Two systems of hydraulic mixing in a vertical cylindrical anaerobic digester: standard and modernised are discussed in the paper. Numerical investigations that were carried out are focused on a study of hydrodynamic processes in an aerobic digester using two various systems of hydraulic mixing as well as on analysis of the efficiency of methane fermentation process accomplished under different geometric parameters of an anaerobic digester and systems of hydraulic mixing.

Generally, the temperature of flue gases at the furnace outlet is not measured. Therefore, a special computation procedure is needed to determine it. This paper presents a method for coordination of the numerical model of a pulverised fuel boiler furnace chamber with the measuring data in a situation when CFD calculations are made in regard to the furnace only. This paper recommends the use of the classical 0-dimensional balance model of a boiler, based on the use of measuring data. The average temperature of flue gases at the furnace outlet tk" obtained using the model may be considered as highly reliable. The numerical model has to show the same value of tk" . This paper presents calculations for WR-40 boiler. The CFD model was matched to the 0-dimensional tk" value by means of a selection of the furnace wall emissivity. As a result of CFD modelling, the flue gas temperature and the concentration of CO, CO2, O2 and NOx were obtained at the furnace chamber outlet. The results of numerical modelling of boiler combustion based on volumetric reactions and using the Finite-Rate/Eddy-Dissipation Model are presented.

The subject of the CFD analysis presented in this paper is the process of biomass indirect co-firing carried out in a system composed of a stoker-fired furnace coupled with a gasification reactor. The installation is characterised by its compact structure, which makes it possible to minimise heat losses to the environment and enhance the physical enthalpy of the oxidising agent – flue gases – having a favourable chemical composition with oxygen and water vapour. The test results provided tools for modelling of biomass thermal processing using a non-standard oxidiser in the form of flue gases. The obtained models were used to optimise the indirect co-combustion process to reduce emissions. An overall effect of co-combustion of gas from biomass gasification in the stoker furnace is the substantial reduction in NO emissions by about 22%.

The homogeneous stirred reactor designed for kinetic studies of the combustion of hydrocarbons with intensive internal recirculation in high temperature combustion chamber is described. The originality of our reactor lies in its construction which allows to intensively mix fuel and flue gases, measure gas temperature as well as obtain samples which can be used to investigate diffusion flames. The cylindrical construction enables to use the reactor in laboratory cylindrical electrically heated ovens. The CFD analysis of the reactors, the mixing parameters (turbulent Peclet number and mixing level) and the volume average temperature in the reactors were elaborated on the basis of the typical dimensions of classical reactors to kinetics research as well as the own reactor design. The results of the analysis allow to reveal advantages of our construction.

Electroflotation is used in the water treatment industry for the recovery of suspended particles. In this study the bubble formation and release of hydrogen bubbles generated electrolytically from a platinum cathode was investigated. Previously, it was found that both the growth rate and detachment diameter increased with increasing wire diameter. Conversely, current density had little effect on the released bubble size. It was also found that the detached bubbles rapidly increased in volume as they rose through the liquid as a result of decreasing hydrostatic pressure and high levels of dissolved hydrogen gas in the surrounding liquid. The experimental system was computationally modelled using a Lagrangian-Eulerian Discrete Particle approach. It was revealed that desorption of gaseous solutes from the electrolyte solution, other than hydrogen, may have a significant impact on the diameter variation of the formed bubbles. The simulation confirmed that liquid circulation, either forced or induced by the rising bubble plume, influences both the hydrogen supersaturation (concentration) in the neighbourhood of the electrode and the size of the resulting bubbles.

To minimize oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emission, maximize boiler combustion efficiency, achieve safe and reliable burner combustion, it is crucial to master global boiler and at-the-burner control of fuel and air flows. Non-uniform pulverized fuel (PF) and air flows to burners reduce flame stability and pose risk to boiler safety by risk of reverse flue gas and fuel flow into burners. This paper presents integrated techniques implemented at pilot ESKOM power plants for the determination of global boiler air/flue gas distribution, wind-box air distribution and measures for making uniform the flow being delivered to burners within a wind-box system. This is achieved by Process Flow Modelling, at-the-burner static pressure measurements and CFD characterization. Global boiler mass and energy balances combined with validated site measurements are used in an integrated approach to calculate the total (stoichiometric + excess) air mass flow rate required to burn the coal quality being fired, determine the actual quantity of air that flows through the burners and the furnace ingress air. CFD analysis and use of at-the-burner static, total pressure and temperature measurements are utilized in a 2-pronged approach to determine root-causes for burner fires and to evaluate secondary air distribution between burners.

Chemical, petroleum and nuclear systems are only a few of the industrial processes that utilize gas-liquid flow in annular closed channels. However, concentric horizontal annuli flow patterns have received little attention. The ability to precisely characterize two-phase flow patterns using computational techniques is crucial for the production, transportation, and optimization of designs. This current research aims to establish the accuracy of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model in predicting the gas-liquid flow pattern in the concentric annulus pipe and validating the flow pattern of liquid holdup with experimental results from the literature. The simulations were done on a test section of a 12.8 m length pipe with a hydraulic diameter of 0.0168 m using air and water as the working fluids. The volume of fluid (VOF) model in Ansys Fluent based on the Eulerian- Eulerian approach in conjunction with the realizable k-ε turbulence model was used to model the gas-liquid flow pattern, i.e. dispersed bubble, elongated bubble, and slug in a horizontal annulus. A comparison of the model with the experimental high-speed video images shows a reasonable agreement for the flow pattern and liquid holdup data.