On April 8, 2023, Institute of Energy of Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center (hereinafter referred to as “Institute of Energy”) and Anhui Energy (Group) Company Limited (hereinafter referred to as “Wanneng Group”) jointly held a conference on the achievements of the demonstration project of large-scale coal-fired generator set combustion with high ammonia content with the theme of “Institute-Locality Cooperation. Collaborative Innovation” at the site of the 300MW unit of Anhui Energy (Group) Company Limited Tongling Branch, and jointly released the major innovation achievements of the high-proportion ammonia-doped combustion test of large-scale coal-fired generator units jointly developed by the two sides. Li Jiangang, Academician of China Academy of Engineering and President of Institute of Energy, Ding Chun, Secretary of Tongling Municipal Party Committee, Wang Hong, Secretary of Party Committee and Director of Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Wu Jinsong, Secretary of Party Committee of Provincial Science and Technology Department, Xu Zhi, Deputy Director of Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Yang Hu, Director of Electric Power Division of Provincial Energy Bureau, Fang Shiqing, Secretary of Party Committee and President of Wanneng Group, General Manager Li Ming, Chief Engineer, Hu Haomin, Vice President of Institute of Energy, as well as leaders of universities, industry partners and journalists in the province attended the conference.

Fig.: The Achievement Conference

The conference was presided over by Li Ming, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of the Wanneng Energy Group. At the conference, Chen Xiang, Party Secretary and President of Wanneng Group, Li Jiangang, Academician of China Academy of Engineering and President of Institute of Energy, delivered speeches successively. Liu Yangjiong, President of Anbang Technology Co., Ltd. and Tongling Branch of Wanneng Energy Group, and Luo Guangnan, Director of Hydrogen Energy and Ammonia Application Research Center of Institute of Energy, jointly released the test results of ammonia-doped combustion, and Wu Jinsong, Party Secretary of Provincial Science and Technology Department, delivered a speech.

At present, coal-fired power generation is the largest factor of carbon emissions in China, accounting for about 40% of the total emissions. In order to effectively solve the carbon emission problem of coal-fired power plants, in 2021, the Institute of Energy and Wanneng Group, the largest power generation enterprise in our province, jointly established the “Anhui Energy Collaborative Innovation Center” to jointly promote the research and development and industrialization of key core technologies in the energy field. After in-depth investigation and demonstration, the two sides decided to implement a demonstration project of high-proportion ammonia-doped combustion and carbon reduction project in existing coal-fired generating units, and chose to carry out engineering tests in Wanneng Tongling Power Plant, aming to break a new path for energy conservation and emission reduction of thermal power generation in our province and even the whole country. In order to ensure the smooth progress of the project, the two sides jointly established a professional R&D and engineering technical team, and jointly established Anbang Technology Co., Ltd. to be responsible for the project implementation and operation. The two partners overcame the adverse effects of the epidemic and successfully completed the independent design, self-development and upgrading of ammonia burners, ammonia evaporators, plasma ammonia crackers and the design and construction of ammonia supply pipelines. Many technologies are the first and major innovations in China, which provide a strong guarantee for engineering tests.  

This time, the three-month engineering test has made a major breakthrough. Eight burners of four models were put into the test, and a series of innovative technologies were adopted, such as high-power pure ammonia burner, new generation plasma pyrolysis ammonia burner, the largest 20-ton/hour dual-heating loop liquid ammonia high-efficiency evaporator in China, and the first domestic three-dimensional monitoring system for furnace temperature and on-line detection system for exhaust gas components of coal-fired boilers. The test has realized the safe and stable operation of boilers with the highest ammonia content of 35% in multiple working conditions under the load of 100-300MW. The actual maximum ammonia doping amount is more than 21 tons/hour, the ammonia burn-out rate is 99.99%, the ammonia escape rate is less than 2ppm, and the concentration of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in flue gas can be controlled and reduced. It has successfully verified the technical feasibility of carbon reduction by ammonia doping in coal-fired power plants and the engineering feasibility of ammonia doping in existing coal-fired boilers.

Japan is the first advanced country to explore ammonia-doped combustion technology in coal-fired power plants. JERA, the largest thermal power company, successfully achieved 1% ammonia-doped combustion in coal-fired power units from 2017 to 2021. The company plans to start 20% ammonia-doped combustion test in 2023, achieve 50% ammonia-doped combustion in 2030, and realize pure ammonia combustion in 2040, which is the ultimate goal of zero carbon emission. The ammonia-doped combustion test of coal-fired generator units in Tongling Power Plant is the first in China. The Institute of Energy and the technical team of Wanneng Group have conducted in-depth research and tests on ammonia combustion mechanism, new burner design, large-scale liquid ammonia evaporator, integrated operation of the test, safety control, etc. The test far exceeds the highest level of peers at home and abroad in terms of combustion technology, ammonia-doped scale and stable operation time, and has achieved many world-leading outcomes and filled many technical gaps. The success of the test indicates that China’s clean and efficient combustion technology with a large proportion of ammonia for coal-fired generator units is ahead of the international counterparts and has taken the lead in entering the industrial application stage. The successful demonstration of this technology has opened up a feasible new path for energy saving, emission reduction and green development of coal-fired power plants, which is of great significance for accelerating the construction of a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system.

Next, the Institute of Energy and Wanneng Group will give full play to the advantages of source innovation, further strengthen the cooperation between institutes and enterprises, and deepen collaborative innovation; The technical teams of the two sides will further strengthen technical research, optimize the engineering scheme, upgrade related equipment, fully promote the engineering test with ammonia doping ratio exceeding 50%, and plan to carry out engineering demonstration in 1000MW units; At the same time, based on Anbang Technology Co., Ltd. jointly established by the two sides, efforts will be made to promote the industrialization promotion and large-scale industrial application of self-developed complete sets of technologies and equipment on active coal-fired generator units, and make greater contributions to building the whole industrial chain of green ammonia production, storage, transportation, processing and use, promoting the strategic adjustment of Anhui’s energy structure and solving the province’s energy security problems.