Numerical simulation of a new horizontal spray tower for sintering flue gas desulfurization

The flow rate and temperature of the flue gas from a sintering machine can fluctuate in a wide range; thus, the follow-up desulfurization facility should be operated stably and maintained on-line. A new type of horizontal spray tower, which can achieve high efficiency with low pressure loss and easy maintenance, was invented by the University of Science and Technology Beijing. A 3D multiphase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the horizontal spray tower was constructed with Fluent software to study the internal flow field and the reaction of the horizontal spray tower. The standard k-xi model and the Eulerian-Lagrangian model were adopted in this study. Results show that the flow field in the spray tower can be numerically simulated utilizing the CFD technology. The inlet angle exerts an important effect on the flue gas flow field of the horizontal tower. When the first-order efficiency and the economic indicators are taken into account, an inlet angle of 75 degrees is recommended in the top inlet intake mode, whereas a 30 degrees inlet angle performs the best in the side inlet intake mode. The spray configuration exerts an important influence. When the spray cone angle is 110 degrees and the installation height is controlled at 0.8 m from the top surface, the smoke residence time is long, and the contact is sufficient. The results can provide theoretical support for the optimization of the structure of the spray tower.