Cofiring of hydrogen and pulverized coal in rotary kilns using one integrated burner

Journal article, 2024

The grate-kiln process for iron-ore pellet induration utilizes pulverized coal fired burners. In a developed infrastructure for H2, it might be desirable to heat the existing rotary kilns with renewably produced H2. Technical challenges of H2 heating of grate-kilns include high emissions of NOX and maintaining sufficient heat transfer to the pellet bed. This article examined cofiring (70% coal/30% H2) in 130 kW experiments using two different integrated burner concepts. Compared to pure coal combustion, cofiring creates a more intense, smaller flame with earlier ignition and less fluctuations. The process temperature and heat transfer are enhanced in the beginning of the kiln. The co-fired flames emit 32% and 78% less NOX emissions compared to pure coal and H2 combustion, respectively. We can affect the combustion behavior and NOX emissions by the burner design. H2/coal cofiring using integrated burners is probably an attractive solution for emission minimization in rotary kilns.