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Optimization and simulation of low-temperature combustion and heat transfer in an Uhde carbonization furnace

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Abstract

The temperature distribution inside a low-temperature combustion chamber with circuited flame path during the low temperature pyrolysis of lignite was simulated using the computational fluid dynamics software FLUENT. The temperature distribution in the Uhde combustion chamber showed that the temperature is very non-uniform and could therefore not meet the requirements for industrial heat transfer. After optimizing the furnace, by adding a self-made gas-guide structure to the heat transfer section as well as adjusting the gas flow size in the flame path, the temperature distribution became uniform, and the average temperature (550–650 °C) became suitable for industrial low-temperature pyrolysis. The Realizable k-epsilon model, P-1 model, and the Non-premixed model were used to calculate the temperature distribution for the combustion of coke-oven gas and air inside the combustion chamber. Our simulation is consistent with our experimental results within an error range of 40–80 °C. The one-dimensional unsteady state heat conduction differential equation \(\mathop \rho \nolimits_{coal} \mathop C\nolimits_{coal} \frac{\partial T}{\partial t} = \frac{\partial }{\partial x}(\lambda \frac{\partial T}{\partial x})\) can be used to calculate the heat transfer process. Our results can serve as a first theoretical base and may enable technological advances with regard to lignite pyrolysis.

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Abbreviations

a:

The three-dimensional length of the exhaust gas outlet (mm)

b:

The three-dimensional width of the exhaust gas outlet (mm)

C:

The linear anisotropic phase function coefficient

C:

The specific heat (J K/kg)

C 1ɛ :

The default value determined from experiments for fundamental turbulent flows

C2 :

The default value determined from experiments for fundamental turbulent flows

D1 :

The three-dimensional outside diameter of the fuel inlet (mm)

D2 :

The three-dimensional outside diameter of the air inlet (mm)

G:

The three-dimensional incident radiation

Gk :

The turbulent energy which was resulted from mean velocity gradient

Gb :

The turbulent energy affected by buoyancy

h:

The enthalpy (J/kg)

I :

The radiation intensity

k:

The kinetic energy

L:

The three-dimensional diameter of the combustion chamber

q r :

The three-dimensional radiation heat flux

S K :

The user-defined source terms

S ɛ :

The user-defined source terms

S ϕ :

A generalized source term

T:

The carbonization temperature (°C)

Tfuel :

The inlet temperature of the fuel (K)

Tair :

The inlet temperature of the fuel (K)

T rɛf :

A user input for PDF models (K)

t:

The carbonization time (sec or min)

\(\overrightarrow {u}\) :

The three-dimensional mean velocity of fluid-flow (m/s)

V:

The three-dimensional volumetric flow rate of fuel or air (m3/h)

x:

The two-dimensional heat transfer distance (mm or m)

YM :

The compressible turbulent fluctuating inflation’s effect on the total dissipation rate

ϕ :

A variable

Γ:

A generalized diffusion coefficient corresponding to variable ϕ

α:

The absorption coefficient

σs :

The scattering coefficient

σ k :

The turbulent Prandtl numbers for k

σ ɛ :

The turbulent Prandtl numbers for ɛ

ωi :

The mass fraction of the element i

ωio :

The value of oxidizer inlet

ωif :

The value of fuel flow at the entrance

σ ɛ :

The default value determined from experiments for fundamental turbulent flows

ω:

The mixture fraction

ρ :

The density of solid coal/coke or gas (kg·m−3)

ɛ :

The dissipation rate

λ :

Heat conductivity coefficient (W/m·K)

κ eff :

The effective thermal conductivity (W/(m·K))

ad:

Air dried base

daf:

Dry ash free base

eff:

Effective

i:

1,2,3…

io:

The oxidizer inlet

if:

The fuel inlet

t:

Total

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51274147), National Science & Technology Pillar Program (Grant No.2012BAA04B03), Shanxi Provincial Natural Science Foundation (2010011014-1) and Shanxi Returned Students Fund (1999-018).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Coal Science and Technology, Ministry of Education and Shanxi Province, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China

    Jun Liu, Yongfa Zhang, Ying Wang, Lei Chen & Gaihuan Liu

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  1. Jun Liu
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  2. Yongfa Zhang
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  3. Ying Wang
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  4. Lei Chen
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  5. Gaihuan Liu
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Correspondence to Yongfa Zhang.

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Liu, J., Zhang, Y., Wang, Y. et al. Optimization and simulation of low-temperature combustion and heat transfer in an Uhde carbonization furnace. Heat Mass Transfer 52, 2101–2112 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-015-1727-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-015-1727-8

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