Dynamics of wet flue gas desulphurization in spray absorber

Abstract

A concise one dimensional thermal-hydraulic two-fluid model is presented for the numerical prediction of sulphur dioxide absorption from the flue gas onto drops of the water-limestone slurry in the vertical spray tower absorber. The model is based on mass, momentum and energy balance equations for each phase separately, i.e. downward falling droplets of water-limestone slurry and upward flowing flue gas. The sulphur dioxide content in the flue gas is predicted by a balance equation of the sulphur dioxide mass fraction in the flue gas. Interface transfer processes between the flue gas and the droplets are determined by closure laws. The obtained steady-state balance equations are transformed in a form suitable for a direct application of the numerical integration method for the system of ordinary differential equations. The developed thermal-hydraulic model is validated by comparing numerical results with available measured data at the large utility absorber. The presented results clearly show the dynamics of flue gas and droplets thermal-hydraulic processes and their influence on the absorption process.