Thermal processing II

Combustion/Incineration
Combustion/Incineration: Five elements

1. Water, जल
2. Air, वायु
3. Earth, पृथ्वी
4. Space, आकाश
5. Fire, अग्नि
 Water
1. All the living systems need water and contain
water
2. Life on earth is due to water, 70% water cover
3. God of water, इन्द्र (Indra)
4. Hydrogen and oxygen elements Water
 Air
1. Air needed by all the living systems
2. Without air no survival
3. God of air, वायु (Vayu), Prāna
4. 78.08% Nitrogen and 20.95% Oxygen + other gases
5. Combustion/Incineration: CO2, NOx, SOx, SPM, PM10,
PM2.5, PM1.5, Hg, As, HCs, VOCs etc.
Paper industry: Dioxins 100 times lethal than cyanide
Carbon dioxide: 413 ppm (2020)
280 ppm (1750)
180 ppm (2 million years ago)
Greenhouse gases: CO2(Global Warming- Major Contributor)
N2O, H2O, O3, CH4, CFCs
 Earth
1. We eat which is grown on earth
2. Photosynthesis process: biomass, agricultural
residues, aquatic life
3. Dead body burial or incineration
4. Goddess of earth, पृथ्वी, Prithvi
5. Soil is getting contaminated
Pollution air/water
 Space
1. Solar energy, solar insolation
2. Thermonuclear reactions
3. Photosynthesis process : Solar energy required
i. Each leaf a chemical reactor
4. Solar energy into biomass and other forms of
energy: hydro, coal, petroleum, wind etc.
5. God of space, आकाश, Aakash
 Fire
1. Combustion/Incineration
2. Carbon, Hydrogen, Sulphur : Exothermic
reactions
3. CI and SI engines, cooking, thermal power
plants: steam and gas turbines, blast furnaces
4. Goddess of fire, अग्नि , Agni

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…..
 Combustion/Incineration
• Combustion
 Generation of heat through rapid chemical reactions of
fuels is known as combustion

• Products of Combustion
- CO2
- H2O Complete Combustion
- NO2
- SO2
- CO, Incomplete
- HCs, Combustion
- NOX, SOX, ….
 Basics of Combustion
 Main parameters for proper combustion
- Temperature: To initiate and sustain combustion: spark
plug, kitchen igniter
- Turbulence: For proper mixing of fuel and air
- Time: Sufficient for complete combustion

3Ts : Temperature, Turbulence, Time

 Flames
Flame: is the visible part of fire
Hydrogen flame not visible
 BASICS OF COMBUSTION

• Combustion Reactions
 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.
 BASICS OF COMBUSTION

• Combustion Reactions
 Some fundamental reactions of combustion:
 C + O2  CO2 + 33.8 MJ/kg-C
 2H2 + O2  2H2O + 121.0 MJ/kg-H
 S + O2  SO2 + 9.3 MJ/kg-S
 2C + O2  2CO + 10.2 MJ/kg-C
 Note: Above equations are in accordance with
conservation of mass. For example consider the first
reaction:
- 1 kmol C + 1 kmol O2  1 kmol CO2, or
- 12 kg C + 32 kg O2  44 kg CO2, or
- 0 vol. C + 1 vol. O2  1 vol. CO2.
 BASICS OF COMBUSTION

• Combustion Reactions
 In fuels, the combustion reactions are more complex than
above:
 In general, air is used in combustion than pure oxygen
 Fuels consists of many elements such as C, H, N, S, O: Ultimate
analysis
 In addition to complete combustions, fuels undergo incomplete
combustions too.
 Heat generation during combustion:
- Combustion reactions together with enthalpies of
components could be used to predict the net heat
generation.
- This needs identification of all the combustion products.
 BASICS OF COMBUSTION

• Composition of Air
 On a molar (or volume) basis, dry air is composed of:
– 20.9% oxygen O2
– 78.1% nitrogen N2
– 0.9% CO2, Ar, He, Ne, H2, and others
 A good approximation of this by molar or volume is: 21%
oxygen, 79% nitrogen
 Thus, each mole of oxygen is accompanied 0.79/0.21 =
3.76 moles of nitrogen
 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
 BASICS OF COMBUSTION

• Composition of Air
 At ordinary combustion temperatures, N2 is inert, but
nonetheless greatly affects the combustion process
because its abundance, and hence its enthalpy change,
plays a large part in determining the reaction
temperatures.
- This, in turn, affects the combustion chemistry.
- Also, at higher temperatures, N2 does react, forming
species such as oxides of nitrogen (NOx), which are significant
pollutants.
 BASICS OF COMBUSTION

• Stoichiometry and Air/Fuel Ratios

 Oxidation of all the elements in a fuel is known as complete
combustion or “Stoichiometric Combustion”.
 The amounts of fuel and air taking part in a combustion
process are often expressed as the ‘air to fuel’ ratio:
mair
AFR 
m fuel

 Minimum amount of air required to have a complete

combustion is represented by Stoichiometric Ratio AFRstoich.
 For a fuel CxHyOz

34.32  4 x  y  2 z 
AFRStoich 
12 x  y  16 z 
 BASICS OF COMBUSTION

• Stoichiometry and Air/Fuel Ratios

 Eg: Combustion of Methane
CH4 + 2(O2 + 79/21N2 )  CO2 + 2H2O + 158/21N2
Therefore, AFRStoich = (232 + 22879/21)/(12 + 41) = 17.16

Fuel Phase AFRStoich

Very light fuel oil liquid 14.27
Light fuel oil liquid 14.06
Medium heavy fuel oil liquid 13.79
Heavy fuel oil liquid 13.46
Generic biomass solid 5.88
Coal (typical) solid 6.97
LPG (90 P : 10 B) gas 15.55
Carbon solid 11.44
 BASICS OF COMBUSTION

• Stoichiometry and Air/Fuel Ratios

 In order to obtain complete combustion, supply of excess
amount of air is required in practice.
 The amount of excess air required depends on the
properties of the fuel and the technology of the
combustion device.
 Amount of excess air is usually represented by the
equivalence ratio, φ, or the ‘lambda’ ratio λ:

1 𝐴𝐹𝑅𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙
φ= =
λ 𝐴𝐹𝑅𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑖𝑐ℎ
 BASICS OF COMBUSTION

• Stoichiometry and Air/Fuel Ratios

 Eg:
Excess air %
Fuel Type of Furnace or Burners
by weight
 Completely water-cooled furnace for slag-tap or dry-ash- 15 – 20
Pulverized Coal removal 15 - 40
 Partially water cooled furnace for dry-ash-removal

Crushed coal Cyclone furnace – pressure or suction 10 - 15

 Spreader stroker 30 – 60
 Water-cooled vibrating grate stroker 30 – 60
Coal  Chain-grate and traveling grate strokers 15 – 50
 Underfeed stroker 20 - 50
 Oil burners, register type 5 – 10
Fuel oil  Multi-fuel burners and flat-flame 10 - 20
Acid sludge Cone and flat-plate-type burners, steam-atomized 10 - 15
Natural coke ovens and  Register-type burners 5 – 10
refinery gas  Multi-fuel burners 7 - 12
Blast furnace gas Intertube nozzle-type burners 15 - 18
Wood Dutch oven and Hofft-type 35 – 50
Bagasse All furnaces 25 - 35
Black liquor Recovery furnace for kraft and soda-pulping processes 5-7
 BASICS OF COMBUSTION

• Combustion Reactions of Fuels

 Complete combustion of hydrocarbons:
 y  2x   y  2x 
CH y O x  1  
 2
O  3.76 N 2   CO 2 
y
H 2 O  3.76 1   N 2  Heat.
 4  2  4 
 BASICS OF COMBUSTION

• Estimation of Heating Values

 Eg: Methane:
CH4 + 2(O2 + 79/21N2 )  CO2 + 2H2O + 158/21N2
Enthalpies
CH4 : -4.667 MJ/kg; O2 : 0.0; N2 : 0.0
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.
 Combustion/Incineration
 Combustion is a two-phase process and
the objective of the burner is, as always, to
achieve complete combustion of the fuel
with maximum energy efficiency.
 Three common ways of burning solid fuels
are currently in use
i. Grate Combustion
ii. Pulverized Fuel Combustion
iii. Fluidized Bed Combustors (FBC)
 Grate Combustion/Incineration

 The simplest and most common way of burning is

igniting a bed of the fuel on a porous grate which
allows air to rise through the bed, either by
buoyancy in smaller equipment or with fan
assistance in the larger, automatic stokers.
 The combustion of on a grate commences with
heat transfer to the raw fuel from the adjacent
incandescent fuel.
 The first effect that this have is to drive off the
volatile matter from the fuel.
Combustion/Incineration: Fix grate
Combustion/Incineration: moving grate
 Grate Combustion/Incineration

 The volatiles will then rise through the bed,

partly reacting with the hot carbonaceous
material above it, to burn as a yellow flame
above the bed.
 As the combustion process proceeds, the
volatile matter decreases until there is only
the carbonaceous residue left, which burns
with the intense emission of radiation.
 Grate Combustion/Incineration

 As the air enters the fuel bed from below, the

initial reaction is the combustion of the
carbon to carbon dioxide.
 In the hot upper region of the gas this is
reduced to carbon monoxide:
CO2 + C → 2CO
Which burns in the secondary air above the
bed.
 Grate Combustion/Incineration

 The effect of this is to decrease the

concentration of oxygen from 21% at entry,
to zero at about 100 mm above the grate.
 At this point, there is a peak in the carbon
dioxide concentration which falls away as the
reduction to carbon monoxide proceeds
Combustion/Incineration
 Combustion/Incineration
 Moving/Chain Grate Stoker
The fuel is supplied by the travelling grate
and the thickness of the bed controlled by the
guillotine door.
 The speed of the grate and an air damper
setting control the firing rate.
 Combustion/Incineration

 The fuel for such boilers is usually smalls

(about 13-25 mm) with a high ash fusion
temperature.
 The ash falls from the end of the grate into
a pit, from where it can be removed by a
conveyor belt or screw.
 Fluidized Bed Combustion

 Fluidized Bed Combustors (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.
Fluidized bed combustion/Incineration
 Fluid Bed Combustion/Incineration

Although the fluidization requires more fan power than

the conventional grate combustions, there are a number
of advantages in FBC:

(1) The bed temperature can be kept cooler than

in the case of grate combustion.
fluidized bed temperatures are generally within the
range 750-950℃.
This means that ash fusion does not occur and
the low temperatures produce less NOX.
 Fluid Bed Combustion/Incineration

(2) High rates of heat transfer can be attained

between the bed and heat exchanger
tubes immersed in it.
(3) A wide range of fuel types can be burned
efficiently.
(4) Additives (such as limestone) can be
used which react with oxides of sulfur
retaining the sulfur in the bed with
consequent reduction in SOX emission.
Fluidization
Fluidization phenomenon
Air flow velocity in boiler furnace vs combustion pattern
Fluid bed combustion features
Advantages and disadvantages of fluid bed boilers
Types of the fluidized bed boilers
 Bubbling Fluidized Bed

Fuel

ash
Circulating fluidized bed combustor

Fuel
Fluid bed combustion parameters
Pulverized Fuel Combustion/Incineration
 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.
Pulverized fuel combustion/Incineration

• Invented in 1920.
• 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.
Waste material combustion/incineration

1.Grate combustion
2.Fluidized bed combustion

Rice husk: Fluidized bed combustion-

Thermax, Pune
Paddy straw: Fluidized bed combustion-
BHEL