One area that is critical to advancement of carbon capture technologies is understanding ultrafine particle formation under combustion conditions associated with next-generation low-carbon combustion technologies, such as pressurized oxy-combustion. Another area where ultrafine particle formation is of interest is that of co-firing coal with natural gas (NG), as this can reduce the carbon intensity of existing coal-fired power plants. A thorough understanding of ultrafine particle formation is essential to both predict and control radiation in boilers and to avoid the deleterious effects of fine particles on fouling in the boilers and emissions in the atmosphere. To this end, three universities have joined forces to utilize their unique capabilities in the fields of aerosol and combustion science to address this topic.
The research will address the following hypotheses, which are focused on particle formation, evolution, and measurement in environments conducive to advanced low-carbon combustion processes: (1)The high CO2 concentrations, elevated pressures and high oxygen concentrations of these processes, relative to conventional combustion, will affect the heating rate, temperature and environment of the fuel during pyrolysis and char combustion, thus affecting the volatilization of inorganic mineral species and the subsequent ultrafine particle formation and growth; (2) The interaction of organic constituents with the inorganic mineral matter in pressurized oxycombustion systems will affect the chemical reaction pathways and resultant formation, growth and transformation of soot and organic aerosols; (3) During NG co-firing with coal, the change in the local chemical environment of the fuel particle will affect ultrafine particle formation; (4) Multiscale models ranging from ab-initio to meso- to full-scale can be validated with a range of instrumentation used in controlled experiments, and will aid in the overall understanding of ultrafine particle formation in advanced combustion processes. This award is co-funded by the CBET Environmental Sustainability program and the Office of International Science and Engineering.
