CFD investigation of pelletization effect on co‐firing coal with wheat straw

Abstract

Biomass co-firing in existing coal-fired power plants has been proven successful and practised in many installations worldwide as a greener alternative to coal. Attempts to overcome the low efficiency of transporting raw biomass have resulted in global wood pellets market growth in the past decade. This research studies the effect of biomass densification on biomass co-firing with coal. A three-dimensional CFD model was used to simulate the co-firing of coal and wheat straw. The model was verified by comparing the simulation results and experimental data presented in the literature. The experimental and predicted results were found to be in good agreement and exhibit the same general trends in terms of the gas species (O 2 , CO, CO 2 , and H 2 O) concentrations. The effect of pelletization on biomass particle combustion was then