Ecologically sound use of sulfur-containing coal resources of the Irkutsk basin as a factor in the evolution of the regional thermal power industry

The article aims to identify possible directions for developing heat technology systems in Irkutsk Oblast, taking into account the integration of resources of the Irkutsk coal basin with high sulfur content. The study applied a systems analysis of trends in the development of high-capacity coal-fired power boilers, considering the possibility of reducing harmful emissions (NO_x, CO, SO_x) primarily through rational design solutions and the use of coal-water slurry. It is shown that swirl processes realized in fuel combustion schemes that are applied at the TPPs of the Irkutsk power system help to improve the ecological and economic efficiency of heat technology systems, primarily by reducing the combustion temperature and increasing the residence time in the furnace. Experience is available in applying the low-temperature swirl combustion scheme at Ust-Ilimskaya TPP (boiler 6) and a circular furnace at Novo-Irkutskaya TPP (boiler No. 8). It is proposed to redesign the existing power boilers according to the scheme of low-temperature swirl combustion (i.e., the maximum temperature in the furnace is no higher than 1000–1100℃), with the subsequent use of partially demineralized and desulphurized coal-water slurry obtained at the place of extraction and transported by slurry pipeline. Fuel can be burned in a two-stage furnace: it is ignited in its lower part where the low-temperature fluidized bed of inert material is located; then, it is burned completely in the upper part of the furnace at a temperature of 1000–1200℃. Thus, in the context of the growing use of highsulfur coal, the evolution of technological systems in the thermal power industry of Irkutsk Oblast places its cleaning within the scope of activities of power companies. The main method of reducing the emissions of sulfur compounds consists in the low-temperature combustion of fuel using desulfurized coal water slurry.

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