Method of Firing Coal Boiler to Produce Secondary Fuel Gas

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in methods for firing ordinary waterwall boilers, and has as its primary object the provision of a firing method whereby the boiler not only may be operated at full rated capacity, but which also produces a combustible fuel gas which may be utilized for many different purposes. For example, it may be used to fire a gas powered boiler, which may be of equal or even greater capacity than the coal boiler, or may be used to supply processes ordinarily using natural gas as a fuel. The operators of many such process apparatuses are faced with the necessity of converting to the use of solid fuels such as coal, which is relatively plentiful, in view of the present and projected shortage of natural gas, and in many cases such conversions are virtually prohibitively expensive. Most broadly stated, this general object is accomplished by burning the boiler coal in the presence of insufficient oxygen to allow full normal combustion thereof, so that only a portion of its total heat content is released for the normal use of converting water to steam, while the remainder of the total available heat content of the coal passes through the boiler as available chemical energy in the flue gases, said gases being combustible as a fuel gas. The boiler may be fired with an excess of coal, so that the proportion of its heat content released by the partial combustion may still be sufficient to allow the boiler to produce its full rated capacity of steam.

Another object is the provision of a method of the general character described in which the coal is pulverized, and is burned in the presence of varying proportions of steam and oxygen, but not air. Pulverization of the coal has the usual advantage of providing more efficient combustion. The use of oxygen rather than air also promotes more efficient combustion, and additionally eliminates nitrogen, of course present in large quantities in air, from the system. This reduces the total flue gas volume produced in the process, nitrogen being substantially inert and useless for heat producing purposes, and thus it is possible to practice the process without increasing the size of the boiler fire box over that required in normal firing of the boiler. The introduction of steam has at least two important functions. First, it lowers the boiler temperature to a manageable range, perhaps about 2500.degree. l F., as compared to 3.degree.-4,000.degree. F. if the coal were burned in the presence of pure oxygen only. Second, it introduces hydrogen, which is converted to gaseous form usable as a fuel gas in a water-gas shift reaction which occurs as the gaseous products of combustion are cooled by extraction of heat therefrom to convert boiler water to steam.

A further object is the provision of a method of the general character described which is clean and non-polluting to the atmosphere to the extent that, with certain adjuncts such as ash and suphur removal, it may be conducted without a smokestack in normal operation, although a stack may be required for starting and/or emergencies.

Other objects are simplicity and economy as to equipment required, pre-existing equipment be usable in most instances, and efficiency and dependability of operation.

With these objects in view, as well as other objects which will appear in the course of the specification, reference will be had to the accompanying drawing, wherein the single figure is a flow chart diagram of a boiler firing method embodying the present invention.

Using a typical Western sub-bituminous coal as an example, its analysis as mined would be approximately:

In the usual method of firing a boiler with this coal, a simplified combustion reaction using 20.degree. excess air would be as follows:

heat of Combustion = 8001 Btu/lb coal

Volume of Flue Gas = 103 Standard Cubic Feet/lb coal

In the method contemplated by the present invention, however, the coal is burned in the presence of a mixture of O.sub.2 and steam, but not air, in variable proportions. Selecting proportions calculated to produce a substantially equal division between available heat released in the boiler and the heat content of the flue gases, the mixture is about 55% oxygen and 45% steam, by volume. The typical combustion reaction equation would then be:

flame temperature = 2800.degree. F.

heat of combustion = 4730 Btu/lb coal

It will be noted that only about approximately one-half of the previously used amount of oxygen, in relation to the amount of coal used, is supplied in this method, as reflected by the decreased production of CO.sub.2 and increased production of combustible CO. The same fact is also indicated by a decrease in the heat released by combustion, amounting only to about 4730 Btu/lb coal. However, the CO is then available as a fuel gas, and may be burned for any useful purpose, and the amount of coal fed to the boiler may be approximately doubled, in order that the reduced proportion of its total enthalpy released by combustion may still be sufficient to operate the boiler, in its primary function of producing steam, at full rated capacity.

It will be seen that further while the rate of coal supply to the boiler must be approximately doubled in the present method, as compared to the usual excess-air firing, the actual O.sub.2 requirement is only about one-half of that required in air firing, per pound of coal, so that the total O.sub.2 requirement is not materially increased. Also, the flue gas production in the present method, per pound of coal, is greatly reduced, being only 27.2 SCF/lb coal, rather than 103 SCF/lb coal as in air firing. Thus the total flue gas production volume is not increased, but is in fact decreased, so that the firebox volume of a common boiler designed for excess-air firing need not be increased to perform the present method, and indeed could be reduced.

The drawing shows the boiler 2, to which the coal is fed in pulverized form from a pulverizing will 4, as indicated at 6. Also fed to the boiler, so that the coal is burned in the presence thereof, is oxygen from a suitable oxygen producing plant 8, the O.sub.2 conduit being indicated at 10. The steam produced by the boiler passes through a conduit 12 for utilization in any desired manner. A portion of this steam is returned by conduit 14 to be delivered to the burner together with the pulverized coal and oxygen. The introduction of steam into the combustion reaction has two important function as relates to the present method.

Firstly, the steam reduces the boiler temperature to a manageable level of about 2500.degree. F., so that a standard waterwall boiler may be used. If the coal were burned in the presence of O.sub.2 only, the boiler temperature would be perhaps 3.degree.-4000.degree. F., and would require special equipment.

Secondly, the steam provides a source of hydrogen, which is of course combustible and increases the total heat content of the flue gases produced. As will be seen from the basic combustion reaction as given above, the steam introduced is still largely in the form of steam immediately after combustion has occured, but as the products of combustion are then cooled by the extraction of heat therefrom to generate steam, a "water-gas shift" reaction occurs in which some of the hydrogen content of the steam is converted to free hydrogen. The amount of hydrogen converted depends on equilibrium conditions at any given temperature, but for all practical purposes the shift is completed when the gases have cooled to about 900.degree. F., since very little H.sub.2 production occurs below that temperature. At about 900.degree. F., the typical water-gas shift reaction which will have occurred is as follows:

the analysis of the gases at this time is indicated at the ash precipitator 16 of the system, which receives the products of combustion from the boiler through conduit 18. It will be noted that the H.sub.2 content of the gases has risen from 6to 27%, and the water (steam) content reduced from 39 to 17%, as compared to the original gaseous products of combustion. The water-gas shift reaction is endothermic, absorbing a portion of the heat of combustion, thus the usable proportion of the original heat of combustion of the coal, which amounted to 4730 Btu/lb coal, is calculated to be reduced to about 3440 Btu/lb coal, as indicated at 20 on the flow chart. In this connection it should be noted that while the exemplary coal used contains 30.4% H.sub.2 O, this moisture is still not sufficient to obtain maximum hydrogen production from the water-gas shift reaction, so that the addition of additional moisture in the form of steam is required. Moreover, the coal analysis given is "as mined" and in fact has often dried to as little as 3% moisture by the time it is actually fired, so that more steam is required. However, any moisture present in the coal as fired does enter into the water-gas shift reaction, and affects the amount of additional steam required.

Since the amount of coal being fired has been about doubled, the amount of ash to be removed is also doubled. This need not be a problem, however, since the ash may still be removed by precipitator 16, or other well known means not pertinent to the present invention. Also, if pulverized lime or other basic salt is added to the coal fed to the boiler, as indicated at 22, it will drag down some of the sulfur to ash as solid components, such as CaSO.sub.4, CaSO.sub.3, CaS, etc.

Gases leaving precipitator 16 through conduit 24 constitute the raw product gas of the present method, having the analysis shown at 26 in the chart, and a total heat content of about 3430 Btu/lb coal, almost precisely equal to the heat released to steam in the boiler. The combustible constituents of this gas are CO, produced by the incomplete combustion of the coal resulting from the deficient supply of oxygen to the combustion, and H.sub.2, produced from the water-gas shift reaction, the greater proportion of the heat content being contained by the hydrogen. This product gas may be utilized as a fuel gas or in the production of fuel oils.

The heat conversion efficiency of the process is very high: ##EQU1##

Of course, the raw product gas is more than half CO.sub.2, by volume, this carbon dioxide being incombustible. Therefore, it may be desirable to transport it through a conduit 28 to a CO.sub.2 removal station 30, wherein all or most of the CO.sub.2 may be removed by any suitable process, well known in the art but not in itself pertinent to the present invention, thereby producing a fuel gas through conduit 32 containing, by example, 28% CO and 68% H.sub.2, with only 4% CO.sub.2. This step of the process of course does not increase the total heat content of the gas, but merely concentrates it and reduces its volume. Furthermore, the CO.sub.2 removed at 30 has commercial value in many applications. The CO and H.sub.2 may be separated in further steps, if desired, again by known methods and apparatus in themselves forming no part of the present invention. Here again the total heat content of the gases is not increased, but the separation may be desirable for specific applications.

While the example stated above has been selected to provide release of substantially equal amounts of heat to steam in the boiler and to heat content of the flue gases, it is possible, by varying the quantity and proportions of the oxygen and steam fed to the boiler, to release as little as 30% or as much as 70% of the converted heat to steam in the boiler, and as much as 70% or as little as 30% of said heat as heat content of the flue gases, as may be desired. It is also possible to use "oxygen-enriched" air in place of pure oxygen, as long as the proportions therof used, as related to the coal and steam used, are properly adjusted.

The usual pollution problems connected with conventionally fired boilers are completely eliminated by the present process of firing. Using oxygen instead of air eliminates all nitrogen from the system, and eliminates any possibility of various nitrous oxide compounds, generally designated NOx.

While I have shown and described a specific example of my invention, it will be readily apparent that many minor changes in the details thereof could be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.