Fluidized Bed Combustion

Fluidized bed combustion is a technology for burning solid fuels by suspending fuel particles in a hot, bubbling bed of ash and materials such as sand and limestone, with air jets supplying the oxygen needed for combustion. The intimate mixing of gas and solids promotes rapid heat transfer and chemical reaction within the bed, letting a plant burn low grade fuels such as coal, coal waste and biomass efficiently without pulverizing or other costly preprocessing. Limestone in the bed captures sulfur emissions, and the comparatively low combustion temperature of about seven hundred sixty to nine hundred thirty degrees Celsius sharply reduces nitrogen oxide formation compared with conventional furnaces, letting fluidized bed plants meet federal sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide limits while also being smaller than an equivalent conventional furnace.