Three-zonal engineering method of heat calculation for fluidized bed furnaces based on data on commercial investigations of heat generation distribution during biomass combustion

Abstract

A three-zonal method of heat calculation of furnaces for combustion of biomass and low-caloric fuel in the fluidized bed is described. The method is based on equations of thermal and material balances that account for heat generation by fuel in the zone, heat-and-mass transfer heat exchange between the furnace media and surfaces that bound the zone, and heat-and-mass transfer between furnace zones. The calculation procedure for heat generation by fuel in the fluidized bed (FB) using the heat generation portion by the fuel is proposed. Based on commercial investigations, the main factors that affect the average temperature in the FB and the portion of fuel heat that is released in the FB are determined. Results of commercial investigations showed that the airflow coefficient in the FB should be recognized as the main operation parameter that affects the average temperature in the FB and, consequently, heat generation in the FB. The gas flow rate in the FB can be marked out as the second factor that affects the consumption degree of oxidizer supplied in the FB. Commercial investigations revealed that mixing is affected by the gas flow rate in the FB and the bed material particle size, which may be changed during the boiler operation because of the agglomeration of particles of sand and ash. The calculation processing of commercial investigations on a KM-75-40M boiler of a CHP-3 of an Arkhangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill (APPM), which was carried out using the inverse problem procedure by means of a developed computer program, determined the range of the fuel heat release share in the FB, which was 0.26–0.45 at an excess air factor of 0.59–0.93 in the bed, and the heat release share in the maximum temperature zone in the total heat release in the superbed space. The heat release share in the bed is determined as an approximating function of the excess air factor in the bed and the fluidization number. The research results can be used during designing boilers with the fluidized bed on biomass.