Advanced combustor design concepts to control NO{sub x} and air toxics. Quarterly report

Direct coal combustion must be a primary energy source for the electric utility industry and for heavy manufacturing during the next several decades because of the availability and economic advantage of coal relative to other fuels and because of the time required to product major market penetration in the energy field. However, the major obstacle to coal utilization is a set of ever-tightening environmental regulations at both the federal and local levels. It is, therefore, critical that fundamental research be conducted to support the development of low-emission, high efficiency pulverized coal power systems. The University of Utah, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Reaction Engineering International (REI) and ABB/Combustion Engineering have joined together in this research proposal to develop fundamental understanding regarding the impact of fuel and combustion changes on ignition stability and flame characteristics because these critically affect: NO{sub x} emissions, carbon burnout, and emissions of air toxics. Existing laboratory and bench scale facilities are being used to generate critical missing data which will be used to improve the NO{sub x} and carbon burnout submodels in comprehensive combustion manufacture. 3 figs., 1 tab