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Examination of flame length for burning pulverized coal in laminar flow reactor

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Abstract

Because there has been a recent increase in the use of low calorific coal compared to standard coal, it is crucial to control the char flame length governing the burning life-time of coal in a coal-fired utility boiler. The main objective of this study is to develop a simplified model that can theoretically predict the flame length for burning coal in a laboratory-scale entrained laminar flow reactor (LFR) system. The char burning behavior was experimentally observed when sub-bituminous pulverized coal was fed into the LFR under burning conditions similar to those in a real boiler: a heating rate of 1000 K/s, an oxygen molar fraction of 7.7 %, and reacting flue gas temperatures ranging from 1500 to 2000 K. By using the theoretical model developed in this study, the effect of particle size on the coal flame length was exclusively addressed. In this model, the effect of particle mass was eliminated to compare with the experimental result performed under a constant mass feeding of coal. Overall, the computed results for the coal flame length were in good agreement with the experimental data, particularly when the external oxygen diffusion effect was considered in the model.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 609-735, Korea

    Jae-Dong Kim, Young-June Chang, Ju-Hun Song & Chung-Hwan Jeon

  2. Pusan Clean Coal Center (PC3), Pusan National University, Busan, 609-735, Korea

    Gyu-Bo Kim

Authors
  1. Jae-Dong Kim
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  2. Gyu-Bo Kim
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  3. Young-June Chang
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  4. Ju-Hun Song
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  5. Chung-Hwan Jeon
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chung-Hwan Jeon.

Additional information

This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Associate Editor Ohchae Kwon

Jae-Dong Kim received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Pusan National University in 2009. He is now an M.S. candidate in Mechanical Engineering at Pusan National University. His research interests include optical diagnostic techniques examining the combustion behavior of single coal particle.

Gyu-Bo Kim received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Pukyong National University in 2000. He then received his Ph. D degree from Pusan National University in 2008. Dr. Kim is currently a research professor at Pusan Clean Coal Center in Pusan National University.

Young-June Chang received his B.S. and M.S degrees from Pusan National University in 1975 and 1977, respectively. He then received the Ph.D. from Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1986. Dr. Chang is currently a professor at the school of mechanical engineering in Pusan National University.

Ju-Hun Song received his B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Seoul National University in 1991 and 1996, respectively. He then received his Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University, USA in 2005. Dr. Song is currently an assistant professor at the school of mechanical engineering at Pusan National University.

Chung-Hwan Jeon received his B.S. (1985), M.S. (1987) and Ph.D. (1994) degrees from Pusan National University. Dr. Jeon is currently an associate professor at the school of mechanical engineering at Pusan National University, and is currently serving as a director of Pusan Clean Coal Center.

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Kim, JD., Kim, GB., Chang, YJ. et al. Examination of flame length for burning pulverized coal in laminar flow reactor. J Mech Sci Technol 24, 2567–2575 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-010-0926-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-010-0926-y

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