Coal-Biomass Preheating Combustion Characteristics in Cement Precalciner. Part 1: Preheating of Coal/Biomass

The co-combustion of biomass and coal can positively impact the environment and reduce the cost of power generation. However, biomass fuels have many limitations. Circulating fluidized bed (CFB) preheating combustion is suitable for co-combusting coal and biomass because of better fuel adaptability. In the cement industry, fuel combustion and raw meal decomposition in precalciners affect cement quality and cause pollutant emissions. The preheating combustion method used in precalciners can improve combustion performance and reduce NOx emissions. This study investigated the preheating characteristics of a coal-biomass mixed fuel in a cement precalciner. The effects of load, biomass type, and biomass proportion on the preheated fuel and the conditions of the CFB were investigated. The results indicated that a lower load reduces the combustible components in gaseous and solid preheated fuels. However, due to the gas volume remains constant under different loads, a lower load also increases temperature and intensifies the reaction. The carbon chain and microscopic structural activities of preheated fuels are considerably enhanced, facilitating their combustion in precalciners and reducing nitrogen oxides in rotary kilns. Furthermore, adding biomass can improve the reactivity of a fuel subjected to preheating. Thus, biomass fuels (e.g., rice husks) exhibit high combustion efficiency, and thus high energy utilization. The present study achieved better pore structure and molecular activity using preheated fuel from a CFB preheater. In addition, the improvement of pore structure and molecular activity increases with the proportion of the biomass.