Studies of granular bed filter for dust removal in the process of coal pyrolysis by solid heat carrier

Aiming at the optimization of the dust removal process in the poly-generation system of circulating fluidized bed (CFB) combustion/coal pyrolysis, a granular bed filter (GBF) is applied to the coal pyrolysis by solid heat carrier. By carrying out lab-scale experiments with a moving-bed pyrolyzer, the GBF model proposed by C. Tien et al. was used to describe the dust removal process of the dust-contained volatiles which has high temperature and high viscosity. The model applicability for real pyrolysis volatiles was verified. The results show that, the particle size distribution of the dust uncollected by the GBF is relatively concentrated. The majority particle size of uncollected dust is less than 20 μm, the mass fraction is ∼80%. The GBF is in a state of unsteady operation in the process of dust filtration. With the increase of operating time, the dust is gradually deposited in the GBF, then resulting in an increase of bed pressure drop. In the examined range, the calculational value of GBF efficiency is slightly lower than the experimental value. On the one hand, the filter media particles have a certain specific surface area, so that part of the dust-contained tar can be adsorbed on the filter media surface to achieve a better interception effect. On the other hand, the dust particle deposited in the GBF also plays an important role in dust capture. The C. Tien model results of the initial filtration efficiency can be used as the selection reference of the medium species and the physical properties of the GBF. The higher filter height, slower superficial gas velocity, and smaller size of medium are conducive to decrease the dust content in the pyrolysis products. This study can provide basic data for the dust removal process in the poly-generation system of CFB combustion/coal pyrolysis.