Feasibility of co-disposal of lignite and eucalyptus wood in coal-fired power plants: thermogravimetric characterization, typical gaseous pollutant emission characteristics, and economic analysis

ABSTRACT

Energy issues are becoming increasingly prominent, and biomass blending in coal-fired power plants can improve combustion performance and reduce gaseous pollutant emissions, thereby improving economic efficiency. In this study, a thermogravimetric analyzer, a horizontal tube furnace, and an infrared flue gas analyzer were used to investigate the combustion behavior and gaseous pollutant emissions of the co-combustion of LC and EW. The results show that blending EW into LC cofiring can inhibit the release of volatile matter and promote the decomposition of fixed carbon and lignin simultaneously. The HHV of EW (15.88 MJ/kg) reaches 63.7% of LC’s (24.90 MJ/kg), indicating EW has a high energy utilization value. With increasing combustion temperature, the average value of CR_S increased from 47.09% to 59.94%, and the average value of CR_Cl increased from 26.15% to 52.15%, leading to a significant increase in SO₂ and HCl emissions. The decrease in combustion temperature slightly promoted the release of N (CR_N increased from 11.76% to 14.45%). The results of the economic analysis show that the cost of CaO and NH₃·H₂O used for removing gaseous pollutants decreased the most, and the economic efficiency increased the fastest to 14,000 RMB/day when the EW blending ratio increased from 10% to 20%.

KEYWORDS:

• Co-combustion
• lignite coal
• eucalyptus wood
• typical gaseous pollutant
• release characteristics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Qihong Zou: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Software, Roles/Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.

Guangmin Peng: Methodology, Project administration.

Zhaosheng Yu: Supervision, Funding acquisition.

Jianhua Lin: Investigation, supervision.

Changjiang Dou: Investigation, supervision.

Xinlong Liang: Investigation, supervision. Chunxiang Chen: Methodology, Supervision.

Xiaoqian Ma: Supervision.

Supplemental material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2024.2324151

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Guangxi Key Research and Development Natural Science Foundation [GUIKEAB22035033] and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [2022ZFJH04].

Notes on contributors

Qihong Zou

Qihong Zou: Master’s degree student at the School of Electric Power, South China University of Technology, with research interests in high efficiency and low pollution combustion.

Guangmin Peng

Guangmin Peng: He works in China Resources Power (Hezhou) Co., Ltd.

Zhaosheng Yu

Zhaosheng Yu: Associate Professor at the School of Electric Power, South China University of Technology, with research interests in solid waste energy utilization.

Jianhua Lin

Jianhua Lin: works in China Resources Power (Hezhou) Co., Ltd.

Changjiang Dou

Changjiang Dou: works for China Resources Power (Hezhou) Co., Ltd.

Xinlong Liang

Xinlong Liang: works in China Resources Power (Hezhou) Co., Ltd.

Chunxiang Chen

Chunxiang Chen: Associate Professor at the School of Mechanical Engineering, Guangxi University, with research interests in the efficient conversion and clean application of energy.

Xiaoqian Ma

Xiaoxi Ma: Professor at the School of Electric Power, South China University of Technology, with research interests in efficient and low-pollution combustion.