EFFECT OF FUEL COMPOSITION ON THE CONVERSION OF VOLATILE SOLID FUEL-N TO N2O AND NO

Older fuels, which generally have a low fuel-O/fuel-N ratio, produce more N2O in fluidized bed combustion than younger fuels. Here, a proposal is made regarding the effect of fuel composition on the conversion of fuel-N to N2O and NO through HCN and NH3 at temperatures typical of fluidized bed combustion. Because earlier experiments have shown that the fuel oxygen plays an important role in fuel-N chemistry, fuel oxygen was considered together with fuel nitrogen. In model compound studies, phenolic OH-groups in particular were found to increase the conversion of HCN to NH3. In general, the abundance of phenolic oxygen in fuel follows the fuel oxygen concentration. The importance of reactions between OH radicals and HCN was therefore considered.