NOx reduction with the use of feedlot biomass as a reburn fuel

Abstract

Coal fired power plants produce NOx at unacceptable levels. In order to control these emissions without major modifications to the burners, additional fuel called reburn fuel is fired under rich conditions (10-30 % by heat) after the coal burners. Additional air called overfire air (about 20 % of total air) is injected in order to complete combustion. Typically reburn fuel is natural gas (NG). From previous research at TAMU, it was found that firing feedlot biomass (FB) as reburn fuel lowers the NOx emission at significant levels compared to NG. The present research was conducted to determine the optimum operating conditions for the reduction of NOx. Experiments were performed in a small scale 29.3 kW (100,000 BTU/hr) reactor using low ash partially composted FB (LA PC FB) with equivalence ratio ranging from 1 to 1.15. The results of these experiments show that NOx levels can be reduced by as much as 90% - 95 % when firing pure LA PC FB and results are almost independent of. The reburn fuel was injected with normal air and then vitiated air (12.5 % O2); further the angles of reburn injector were set normal to the main gas flow and at 45-degrees upward. For LA PC FB no significant changes were observed; but high ash PC FB revealed better reductions with 45-degrees injector and vitiated air. This new technology has the potential to reduce NOx emissions in coal fired boilers located near cattle feedlots and also relieves the cattle industry of the waste.