Fluidized bed combustion of Suncor coke

Abstract

Coke from the Suncor (formerly Great Canadian Oil Sands) oil sands extraction process has been burned in a pilot-scale atmospheric fluidized bed combustor (AFBC) at the Canadian Combustion Research Laboratory. Gas concentrations including carbon monoxide, nitric oxide and sulphur dioxide have been measured for a range of operating conditions. These together with elutriation data are presented along with heat and mass balances. An attempt has been made to represent the carbon carryover data in terms of a multivariable analysis of the fundamental bed parameters, fluidizing velocity, excess air and bed temperature. One test was carried out using Havelock limestone from New Brunswick as a sulphur sorbent. A Ca/S ratio of 3:1 resulted in an 80 per cent reduction of sulphur dioxide concentration in the gas stream bringing the sulphur dioxide level from a theoretical value of 3570 ppm to an average of 700 ppm.