Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation

Foster Wheeler North America Corp.

Foster Wheeler Development Corporation

Foster Wheeler Energy International, Inc.

Amec Foster Wheeler Power Equipment Company, Inc.

Zhen Fan

Andrew H Seltzer

Horst Hack

Song Wu

Timo Eriksson

Archibald Robertson

Arichbald Stuart Robertson, Jr

Chongqing Lu

Ossi Sippu

Andrew Seltzer

A method of controlling a boiler plant during a switchover period from an air-combustion mode to an oxygen-combustion mode. The method includes steps of feeding fuel into a furnace of the boiler plant at a rate determined by a fuel feeding scheme, feeding air into the furnace at a rate determined by a descending air feeding scheme, feeding substantially pure oxygen into the furnace at a rate determined by an ascending oxygen feeding scheme, and recirculating flue gas into the furnace at a rate determined by an ascending flue gas recirculating scheme. The fuel feeding scheme, the air feeding scheme and the oxygen feeding scheme are such that the fuel is combusted and the flue gas containing residual oxygen is produced. Also, the fuel feeding scheme, the air feeding scheme and the oxygen feeding scheme are such that the content of residual oxygen in the flue gas is, during at least a portion of the switchover period, greater than during any of the air-combustion mode and the oxygen-combustion mode. The method makes it possible to reduce COemissions and Oconsumption quickly during the short switchover period.

Method of controlling a boiler plant during switchover from air-combustion to oxygen-combustion

A method of and an apparatus for capturing COfrom flue gas emanating from a carbonaceous fuel combusting power plant, which includes a source of oxygen and a combustion chamber for combusting the fuel with oxygen and thereby producing flue gas that includes CO, water and excess oxygen as its main components. At least a portion of the flue gas is compressed to a pressure higher than about sixty bar, the compressed flue gas is cooled in a primary COseparating unit for capturing a first portion of the COby condensing it to produce a liquid COstream and a high pressure vent gas stream that includes oxygen and excess CO, the liquid COstream is discharged from the power plant, and the high pressure vent gas stream is conducted to a secondary COseparating unit for capturing a second portion of the COby adsorbing it to an adsorbing material.

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A method of and a power plant for generating power by combusting carbonaceous fuel with substantially pure oxygen, and a method of modifying a process of generating power by combusting carbonaceous fuel from combusting the fuel with air to combusting the fuel with substantially pure oxygen. The methods include feeding substantially pure oxygen into a furnace for combusting fuel with the oxygen to produce exhaust gas including mainly carbon dioxide and water, recovering low-grade heat from the exhaust gas by using multiple exhaust gas coolers arranged in a downstream portion of the exhaust gas channel, wherein a first portion of the recovered low-grade heat is used for preheating feedwater; pressurizing a first portion of the exhaust gas in multiple exhaust gas compressors so as to produce liquid carbon dioxide, recycling a second portion of the exhaust gas to the furnace via an exhaust gas recycling channel, using a first portion of steam extracted from a steam turbine system to preheat feedwater, wherein the first portion of the recovered low-grade heat is more than 50% of the total amount of recovered low-grade heat, or larger than the first portion of the recovered low-grade heat in the air-fired process, allowing minimizing of the first portion of the extracted steam, and the expanding of a second portion of the extracted steam in at least one auxiliary steam turbine for driving at least one compressor or at least one pump of the power plant.

Method of and power plant for generating power by oxyfuel combustion

A system and a method for controlling NOemissions from a boiler that combusts carbonaceous fuels. The method includes the steps of (a) introducing carbonaceous fuel and combustion air into a furnace of the boiler for combusting the carbonaceous fuel in oxidizing conditions and producing flue gas including NOand CO, and (b) leading flue gas from the furnace to a catalyst section in a flue gas channel for converting, free from introducing an external agent for NOreduction, NOto Nand CO to COby using CO as the reductant of NOon a catalyst in the catalyst section.

A power generating system having a hybrid gasification cycle, in which COis recycled to a gasifier to be used as a gasification reactant and working fluid. The power generating system includes a source of fresh, pure oxygen, a gasifier, a particle separator arranged in flow connection with the gasifier, a syngas combustor, a gas turbine arranged in flow connection with the syngas combustor, a steam generator arranged in flow connection with the outlet of the gas turbine, and a gas compressor system which discharges a stream of compressed exhaust gas. A first portion of the stream of compressed exhaust gas is conducted to the gasifier to control the temperature in the gasifier, to provide COand steam for gasification, and to decrease the demand for fresh, pure oxygen therein.

Advanced hybrid coal gasification cycle utilizing a recycled working fluid

A multi-stage topping combustor unit having rich burn, and lean burn zones followed by a quench/dilution zone. Combustible fuel gas is supplied only to the rich burn zone, and an oxygen-containing air-flue gas mixture is supplied to all three zones in a fixed flow proportioning that establishes a desired temperature profile through the combustor unit that minimizes combustor NOx and CO emissions. The combustor unit casing is cooled by an augmented air and oxygen stream discharged into the rich burn zone only, or into both the rich and lean burn zones. The cooling air flow is regulated by a control device/valve that allows the cooling air flow, and hence the augmenting oxygen entering the rich burn zone or the rich and lean burn zones, to be reduced as the fuel gas flow/firing temperature is reduced. The concurrent reduction of the cooling air and fuel gas flows enables the combustor unit temperature distribution and NOx and CO emissions to be controlled as gas turbine firing temperature and power output are reduced.

Topping combustor for low oxygen vitiated air streams

A process for producing mechanical power utilizing compressed and humidified hot air and a fuel, which are mixed together and combusted and the resulting hot combustion gas is expanded through a gas turbine. The air is initially compressed and intercooled against a water stream, and then further compressed and passed directly to a heat recovery unit where it is humidified using the water from the compressed air intercooling step. The compressed humidified air is further heated against hot turbine exhaust gas and combined with a fuel in a combustor, and the resulting hot combustion gas is expanded through a gas turbine to produce mechanical power needed for driving the air compression. The hot turbine exhaust gas is cooled countercurrently against the compressed humidified air stream and against the water stream, and then discharged to the atmosphere. By eliminating a usual separate air aftercooling and saturator unit upstream of the air combined humidifying and heating step, process thermal efficiency for the present process is increased and equipment cost reduced.

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Parsippany, NJ, United States of America

Zhen Fan