Coal combustion in O 2 /CO 2 mixtures compared with air

As part of CO 2 abatement strategies for climate change, we are investigating coal combusion behaviour in various O 2 /CO 2 mixtures and in air. The goal is to simulate conditions of coal combustion with flue gas recirculation in order to maximize the CO 2 concentration in the flue gas prior to its recovery. A western Canadian sub‐bituminous coal and a U.S. eastern bituminous 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 /CO 2 mixtures and air. The oxygen concentration ranged from 21% to 42%. Up to 95% CO 2 concentrations were achieved in the flue gas. This paper describes experimental results in terms of flame temperatures and pollutant emissions (NO x' , SO 2 and CO).