The efficient coal alternative.  
Petroleum coke‐fired CFB  
boilers in Europe 
 
Damian Góral (Damian.Goral@fwpl.fwc.com) 
Anna Wylenżek (Anna.Wylenzek@fwpl.fwc.com) 
Foster Wheeler Energia Polska 
Poland 

Presented at Coal Gen Europe 
 
Warsaw, Poland 
February 14‐16, 2012 
 

 
 The efficient coal alternative. Petroleum coke-fired CFB
boilers in Europe
Damian Góral, Anna Wylenżek
Foster Wheeler Energia Polska
Poland

Abstract:

Petcoke is not just a refinery’s by-product any more, but a real alternative cost-
effective fuel that can be successfully fired in CFB boilers either alone or in blends with coal.
With its specific ash content, which is typically lower than 1 percent and very high sulfur,
petcoke is an effective source of energy increasing plant economy. Foster Wheeler CFB
technology allows efficient combustion of petroleum coke. Numerous references are located
mostly in United States or China reaching utility capacities of 300 MWe with the first
commercial application dating back to 1984. Now in Europe Foster Wheeler delivered
efficient and fuel-flexible petcoke-fired boilers to Bulgaria and Romania allowing customers
to use not only standard coals, but also alternative fuels of different origin and properties. In
spite of high sulfur content of the fuel reaching up to 8 percent the environmental
performance of the units is excellent allowing to achieve low emission limits without external
DeSOx and DeNOx installations. To meet the customer’s specific requirements the design
allowed the usage of the local limestone or co-firing of heavy oil together with petcoke.
Studying the potential of alternative fuels such as petcoke CFB technology appears to be the
perfect solution since in many cases fuel flexibility may be a decisive factor in a plant’s
economy and feasibility of new projects.

1. Fuel Origin and Characteristics

Petroleum coke (Petcoke) is a carbonaceous solid derived from oil refinery coker units or
other cracking processes. In spite of the fact that it is not considered to be a “fossil fuel” like
bituminous coal or lignite, the chemical composition of petroleum coal is mostly composed of
elementary Carbon ( usually over the 85% C dry ). The most attractive feature of this fuel is its
high heating value and very little ash content.
Petcoke has become a competitive fuel, which has made it very popular in CFB projects so
far. CFB technology is able to take advantage of this fuel as the main fuel in a remarkable
way.

Figure 1. Petroleum coke

Petroleum coke basically comes in two types named the fluid coke and delayed coke.
Fluid coke is typically left with / contains about 5 % volatiles and because of its small particle
size is not generally very suitable for combustion in CFB boilers.
Delayed coke contains 8 - 15 % volatiles and sulfur in the range of 3 - 8 %, although some
petroleum cokes are available with less than 1 % sulfur. That’s why petcoke is an ideal
partner for CFB technology, since the emission control concept and the sulfur capture are the
key issues when calculating a plant’s feasibility.
The ash content of petroleum coke is typically very low, usually less than 1-2 %.
Because of the low ash content the additional bed material is required. The heavy metals
content of the ash is generally high with Vanadium and Nickel contents ranging at 500 - 3000
ppm each, although petcokes with >10,000 ppm Vanadium also exist. Because of the fuel
particle characteristics, inherent moisture is very low in petcoke. Most of the water is present
as surface moisture. If allowed to drain for several days, the moisture content will typically
stabilize at 1 - 5 %.
Moisture 2 - 10,0%
Ash 0,3 – 5,0 %
Volatiles 8,0 – 15,0 %
LHV 25 – 33 MJ/kg
Sulfur 3,0 – 8,0 %
Vanadium 500 – 3000 ppm
Table 1. Typical delayed coke analysis
There are a few important aspects which should be taken into consideration when petroleum
coke is to be fired in CFB boilers.

Vanadium and Nickel

Vanadium content in petroleum coke is very important because of the possibility of
generating low-temperature-melting compounds that can cause fluidization problems in the
solids circulating loop. Low melting compounds can also deposit on backpass heat transfer
surfaces and result in under-deposit corrosion.
The Vanadium content may have a relatively small effect on the sintering process in CBF
technology. The presence of a large content of CaO (a calcination product of limestone) in the
bed material causes Vanadium capture and ties it up in higher melting compounds,
minimizing or eliminating potential deposition problems.

Limestone
Because of the extremely low ash ( <2% ) and high sulfur contents of petcoke, limestone is
used in the considerable majority of bed materials of the CFB. Limestone sizing is very
important for desulphurization, not only for efficient sulfur capture and effective fluidization,
but also fuel mixing, uniform temperatures and heat transfer.
Limestone can be considered an attractive addition when firing high Vanadium petcoke,
because of its Magnesium content which has vanadium-absorbing properties.

Bed material quality

Inert bed material is typically fed as a separate material such as sand. In cases where calcium-
based deposition is a problem, inert bed material is very helpful because it breaks up and
weakens the deposit. The sorbent and sulfur capture products typically become the main
constituents of the bed material in case of boilers firing 100% petcoke. In case of coal and
petcoke co-firing the positive coal ash characteristics may prevent loop seal and backpass
deposit problems with the same efficiency as fresh sand addition.

Alkalis
The alkali content of petroleum coke is very similar to coals unless it is increased by the
process or storage. In this case the same precautions as with other fossil fuels should be
considered for alkalis in petcoke.
Low NOx emission and sulfur capture
Because of their very low volatile content the circulating solids have a high fixed carbon
content, resulting in inherently low NOx emissions. Due to a relatively low combustion
temperature in the furnace (approx 850-900 °C) the NOx emission limit can often be achieved
without ammonia injection, otherwise a simple SNCR system can be applied. Due to the
effective fuel burnt-out process and utilization of limestone, desulfurization process is very
efficient and allows to achieve low SOx emissions. The high retentions were achieved with
petcoke and petcoke-coal blends in the CFB combustion. By the principle desulfurization
takes place in the furnace with the optimum burning temperature which is suitable for that
process. In CFB boilers it is possible to achieve more than 98% of sulfur capture. Moreover,
the fuel burn-out process affects the low CO emission levels, which causes a reduction in
UBS losses in ash. The primary reactions involved in the generation and reduction in SO2
emissions with calcium-based sorbents are:

S + O2 → SO2 formation of SO2

CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2 calcination of limestone
SO2 + CaO + 2O2 → CaSO4 sulfur capture

2. Market situation
The utilization of petroleum coke has already made it a good substitute for the traditional
fossil fuels such as coals. The main application of petroleum coal is an energy source and as
well as a carbon source. The energy sources are power plants and cement industry, others are
used in the steel industry. The increasing demand for petroleum coke of heavy crude oil has
constantly been growing. In 2000, the global production of petroleum coke was 80.815
MMTPA, which increased to 123.058 MMTPA in 2010. In 2015, the production is expected
to grow to 161.271 MMTPA. The main sources of Petroleum Coke are located in Brazil,
China, India, Spain, Taiwan, Canada, USA, Venezuela and South Africa.

3. Design requirements

Petroleum coke is a fuel that has long been considered an ideal fuel for the circulating
fluidized bed combustion technology.
Despite the low volatile content of petcoke, combustion efficiency has been quite good in a
CFB, thus there is no need to design for higher combustion temperatures to improve
combustion efficiency. Lower temperatures improve the emissions performance as well as
reduce the potential for agglomeration and deposition. The recommended furnace design
temperature should be typically in the range of 850 - 900°. However, all process-related
parameters are analyzed case by case. The desulphurization takes place inside the furnace of a
CFB boiler. The combustion process is conducted with 20 % excess air. The amount of
primary air which is supplied to the furnace through the grid nozzles as fluidizing air, is
typically higher than total combustion air for coal. Secondary air is supplied through two
levels to the furnace.

To stabilize / maintain a boiler’s operating process stable the minimum technical load in a
CFB boiler is even less than 40% MCR. That value can be safety guaranteed when firing
petroleum coke. Because of the low volatility of petroleum coke, combustion tends to take
place lower in the furnace. This means that lower furnace temperatures will tend to be higher
at low load, than at a comparable load when firing more volatile fuel. Higher low load
combustion temperatures provide a stable operation over a wider load range. The safe boiler
operating load range for maintaining constant flue gas emissions, is dependent on the
particular emissions requirements.

4. FW CFB technology
Fuel is burned as it mixes with other materials, mostly limestone in case of petcoke firing and
ash if coal is present, in an upward flow of combustion air. Because of high turbulent and
excellent mixing sorbents, air and fluidized material in the furnace it is possible to achieve a
uniform temperature throughout the furnace chamber and long residue time of fuel particles.
Combustion efficiency is increased by CFB solid separators. Fluidized material and unburnt
fuel go out of the furnace to separators and return to the lower part of furnace. In this part of
combustion chamber the limestone is fed as a sulfur sorbent.
Furnace temperature is kept in a suitable range of 850 – 950°C.

The main features showing advantages for utilities to use CFB technology:
1. High combustion efficiency:
 long solids residue time in the furnace
 relatively low furnace temperatures are below the ash softening temperature
  due to excellent fluidization and recirculation of fuel with bed material the
opportunity of burning up particles of fuel is remarkable
2. Excellent combustion stability over a wide boiler load range
3. Relative low concern of low-melting temperature Vanadium and Nickel compounds
4. Fuel flexibility
 The opportunity to fire a mixture of fuels (a good ash analysis of fuels is required )
5. Very low emissions

5. Key references
Foster Wheeler is the leading global CFB boiler manufacturer. It has made a key
contribution in the industrial and utility markets. Currently Foster Wheeler is the
technology leader in petcoke-fired CFB-boilers with over 45 references and over 60 %
market share in petroleum coke-fired boilers.

Thermal
Electrical
power
Start-up Date Plant power potput Fuel
output
[MWe]
[MWth]
4 x CFB Essar Power
2014 Salava Ltd. 4 x 471 4 x 150 Petcoke / Bituminous Coal
INDIA
3 x CFB Sinopec,
2012 Wuhan 3 x 273 3 x 80 Coal / Petcoke
CHINA
2 x CFB Sinopec,
2012 Jiujang 2 x 143 2 x 50 Petcoke,/ Coal
CHINA
2 x CFB UTE CT
2010 Mejilliones 2 x 351 2 x 165 Coal / Petcoke / Biofuel
CHILE
Lukoil Energy & Gas Petcoke / Heavy Oil
2010 185 70
ROMANIA
2 x CFB SINOCHEM
2009 Quanzhou 2 x 225 2 x 75 Petcoke / Coal
CHINA
Ambuja Cement Coal / Petcoke / Washery
2009 Eastern Ltd. 90 30
Reject
INDIA
2 x CFB Shaw Group Petcoke / Coal/ Lignite
2009 2 x 878 x 330
CLECO USA
BILT Power Limited Coal / Petcoke
2008 129 30
INDIA
2 x CFB Sinopec
2008 Maoming Petrochemical 2 x 330 2 x 110 Petcoke / Coal
CHINA
Votorantim Metais Petcoke / Coal / Biomass
2008 150 50
BRAZIL
2 x CFB Abalco S.A. Coal / Petcoke
2008 2 x 205 2 x 60
Brazil
5 x CFB Dushanzi Bitumibous Coal / Petcoke
2008 5 x 300 5 x 100
Petrochemical
Deven JSCo Petcoke / Coal
2008 312 100
BULGARIA
 3 x CFB Sinopec Tianjin Petcoke / Coal
2008 3 x 300 3 x 100
CHINA
2 x CFB Sinopec Petcoke
2007 2 x 240 2 x 75
Qingdao CHINA
2 x CFB Sinopec Coal / Petcoke
2007 2 x 350 2 x 115
Guangzhou CHINA
2 x CFB Sinopec
2006 Yanshan 2 x 240 2 x 75 Petcoke / Bituminous Coal
CHINA
2 x CFB Sinopec Petcoke / Bituminous Coal
2006 Maoming Petrochemical 2 x 293 2 x 100
/ Oil Shale
CHINA
Semi anthracite Coal /
Sumito Osaka Cement
2005 152 62
Japan Petcoke
Semi anthracite Coal /
Taiheiyo Cement Tosa
2005 341 150
Japn Petcoke
Petcoke / Bituminous Coal
Sinopec Maoming
2005 293 100
CHINA / Oil Shale
2 x CFB Sinopec
2005 Zhenhain 2 x 293 2 x 100 Bitumibous Coal / Petcoke
CHINA
2 x CFB Sinopec
2002 Shanghai 2 x 218 2 x 75 Petcoke / Bituminous Coal
CHINA
2 x CFB JEA Northside
2001 USA 2 x 689 2 x 300 Petcoke / Bituminous Coal

Bitumibous Coal / Petcoke

Taiheiyo Cement Ltd.
2001 341 149
Japan / RDF
Bay Shore Power
2000 Petcoke
Company 460 180
USA
2 x CFB Sinopec
1999 Zhenhai 2 x 160 2 x 50 Petcoke
CHINA
PetroPower Talcomuro Petcoke
1998 180 75
CHILE
Rain Calsining Petcoke
1998 82 25
INDIA
Fort Howard Petcoke
1995 98 32
USA
Steel Authority Coal / Petcoke
1995 45 15
INDIA
2 x CFB Nisco Petcoke
1992 2 x 285 2 x 100
USA
City od Manitowoc Petcoke / Bituminous Coal
1991 77 20
USA
Sunkyong Fibre Ulsan Bitumibous Coal / Petcoke
1989 160 45
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
YFU Taipei Bitumibous Coal / Petcoke
1988 103 30
TAIWAN
Anthracite/Bituminous
Omi-Kenshi
1988 28 4
JAPAN Coal/Petcoke
Sunkyong Fibre Suwon Petcoke / Bituminous Coal
1988 105 25
TAIWAN
Hyundai Oil Co. Petcoke / Oil
1988 94 25
USA
FT. Howard Paper Co. Petcoke / Bituminous Coal
1988 98 32
USA
California Portland Coal / Petcoke
1985 59 20
USA
OCI Inchon Petcoke / Coal
1984 97 25
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Table 2. Reference table
6. Utility Scale Boilers Coal and Petroleum coke fuel flexibility

The design of large CFB boilers in the range of 300 MWe is supported by Foster
Wheeler’s extensive experience with large suspension-fired utility boilers and by Foster
Wheeler’s extensive CFB experience base. Foster Wheeler’s CFB process and proven
design features best meet the challenge of utility CFB boilers.

. 

Figure 3. JEA 300 MWe class CFB

The JEA Project CFB is capable of removing over 98% of the sulfur dioxide and still
improving the overall economics and environmental performance. It is equipped with a
polishing scrubber employed to minimize reagent consumption while firing petcoke
containing up to 8.0% sulfur. The relatively low furnace operating temperature of about
900 ºC results in lower nitrogen oxide emissions compared to conventional coal-fired
power plants. However, the project includes a new selective non-catalytic reduction
system to further reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides.

7. Petcoke Projects in Europe

Over the past few years Foster Wheeler has delivered CFB boilers to Bulgaria and
Romania. The focus was in both cases the same. To utilize local sources and to deliver
units tailored to the very precise customer expectancy. The CFB technology selection
allowed the investors to utilize local fuel or sorbent sources significantly lowering the
operational cost of the plants. Petcoke-fired boilers typically have a multi-fuel design
where a blend of coal and petroleum coke may vary in different proportions.

Deven JSco Project Information

The power plant consists of 11 boilers sized 160 and 220 t/h, fired with natural gas and
coal. In order to meet the changing emission regulations and to reduce the fuel cost the
customer was interested in replacement of 2 existing 220 t/h gas-fired boilers with a new
CFB boiler fired with petcoke and Ukrainian semi -anthracite. Gas boilers no 7 and 8 were
demolished, this space was used for a new CFB boiler plant . As the petcoke price is lower
customer planned to maximize the use of petcoke, having an opportunity to burn coal in
case of problems with petcoke availability on the market. Petcoke comes from different
sources depending on its availability and price. The maximum Sulfur content in petcoke
is high (up to 7,5% dry ). In order to minimize the investment the customer did not want to
invest in an external FGD plant installed downstream the CFB boiler. Depending on the
efficiency of the inherent sulfur removal system of the CFB boiler initial co-firing of the
petcoke and coal was considered to keep the SO2 emission limit. Finally the boiler showed
good performance meeting all environmental and economical requirements with all the
design fuels.

Boiler design
The evaporative duty provided to furnace membrane walls assures uniform
distribution of gas and solids. The unit is equipped with two efficient water cooled
compact separators. The eight (8) radiant wing wall type superheaters are located in the
upper furnace area. Primary and final superheaters are located in the steam-cooled
convective cage. Fully and half stroke retractable sootblowers located in the convection
cage and back pass assure efficient cleaning of the convective surfaces. Proper cleaning of
the surfaces is required do to calcium based deposit formation in case of extensive coke
fining. Feed water of the temperature 190 C is fed from the collector. An efficient SNCR
system is responsible for NOx emission control for wide range of fuels used in the Devnya
CFB boiler.
The boiler is equipped with two highly efficient water-cooled compact separators
assuring high limestone utilization rate and proper solids inventory. Combustion air is
preheated in a tubular air preheater.
 Figure 4. Devnya Power Plant

Limestone feeding system

Unlike in classic solutions known from most of the CFB boilers a sorbent is not
delivered to the silo in a pulverized form. Instead local raw limestone is stored in
boiler’s limestone silo, then it is transported to crushers by chain conveyors which
crush limestone to proper size distribution.

Figure 5. Three in one limestone crushing-drying-feeding system at The Devnya

Power Plant.

Raw limestone top size is limited to 50 mm in order to avoid an additional pre-

crushing stage. Additional drying of limestone takes place in crushers. Limestone is
dried by the hot secondary air fed into dryer mills by booster fans. Raw limestone
 moisture content reaches 6% when the total capacity of the crusher drier system allows
to operate the boiler with one crusher out of service. Totally about 30 - 50% of the
hot secondary air flow is used for drying and transporting limestone to the furnace.

Figure 6. Limestone distribution in the furnace chamber

Eight limestone feeding points are located around the furnace perimeter assuring
appropriate limestone distribution into the furnace. The sulfur retention of over 98% was
achieved without compromising efficiency. The measured thermal efficiency of the boiler
reached 91,4% (DIN 1942).

Performance parameters:
Total Heat Output MWth 312
SH flow kg/s 111
SH pressure bar 100
SH temperature °C 540
Feed water temperature °C 190

Petroleum Ukrainian
unit
Coke Coal
Lower heating value (a.r) MJ/kg 31,7 – 33,5 24,5 – 26,3
Total moisture % 1-7 1-7
Sulfur content (d.s) % max 7,5 max 2,8
Ash (d.s) % max 0,5 22 – 25
 unit Guaranteed
3
NOX mg/Nm 200
3
SO2 mg/Nm 200
3
CO mg/Nm 250
3
N2O mg/Nm 85
3
Dust mg/Nm 30

All emissions guarantees were met. Nitrous oxide emission level measured during
performance tests did not exceed 16 mg/Nm3, when carbon monoxide emission levels
reached 50 mg/nm3 proving high combustion efficiency of the low volatile fuels such as
semi-anthracite and petroleum coke.

8. Lukoil AS project information

Lukoil’s plans to modernise its power plant in Ploiesti (Romania) refinery were established by
contracting and installing a 30 MW steam turbine at the plant. The turbine was planned to be
in operation by the end of 2007. Lukoil installed a new boiler to supply steam to turbines and
petrochemical technology processes. A new source of steam is connected to the existing main
steam collector. The boiler allows co-firing of the heavy oil up to 20% of the total energy
input at the full load. Dedicated lances spray the liquid fuel into the fluidized bed. The oil-
petcoke cofiring was a customer demand allowed by the CFB fuel-flexible boiler concept.

Figure 7. Lukoil Power Plant

 Boiler design key features:
 100% petcoke firing capability with possible HFO energy input 20% LHV
 CFB furnace with wing walls as the secondary superheater
 Water-cooled compact separators
 Start-up over bed burners
 Air plenum and fluidizing nozzles
 Efficient water-cooled bottom ash screw coolers
 Redundant fuel feeding system
 Limestone feeding system or sulfur removal
 Bag filter for particulate emission control

Performance parameters:

Total Heat Output MWth 185

SH flow kg/s 72
SH pressure bar 100
SH temperature °C 540
Feed water temperature °C 214

Petcoke( As-Received)
Figure 8. Lukoil CFB 260 t/h boiler
plant in PDMS view Lower heating value MJ/kg 31,6
Total moisture % 9 – 11,08
Sulfur content % max.3,8
Ash % 0,49 – 0,59

Dust mg/Nm3 < 30

SO2 mg/Nm3 < 200
NOx (calculated as NO2) mg/Nm3 < 200
CO mg/Nm3 < 250
9. Conclusion

Petroleum coke is an opportunity fuel due to its high carbon and energy content it appeared to
be an ideal fuel for CFB technology. The multi-fuel CFB boilers designed for both coal and
petcoke are an interesting alternative allowing a plant to operate at high efficiency and
economy. The CFB technology provides customer-tailored solutions for utility scale and
industrial size boilers. Now when CFB units go supercritical with the opportunity to design
them up to the scale of 800 MWe their essential feature of fuel flexibility is even more
attractive. Co-firing alternative fuels with coal in a CFB boiler make the unit to be designed
for its base utility or industrial duty with improved economy and steam cycle efficiency.
Alternative fuels allow to reduce fuel costs without a significant impact on the boiler. When a
secondary fuel is not available or it is not economical at the moment due to seasonal or market
related issues , a unit can fulfill power demand by firing 100 percent coal.

10. References

1. “ Large-Scale CFB Combustion Demonstration Project”. The 15th International FBC

Conference. Savanna, Georgia May 9, 1999

2. Circulating Fluidized Bed Technology for Large Scale Power Generation of Coal and
Petroleum Coke - Timo Jäntti, Kalle Nuortimo

3. “ Utilization of refinery residues with cogeneration”. The 1999 European Oil Refining
Conference & Exhibition

4. “Petroleum Coke Industry to 2015”. Global Media Outlet and Press Release
Distribution Service.

5. PetroPower SM “A full Bottom of the Barrel Solution”. ME-Tech Dubai- January 2011