Assessment of the effect of high ash content in pulverized coal combustion

The existing literature on CFD-based coal combustion modelling is applicable mainly for coals of low ash content and the calculations are done on an ash-free basis. In Indian coals, the ash content may be significantly higher, up to 40% or more. Studies reported in the literature show that the mineral matter in the coal may have a number of effects on the combustion characteristics. In the present study, a sensitivity analysis is performed, using the CFD code CFX of AEA Technology, on the likely effect of ash content on the char reactivity, oxygen diffusion rate for char combustion and on the radiative heat transfer parameters. The results show that the effect of enhanced char reactivity is negligible whereas reduced oxygen diffusion rates due to a thicker ash layer may result in a significant reduction in char oxidation rates with a resultant decrease in the peak temperature in the furnace. The global parameters such as the peak temperature and the flue gas temperature remain relatively insensitive to the presence of high ash content. These results are consistent with the experimental observations of Kurose et al. R. Kurose, M. Ikeda, H. Makino, Combustion characteristics of high ash coal in pulverized coal combustion, J. Fuel 80 (2001) 1447–1455].