Resolved flow simulation of pulverized coal particle devolatilization and ignition in air- and O2/CO2-atmospheres

•Resolved flow simulations of devolatilization and ignition of single coal particles.•Analysis of the impact of O2, N2 and CO2 concentration on ignition delay.•Comparison between predicted and measured ignition delay times.

A resolved laminar flow simulation approach is used to investigate the effect of enhanced oxygen levels on single coal particle ignition, comparing the numerical results against experimental data for well-defined conditions (Molina and Shaddix, 2007). Devolatilization is described by a generic boundary condition at the particle surface that accounts for both convective and diffusive phenomena during pyrolysis. The heating rate history of the particle is obtained by solving for intra-particle heat transfer and heat exchange between the particle and its surroundings. The time evolution of volatile release is captured by using the particle mean temperature to calculate the devolatilization rate from a single kinetic rate law with CPD-fitted parameters. The assumed volatile composition includes both light gases and larger hydrocarbons to represent tars. A skeletal kinetic mechanism for pyrolysis and oxidation of hydrocarbon and oxygenated fuels containing 52 species and 452 reactions is used to accurately describe homogeneous chemistry. Particle heat-up, pyrolysis, ignition and envelope flame stabilization are characterized in four gas atmospheres differing in oxygen content and the use of either N2 or CO2 as balance gas. In agreement with the experimental evidence, enhanced oxygen levels shorten ignition delay time τign and result in a higher intensity of the combustion process according to temperature and radical production peaks for all studied mixtures. For the studied oxy-mixtures the presence of CO2 in substitution of N2 delays ignition. The observed behavior is coherent with the different thermo-physical properties of the gas mixtures. The sensitivity of predicted ignition delay to a set of uncertainties is also discussed. It is found that while the absolute values of predicted ignition delay time are functions of potential particle preheating, particle Reynolds number and the chosen criterion to extract ignition delay, the relative trends among the gas mixtures remain in line with the experimental evidence.