of operation is that the fuel
is mixed with an inert material (e.g. sand) and
the bed is “fluidized” by an upwards flow of air
and combustion temperatures remain uniform
along the height of the combustor.
➢ FBC has a lower combustion temperature of 750 °C
whereas an ordinary boiler operates at 850 °C
➢ FBC has low sintering process (melting of ash)
➢ Lower production of NOx due to lower temperature
➢ Lower production of SOx due to capture by limestone
➢ Higher combustion efficiency due to rapid heat transfer
than other combustion processes because of higher
velocities
➢ Less area is required for FBC due to high coefficient of
convective heat transfer
➢ Isothermal bed combustion as temperature in free belt
and active belt remain constant

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Disadvantages of FBC Types of the fluidized bed Combustors

➢ More fan power
➢ Large cross section of furnace for the same heat duty
➢ Relatively higher surface loss
➢ Higher carbon loss in ash 1.Bubbling Fluidized Combustors
➢ Erosion rates are higher 2.Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustors

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Bubbling Fluidized Bed Combustor Bubbling Fluidized Bed

Fuel

ash

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Fluidized Bed Combustor Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustor

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Fluidization Fluidization Phenomenon

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Air flow velocity in furnace Fluid bed combustion parameters

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Pulverized Fuel Combustion Pulverized Fuel Combustion

⚫ The fuel is ground to a very fine size (about 0.08
mm or more than 70% pass through #200 mesh)
when it can be made to behave rather like a liquid if
air is blown upwards through the powder.
⚫ The preparation and handling equipment is very
expensive and pulverized fuel installations are
generally only economically viable in very large
scale applications, such as thermal power stations.
⚫ The fuel is injected in the form of a conical spray,
inside a swirling conical primary air supply in a
fashion analogous to that for an oil burner.
• Invented in 1920s for coal
• An universal choice for power plants till
1990.
• Fine particles of coal ~ 75 microns.
• Surface area : 150 m2/kg.
• Huge heat release per unit area : 2 – 5
MW/m2.
• Steam generation : up to 2000 tons/hour.

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Pulverised Fuel Firing System Pulverised Fuel Firing System

➢ Pulverised system is generally used now a days for
➢ Efficiency of a
big power plant whose capacity exceeds 100 MW Pulverised fuel
➢ In which, fuel size reduced to fine powder with help firing system
of grinding mill depends on the
➢ The powder is than projected into the combustion size of powder.
chamber with the help of hot air current ➢ The fineness of
the fuel should
➢ Air required (i.e. secondary air) for the combustion be such that 70
is supplied separately % would pass
➢ Air required to carry the fuel, to dry it before through a 200
entering into combustion chamber and for creating mesh sieve and
the turbulence is called as Primary air 90 % through
50 mesh sieve.

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Pulverised Fuel Firing System Advantages of Pulverized Fuel

Combustion
➢ Any type of fuel can be used since it is used in powdered form
➢ High combustion efficiency and high rate of steam generation.
➢ Free from clinker and slag formation
➢ Response to variation in load is fast
➢ No ash handling problem
➢ Furnace volume required is considerably less
➢ It is also possible to use highly preheated air (350 0C) which
helps for rapid flame propagation
➢ No moving parts in the furnace subjected to high temperatures
➢ System can work with slurry type of fuels
➢ Greater surface area per unit mass of fuel allows faster
combustion
➢ Reduced air requirement

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Disadvantages of Pulverized Fuel Waste material combustion/incineration

Combustion
➢ Capital cost is high compared to stoker firing 1.Grate combustion
➢ Operation cost is high 2.Fluidized bed combustion
➢ Special and costly equipment are required for removing fine
dust called as fly ash 3.Pulverized bed combustion
➢ Furnace temperature is high so it needs cooling arrangement
➢ Maintenance cost is high
➢ Skilled labour required Rice husk: Fluidized bed combustion-
➢ High air pollution due to emission of fine dust particles
➢ Danger of explosion because of powder coal burns like a gas Thermax, Pune
➢ Special starting equipment are required Paddy straw: Fluidized bed combustion-
➢ Separate fuel preparation plant is required
➢ Achieving fine powder and distribution to the burners is usually
BHEL
difficult task

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END

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