NNE5-2001-00907 Studies of Fuel Blend Properties in Boilers and Simulation Rigs to Increase Biomass and Bio-waste Materials Used for Co-firing in Pulverised Coal Fired Boilers - POWERFLAM2

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EESD (Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development) : Solid Biofuels : Thermochemical Conversion

Proposal No:	NNE5-2001-00907
Date Prepared:	February 2004
Source:	European Bio-Energy Projects (EUR 20808)

Introduction

Fossil fuel is still the main source of energy conversion for the power industry. It is likely to be dominant for many years to come since the development of renewable energies, in terms of affordable and reliable technology, is low. Electricity generation via fossil fuel is in the 100's MW per installation whereas equivalent biomass output is generally in the 10's of MW range.

Europe has to face the fact that generations using traditional fuels are fundamental to the increasing demand for energy. The use of coal within this sector is also vital to meet the needs of supply and demand. The infrastructure is well established and the technology is mature, but the environmental consequences are also known. Fuel substitution offers a route to use the existing European power plant infrastructure to reduce the equivalent amount of available carbon for energy conversion, thereby having a considerable influence on CO₂ reduction from this crucial industrial sector.

Although co-firing of biomass and bio-waste has been practised in a number of plants, the practice is not widespread. A recent survey by a trade association representing large utilities, VGB Powertech E.V. (formerly VGB Technishe Vereinigung Der Grosskraftwerksbetreiber E.V.), showed that only 29 out of 353 power plants surveyed employed any form of co-firing. Barriers to substantially increased co-firing arise from a number of technical, economic and operational factors.

A number of critical technical factors have been identified, including the effects of the cofiring fuel on slagging and fouling in the system, downstream deNO_x systems, environmental impact and the quality / marketability of the ash. There are no models or techniques at the moment that would allow an operator of a large utility boiler to ascertain whether a particular form of biomass material or waste can be successfully co-fired.

The programme will be delivered by a consortium, including three universities, two major research laboratories, three large utility operators and the VGB Powertech E.V. The core of the work involves the use of several novel laboratory and pilot scale rigs that provide different experimental information concerning the behaviour of the fuel blends in different conditions. Complimentary modelling work with CFD and neural networks will be undertaken to better describe the processes occurring both in the rigs and large boilers.

Progress

The first meeting of the programme steering committee took place at ENEL Produzione in Pisa, Italy in January 2003. Coordination and communication strategies were developed by the partners to ensure the effective transfer of data and information.

The PowerFlam2 website allows both the general public access to information relating to the programme and thepartners to access an additional password protected area enabling them to exchange sensitive information.

Pilot rigs and experimental techniques have been created to generate the data required for correlation and calibration of the computer simulations. Large utility operators are preparing for large-scale co-firing experiments that will generate vital data that can be used with the development of the computer simulations.

Fuel preparation is an important aspect of the programme and has been centralised to ensure stability in the fuel composition. Currently the fuel requirements of each partner are being assessed so that fuel preparation can commence.

Impact

New test methods will be created for fuel blends using several different laboratory / pilot scale rigs that will individually give different information on, for example, ignition, volatile evolution and slagging. Extensive modelling results using CFD and neural network analysis will be correlated and calibrated using results from laboratory and large co-fired plant experiments.

The information obtained will be in a format that can be integrated with systems that utility operators are able to use to make judgments on realistic fuel blends and levels of substitution for optimum performance.