Abstract:
Pressurized oxy-fuel combustion technology, regarded as one of the main directions for CO
2 capture in coal-fired power plants in the future, has been widely studied by academics in recent years. Among these studies, the wet-cycle pressurized oxy-fuel combustion process, in which the recirculating flue gas contains H
2O, has been considered to have better economic potential. The effect of a CO
2/H
2O atmosphere on the pressurized oxy-fuel combustion of char fragments in the pressure range of 4-10 MPa was investigated using reactive molecular dynamics (ReaxFF MD). The contributions of oxidation, CO
2 gasification, and H
2O gasification to char conversion were quantified through an atomic labeling method, and the mechanisms by which pressure and the CO
2/H
2O atmosphere influence char conversion were explored. It was shown that the increase in H
2O inhibited char conversion, resulting in a decrease in carbon conversion by approximately 10% at lower pressures and 1% at higher pressures, while the increase in CO
2 facilitated char conversion, leading to an increase in carbon conversion by approximately 6%-9% with CO
2 across the range of pressures studied under the combustion conditions of the mixed char/O
2/CO
2/H
2O system. The carbon conversion of char was found to increase by 2%-14% with increasing pressure, with the enhancement becoming more pronounced with increasing H
2O and decreasing CO
2. It was observed that pressurization increased the contribution of gasification to char consumption but decreased the contribution of oxidation. This phenomenon was most pronounced in the 30%-CO
2 atmosphere, where carbon conversion was enhanced by 14% and the contribution of oxidation was decreased by 3% with increasing pressure, while the contribution of gasification was elevated by 17%. A competitive relationship was identified between oxidation, CO
2 gasification, and H
2O gasification. At 4 MPa and 40%-H
2O/60%-CO
2, as H
2O concentration increased, the contribution of oxidation decreased by 22.4%, and the contribution of CO
2 gasification decreased by 5.5%. Conversely, as CO
2 concentration increased, the contribution of oxidation decreased by 10%, and the contribution of H
2O gasification decreased by 12%. The competition between oxidation and gasification was reflected in the competition between gasification products and char for O
2, while the competition among gasifications was reflected in the competition for active sites.