Determination of the optimal total oxygen concentration and oxygen partitioning ratio based on the heat transfer characteristics of oxy-coal combustion in a swirl burner

•The oxy-coal combustion characteristics under various XO2,total and XO2,Pri cases were comprehensively investigated.•The optimal oxygen partitioning strategy matching with air combustion was quantitatively determined.•The increase of XO2,Pri obviously enhanced the heat transfer performance on the furnace wall. Oxy-coal combustion is an attractive option for CO2 capture from coal-fired power plants due to high carbon capture efficiency and favorable economic performance. It is critical for the operation of the power plants to maintain similar heat transfer characteristics by rationalizing the partitioning strategy of the oxidant streams when retrofitting coal-fired power plants with oxy-fuel combustion technology. In the present work, the oxy-coal combustion characteristics under various total oxygen concentrations XO2,total of 21 %–32 % and oxygen partitioning ratio conditions in a 100 kW vertical swirl burner were numerically investigated by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models. And the effects of the XO2,total and oxygen partitioning ratio on the heat transfer characteristics of oxy-coal combustion were numerically simulated to quantitatively obtain the optimal oxygen supply partitioning strategy for the retrofitting of coal-fired power plants. Then the flame structure, heat transfer flux, and char burnout rate at different oxygen partitioning ratios between the primary and secondary streams were systematically analyzed to further determine the optimal oxygen partitioning ratio. The results showed that the maximum flue gas temperature Tmax increased by 220 K and the total heat transfer flux on the furnace wall increased by 42 % when the XO2,total was increased from 21 % to 32 %, respectively. Under oxy-coal combustion conditions, the Tmax at the XO2,total of 32.4 % was consistent with that under air combustion condition, while the total heat transfer flux at the XO2,total of 29.4 % matched with that under air combustion condition. Moreover, the total heat transfer flux and the flame length were increased by 17.3 % and 46.3 %, respectively, as the oxygen concentration of the primary stream XO2,Pri was increased from 6.5 % to 45 % at the XO2,total of 29 %. More importantly, the total heat transfer flux at the XO2,Pri of 31.9 % under oxy-coal combustion condition matched with that under air combustion condition. The optimal total oxygen concentration and oxygen partitioning ratio of oxy-coal combustion based on the heat transfer characteristics