Three-dimensional simulation of the co-firing of coal and biomass in an oxy-fuel fluidized bed

The co-firing of coal and biomass in fluidized beds under oxy-fuel conditions is an important approach with significant industrial prospects, for both carbon dioxide capture and disposal of biomass waste produced by agriculture and forestry. Numerical simulation is essential in the design of structural and operational parameters for oxy-fuel fluidized beds, as is experimentation. Following our previous research on the oxy-fuel combustion of coal in a fluidized bed (Powder Technol. 2019, 349, 40–51), this paper develops 3D Eulerian-Lagrangian simulations for the co-firing of coal and biomass in an oxy-fuel fluidized bed based on the multiphase particle-in-cell (MP-PIC) scheme. The particle field is described by the discrete particle method (DPM) and the gas field is calculated by large eddy simulation (LES). Different models are used for the reaction of coal and biomass, including devolatilization, combustion of char and volatiles, and the production of pollutants. The numerical simulation was verified by combustion experiments carried out in a micro-fluidized bed reactor with an online mass spectrometer. Based on the simulations, the effects of biomass mass ratio, combustion atmosphere, oxygen concentration, and combustion temperature on the co-firing of coal and biomass in an oxy-fuel fluidized bed are discussed.