The Gas Technology Institute (GTI) is teaming with the All-Russian Thermal Engineering Institute and DB Riley to develop a pulverized-coal (PC)-combustion system that is an extension of IGT’s METHANE de-NOx^® technology. The technology is composed of a novel PC burner design using natural gas fired coal preheating developed and demonstrated in Russia, LNBs with internal combustion staging, and additional natural gas injection with overfire air. The coal is preheated at elevated temperatures (up to 1500^oF) in oxygen deficient conditions prior to combustion. Coal preheat releases fuel-bound nitrogen together with volatiles present in the coal. These conditions promote the conversion of fuel-bound nitrogen to molecular nitrogen rather than to NOx.

During this 31-month effort, a pilot-scale preheated PC burner system will be installed and tested at DB Riley's 4-million Btu/hr combustor located in Worcester, Massachusetts. Testing will be performed on a Western low-sulfur subbituminous coal and a high-volatile Midwestern bituminous coal. Key parameters to be evaluated include coal throughput, excess air, coal preheat temperature, primary zone air-to-fuel ratio, gas-to-secondary-air zone, and combustion air staging. Based on the pilot-scale test results, development of a commercial prototype NOx reduction system will be carried out using DB Riley’s 100-million Btu/hr combustion facilities. The goal of this task will be to validate system performance, a pre-requisite to commercial field demonstration. IGT estimates the market for the technology to include more than 21,000 burners (over 260,600 MW) in the 37 eastern states encompassing wall-fired (wet and dry bottom), T-fired, roof-fired, and cell burners.