Update on Lignite Firing
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Update on lignite firing Qian Zhu CCC/201 ISBN 978-92-9029-521-1 June 2012 copyright © IEA Clean Coal Centre Abstract Low rank coals have gained increasing importance in recent years and the long-term future of coal -derived energy supplies will have to include the greater use of low rank coal. However, the relatively low economic value due to the high moisture content and low calorific value, and other undesirable properties of lignite coals limited their use mainly to power generation at, or, close to, the mining site. Another important issue regarding the use of lignite is its environmental impact. A range of advanced combustion technologies has been developed to improve the efficiency of lignite-fired power generation. With modern technologies it is now possible to produce electricity economically from lignite while addressing environmental concerns. This report reviews the advanced technologies used in modern lignite-fired power plants with a focus on pulverised lignite combustion technologies. CFBC combustion processes are also reviewed in brief and they are compared with pulverised lignite combustion technologies. Acronyms and abbreviations CFB circulating fluidised bed CFBC circulating fluidised bed combustion CFD computational fluid dynamics CV calorific value EHE external heat exchanger GRE Great River Energy GWe gigawatts electric kJ/kg kilojoules per kilogram kWh kilowatts hour Gt billion tonnes FBC fluidised bed combustion FBHE fluidised bed heat exchanger FEGT furnace exit gas temperature FGD flue gas desulphurisation GJ gigajoule HHV higher heating value IDGCC Integrated Drying Gasification Combined Cycle IEA International Energy Agency IGCC integrated gasification combined cycle kg/h kilograms per hour kPa kilopascals kWh kilowatts per hour LHV lower heating value m2 square metres m3/d cubic metres per day mg/m 3 micrograms per cubic metre MJ megajoule MJ/s megajoules per second MPa megapascals Mt million tonnes MWe megawatts electric MWh megawatts hour MWth megawatts thermal O&M operating and maintenance OFA over fire air PC pulverised coal PCC pulverised coal combustion R&D research and development rmp revolutions per minute t/h tonnes per hour t/y tonnes per year SC supercritical WEC World Energy Council US DOE The US Department of Energy USC ultra-supercritical µm micrometres 2 IEA CLEAN COAL CENTRE Contents Acronyms and abbreviations . 2 Contents . 3 1 Introduction . 5 2 Lignite and its utilisation . 8 2.1 Reserves and production . 8 2.2 Lignite characteristics . 12 2.3 Lignite utilisation . 13 3 Lignite drying technologies . 15 3.1 Evaporative drying . 16 3.1.1 WTA technology . 16 3.1.2 DryFining™ . 18 3.1.3 Entrained flow drying . 19 3.1.4 Superheated steam drying (SHSD) . 19 3.1.5 Coldry Process . 20 3.1.6 Microwave drying . 21 3.1.7 High velocity air flow grinding/drying . 22 3.2 Non-evaporative dewatering . 23 3.2.1 Hydrothermal dewatering (HTD) . 23 3.2.2 Mechanical thermal expression (MTE) . 27 3.2.3 Comments . 28 4 Pulverised lignite firing . 29 4.1 Pulverised lignite firing process . 29 4.2 Lignite milling . 31 4.2.1 Beater wheel mill with classifier . 31 4.2.2 Beater wheel mill with vapour separation classifier . 32 4.2.3 Beater wheel mill with staged grinding . 32 4.3 Low NOx burners . 32 4.4 Boiler design . 34 4.4.1 Firing system . 34 4.4.2 Boiler size . 35 4.4.3 Thermal design . 36 4.4.4 Primary measurers for NOx emissions control . 39 4.4.5 Reduction in excess air . 39 4.4.6 Air staging . 39 4.4.7 Fuel compression, vapour separation . 40 4.4.8 Flue gas recirculation . 41 4.4.9 Heating surface cleaning system . 42 4.5 Materials . 43 4.6 Turbine system . 45 4.7 Waste heat recovery and utilisation . 47 4.8 Impact of lignite characteristics . 48 4.9 Case study: BoA 2&3 . 49 4.10 Summary . 53 Update on lignite firing 3 5 PC versus CFBC . 54 5.1 Advances in CFB technology . 54 5.1.1 Efficiencies . 55 5.1.2 Availability and reliability . 55 5.1.3 Environmental performance . 56 5.1.4 Scale-up . 57 5.1.5 Other developments in CFB technology . 57 5.1.6 Future developments . 58 5.2 CFB manufacturers and their technologies . 58 5.2.1 Foster Wheeler . 58 5.2.2 Alstom . 59 5.2.3 AE&E Lentjes GmbH . 60 5.2.4 Babcock & Wilcox . 61 5.2.5 Other manufacturers . 62 5.3 Comparison of PC and CFB . 63 5.3.1 Operational performance . 63 5.3.2 Environmental performance . 64 5.3.3 Carbon capture . 65 5.3.4 Costs . 65 6 Summary . 68 7 References . 71 4 IEA CLEAN COAL CENTRE 1 Introduction Coal plays a significant role in meeting global energy demand. Coal is the world’s most abundant fossil fuel and coal deposits exist in nearly every region of the world. Therefore, coal has an enormous geostrategic advantage compared to crude oil and natural gas and is vital for global energy security. Since 2000, global coal consumption has grown at an average annual rate of 4.9%, faster than any other fuel. The increase in coal use is set to continue and is expected to rise by over 60% by 2030, with developing countries accounting for around 97% of this increase (WEC, 2010). The main driver of demand for coal is the inexorable growth in energy needed for power generation. The recent World Energy Outlook by the International Energy Agency (IEA, 2009) projected that the world electricity demand would grow at an annual rate of 2.5% between 2007 and 2030. Globally, additions to power generation capacity could total 4800 GW by 2030. A significant portion of the electricity generated will come from coal-fired power plants. Coal is, and will remain, the major fuel of the power sector. The current share of coal in the global power generation mix is approximately 41% and it is expected to increase to 44% by 2030 (IEA, 2009). The quality of coal varies significantly depending on the degree of metamorphism from peat to anthracite (this is referred to as the ‘rank’ of the coal) and the geographical location where the coal has formed. Generally, the term ‘coal’ refers to a whole range of combustible sedimentary rock materials spanning a continuous quality scale. Coal is usually divided into four.