Modeling of NOx and CO Reactions for Commercial Scale Pulverized Coal Firing Boilers

The NOx-CO reaction model was developed for commercial scale pulverized coal firing boilers. The model was used to decide optimize combustion performance and it featured simplified sub models of NOx reduction, pyrolysis and CO oxidation. To improve combustion performance of commercial scale pulverized boilers, it is most important to predict the distribution of NOx and CO concentrations and search for the best conditions in a short time. The NOx reduction sub model was developed for both volatile and char combustion. The pyrolysis sub model was developed from a comparison of Distributed Activation Energy Model results and experimental data. The CO oxidation sub model was characterized by its consideration of the effect of hydroxide radicals. The simulation gave a lower CO oxidation rate for a long reaction time, the same as the actual result. The NOx-CO reaction model successfully analyzed NOx and CO concentration distributions of commercial scale boilers for power plants (260–1000MW).