Preheating combustion is a promising novel low-nitrogen technology. The coke generation and conversion behavior in the preheater and combustion chamber are studied in this paper. The particle size distribution, apparent morphology, specific surface area, pore structure distribution and combustion reactivity of the coke can be analyzed respectively with the particle size analyzer, scanning electron microscope, automatic specific surface area analyzer and Raman spectrometer. The results show that the preheated char generated by the preheating process has some merits: the particle size is smaller, specific surface area is larger, the pore structure is more developed and combustion reactivity is higher. In the down-fired combustor, the degree of particle breakage, apparent morphology, specific surface area and pore structure are influenced by the combustion reaction intensity. Combining the analysis of the graphite stable structure and the active carbon defect structure, the combustion reactivity order of four samples is: 100 mm > 400 mm > preheated char> 900 mm. This paper provides experimental support and theoretical analysis for this technology to achieve deep control of nitrogen. (C) 2020 Energy Institute. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
