Demonstrating oxy-fuel combustion of pulverized forest residues in a down-fired furnace with external flue gas recirculation

Solid biomass oxy-fuel combustion with external recirculation was demonstrated in a 100-kW atmospheric, down-fired combustor operated close to stoichiometry. The external recirculation setup comprised a particulate filter, a condenser, a fan and O 2 addition before the burner inlet. A theoretical description of the recirculation process is presented and validated. Two fuels, softwood (SW) and forest residues (FR), with similar residence times, were compared. Gaseous species, including potassium (K) compounds (atomic K, KOH, and KCl), and gas temperature were quantified in real-time by tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) and photofragmentation TDLAS at two locations in the reactor core. Major species (CO 2 , H 2 O, O 2 , and N 2 ) were also measured at the exhaust. Flue gas particles collected with a low-pressure impactor at the exhaust were analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The average CO 2 purity (dry) was 90 % for SW and 86 % for FR. The NO concentration was higher for FR due to the larger nitrogen content in the fuel. The gaseous K species concentrations were higher for FR than for SW (factor 2–3), but not as high as expected from the difference in fuel K content (factor 7), likely due to the high content of Si and Al in FR. Gas-phase K was significantly lower than predicted by thermodynamic equilibrium calculations (TEC), probably due to K adsorption by soot particles. The fine and coarse particle concentrations were significantly higher for FR than for SW due to the higher ash content of FR. The FR fine mode particles consisted mainly of K 2 SO 4 and KCl, in good quantitative agreement with TEC of gas phase condensation. Apatite, Ca 5 (PO 4 ) 3 OH, likely formed from vaporized Ca and P, was found in the fine mode in all recirculation cases.