Energy and exergy balance in the process of pulverized coal combustion in a tubular combustor

A theoretical model of exergy balance, based on availability transfer and flow availability, in the process of pulverized coal combustion in a tubular air-coal combustor has been developed to evaluate the total thermodynamic irreversibility and second law efficiency of the process at various operating conditions. The velocity, temperature, and concentration fields required for the evaluation of flow availability have been computed numerically from a two-phase separated flow model on a Eulerian-Lagrangian frame in the process of combustion of pulverized coal particles in air. The total thermodynamic irreversibility in the process has been determined from the difference in the flow availability at the inlet and outlet of the combustor. A comparative picture of the variations of combustion efficiency and second law efficiency at different operating conditions, such as inlet pressure and temperature of air total air flow rate and inlet air swirl, initial mean particle diameter, and length of the combustor, has been provided to shed light on the trade-off between the effectiveness of combustion and the lost work in the process of pulverized coal combustion in a tubular combustor.