On October 25th, the kick-off meeting for the National Key R&D Program "Key Technologies for Clean Combustion of Ultra-Low Volatile Carbon-Based Fuels" project, a part of the "Clean and Efficient Utilization of Coal and New Energy-Saving Technologies" key special project led by the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, was held at the Xijiao Hotel in Beijing. Leaders and experts including Chen Shuoyi, Head of the Energy Division, High Technology Research and Development Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Researcher Lü Qinggang, expert from the Special Project Overall Group, Academician Qin Yukun from Harbin Institute of Technology, and He Jingdong, Deputy Head of the Materials and Energy Division, Bureau of Major Science and Technology Tasks, Chinese Academy of Sciences, attended the meeting. The project brings together 17 research institutes and enterprises, including the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin Institute of Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Group, and Shenwu Technology Group. Project leader Researcher Li Shiyuan, along with over 50 task leaders and key research personnel, participated in the meeting.
The kick-off meeting was chaired by Bai Lu, Head of the Institute's Department of Science and Technology. At the meeting, Zhu Junqiang, Director of the Institute, first represented the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics in welcoming and thanking the leaders, experts, and project members for their presence, expressing the Institute's full commitment to project execution. Chen Shuoyi extended congratulations on the project launch and offered earnest expectations for its future execution and completion. He Jingdong, representing the Chinese Academy of Sciences, hoped that the project team would work diligently to prepare for technological development.
The project invited Academician Qin Yukun, Researcher Du Minghua from Shenhua Science and Technology Research Institute, Professor Che Defu from Xi'an Jiaotong University, Senior Engineer Min Xiaojian from Shaanxi Coal Technology Research Institute, Senior Engineer Wang Fengjun from Harbin Boiler Works, and Senior Engineer Shen Jiezong from Wuxi Huaguang Boiler as project consulting experts. Zhu Junqiang presented appointment letters to the six experts at the meeting. The project consulting experts listened to the project and task implementation plans, offering consultation opinions on key execution points and risks. Project leader Researcher Li Shiyuan presented task assignments to the task leaders at the meeting, requiring them to achieve research objectives strictly according to the assignments. Chen Shuoyi then delivered a report titled "Promoting the Implementation of Science and Technology System Reform Requirements for Innovative Project Management and Services," which detailed the background and significance of the National Key R&D Program, clarified the roles and divisions of labor among the Ministry of Science and Technology, the project leading unit, and the task undertaking units during project execution, described the project's journey from approval to implementation plan argumentation, and put forward specific requirements and suggestions for project implementation.
Cascaded coal utilization is one of the important pathways for clean and efficient coal utilization. The use of semi-coke and residual char, byproducts from coal pyrolysis and gasification, as high-grade clean fuels for power generation is a crucial component in achieving clean and efficient cascaded coal utilization. With the rapid development of the coal chemical industry, a significant amount of these fuels urgently needs to be combusted. However, semi-coke and residual char have very low volatile matter content, making clean and efficient combustion highly challenging. This leads to issues such as difficulty in ignition and flame stabilization, low burnout rates, and high NOx emissions. Therefore, achieving clean and efficient combustion utilization of these ultra-low volatile carbon-based fuels has become a critical technical bottleneck hindering the industrial application of clean and efficient cascaded coal utilization, and it urgently needs to be addressed.
The project, "Key Technologies for Clean Combustion of Ultra-Low Volatile Carbon-Based Fuels," specifically proposes developing pulverized coal preheating combustion technology suitable for the dedicated combustion of semi-coke and gasification char, as well as efficient low-NOx combustion technology applicable to large-proportion co-firing of ultra-low volatile carbon-based fuels in power plant pulverized coal boilers. The project will carry out corresponding engineering trials and demonstrations, aiming to promote industrial application. (Source: Website of the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences)