Principles for retrofitting coal burners for oxy-combustion

Experiments were performed in a 1.5 MW pilot-scale furnace to investigate the differences between air- and oxy-fired flame behavior from a pulverized coal oxy-research burner designed for flexible operating conditions. The flame behavior was characterized by recording video images of the flames and by measuring radiation intensity along the flame length. Various strategies relating air- and oxy-fired operation of the burner primary register were investigated where the oxy-fired burner primary mass, momentum and velocity were matched to the air-fired conditions. Matching either burner primary mass or momentum under oxy-fired conditions with air-fired conditions resulted in a flame stabilized within the quart. Matching primary velocity with air-fired conditions resulted in a detached flame indicating a delay in flame ignition for the oxyfired conditions. A decrease in primary velocity of 13% was necessary in order to stabilize a flame within the quart similar to the air-fired case. Additional experiments also showed a flame could be stabilized with no oxygen enrichment of the primary (similar to 3 vol.%, dry O(2) in the primary). Experiments where oxygen was injected at the burner face indicated injection at the boundary of the primary and secondary flow paths strongly attach a flame and injection at the coal rich primary flow path increased the radiative intensity of the flame. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.