Coal combustion in O-2/CO2 mixtures compared with air

As part of CO2, abatement strategies for climate change, we are investigati ng coal combustion behaviour in various O-2/CO2 mixtures and in air. The go al is to simulate conditions of coal combustion with flue gas recirculation in order to maximize the CO2 concentration in the flue gas prior to its re covery. A western Canadian sub-bituminous coal and a U.S. eastern bituminou s coal were investigated. Thermal input was set at 0.21 MW with a flue gas oxygen concentration of 5 vol%. Experiments were done using various O-2/CO2 mixtures and air. The oxygen concentration ranged from 21% to 42%. Up to 9 5% CO2 concentrations were achieved in the flue gas. This paper describes e xperimental results in terms of flame temperatures and pollutant emissions (NOx, SO2 and CO).