Cyclone process description

Based on the above description of the coal combustion process several conclusions become apparent. First, the type and amount of ash accumulated during coal combustion greatly depends on the mineralogy of the coal being used, the combustion process, and the presence of emission control devices. Secondly, the chemical forms in which elements are found in ash are affected by coal combustion process variables such as combustion temperature and the mode of combustion (e.g., pulverized-coal fired, fluidized bed, cyclone, stoker). Lastly, the amount of CCPs accumulated by power plants is predominantly a consequence of the presence of emission control devices. The latter is supported by the fact that the total amount of CCPs produced in the US has increased significantly since the use of electrostatic precipitators became prevalent in the early 1970s (Simsiman et al. 1987). 

Description of the process. The simplified process flow diagram is shown in Figure 16.12. The shredder waste (ASR, plastic and electronic waste as well as MSW) is fed in an IRFB, which operates in a reducing atmosphere and at temperatures as low as 500-600°C, allowing easy control of the process. The IRFB reactor separates the combustible portion and the dust from the inert and metallic particles of the fed waste the obtained mixture of metallic and inert particles is sent to a mechanical metal separation while fuel gas and carbonaceous particles are burnt in a cyclonic combustion chamber for energy production and fine ash vitrification. Metals such as aluminium, copper and iron can be recycled as valuable products from the bottom off-stream of the IRFB as they are neither oxidized nor sintered with... 

A laboratory scale (nominally 50 kW) combustion system was used to conduct the combustion tests. The over stoker combustor is mounted in a rig comprising a convective tube bank, fouling probe, stack, cyclone and associated sampling, and monitoring equipment. Detailed descriptions of the experimental apparatus are provided elsewhere (9). It should be noted that no secondary air was used in the combustion process. 

Recently, Pallares and Johnsson [106] presented an overview of the macroscopic semi-empirical models used for the description of the fluid dynamics of circulating fluidized bed combustion units. They summarized the basic modeling concepts and assumptions made for each model together with the major advantages and drawbacks. In order to make a structured analysis of the processes involved, the CFBC unit is often divided into 6 fluid dynamical zones like the bottom bed, freeboard, exit zone, exit duct, cyclone and downcomer and particle seal, which have been shown to exhibit different fluid dynamical behavior. 

However, besides the simple ranking there is quite often even a quantitative prediction of the proeess attrition requested. This requires both an attrition model with a precise description of the process stress and as an input parameter to the model precise information on the material s attritability under this specific type of stress. This calls for attrition/friability tests that duplicate the process stress entirely. As will be elucidated in Sec. 5, the stress in a given fluidized bed system will be generated from at least three sources, i.e., the grid jets, the bubbling bed, and the cyclones. For each there is a corresponding friability test procedure. 

In this section we shall present a brief description of gas-solid contacting in kilns, moving beds, cyclones, and transfer line reactors. A substantial number of gas-solid reactions are carried out in equipment of this type, such as ironmaking in the blast furnace (moving bed), the manufacture of cement (kilns), and certain direct reduction processes of iron oxide (kilns or moving beds). 

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