Staged Combustion of CWM Fuel

The prognosis for electric power generating capacity and for electric power consumption forcasts a problem of power deficits in the future. A solution to that problem may be found in the conversion of existing and future oil and gas fired units to accept coal as the principle fuel. It is recognized that the gas turbine engine can represent a substantial response to the potential electric power deficit problem; consequently, providing a coal-based fuel compatible with gas turbine systems may be of great importance. Technological problems will be encountered in substituting a coal-water slurry for the currently-used more tractable gas turbine fuels. These problems include the design of both fuel injectors that provide desirable fuel distribution and atomization characteristics, and of combustors with broad ranges of stability. Moreover, it must be recognized that the bound nitrogen in coal will produce unacceptable levels of nitrogen oxides unless special combustion techniques are used. Thus, efforts must be undertaken to develop acceptable coal-water fuel specifications, establish the viability of burning coal-water mixtures in gas turbines, and establish a data base for ultimate use in combustion system design procedures.