Accepted Manuscript

A 1-D model of spraying performance for wet flue gas desulfurization scrubber
based on predicted slurry temperature

Baokui Chen, Fengzhong Sun, Ming Gao, Yuetao Shi

PII: S1359-4311(18)37750-0
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2019.03.064
Reference: ATE 13493

To appear in: Applied Thermal Engineering

Received Date: 22 December 2018

Revised Date: 6 March 2019
Accepted Date: 11 March 2019

Please cite this article as: B. Chen, F. Sun, M. Gao, Y. Shi, A 1-D model of spraying performance for wet flue gas
desulfurization scrubber based on predicted slurry temperature, Applied Thermal Engineering (2019), doi: https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2019.03.064

This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers
we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and
review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process
errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
A 1-D model of spraying performance for wet flue gas desulfurization scrubber based on
predicted slurry temperature

Baokui Chen, Fengzhong SUN*, Ming Gao, Yuetao Shi

School of Energy and Power Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250061, China

ABSTRACT: To predict the slurry temperature in wet flue gas desulfurization system, a
theoretical model was put forward and the calculation method was set up, the correlation
between the parameters of inlet flue gas and the slurry temperature was first found. Based on
the predicted slurry temperature, a 1-D coupled model of droplets motion, heat and mass
transfer and pressureloss of liquid-gas two phases was established, and the numerical
solutions were acquired by Runge-Kutta method, meanwhile, field tests were made to validate
its reliability. Additionally, the distribution characteristics of droplet velocity, temperature
and relative humidity of flue gas, and pressure loss over the height of spraying zone were
discussed. The effect of drop diameter and other factors on the performance of spraying
process were analyzed. The results show that the slurry temperature and pressure loss agree
well with the operation values with errors of less than 5% and 7%. Outlet flue gas is near
saturation state under discussed range of parameters. The drop diameter is the main factor that
affects the performance of wet flue gas desulfurization system.

Keywords: wet flue gas desulfurization; spraying tower; heat and mass transfer; adiabatic
saturated temperature; humidity

Nomenclature

Symbols
a Thermal diffusion coefficient, m2/s
A Heat transfer area, m2
Cd Drag coefficient
Cp Specific heat capacity, kJ/kg℃
d32 Sauter mean diameter, m
d Humidity of flue gas, kg/kg
dd Diameter of droplet, m
dz Height of WFGD tower cell, m
D Diameter of WFGD tower, m
Fd Buoyancy on droplet, N
Gd Gravity on droplet, N
h Enthalpy, kJ/kg(flue gas containing 1kg dry flue gas)

m Mass flow rate, kg/s
* Corresponding anthors
E- mail addresses : sfzh@sdu. edu. cn .
N Number of droplet
Pr Prandtl number
q Heat transfer quantity based on 1 kg dry flue gas, kJ
Re Reynolds number based relative velocity of flue gas and droplets
t Temperature, ℃
U Velocity, m/s
V Volume flow rate, m3/s
Abbreviations
SMD Sauter mean diameter
WFGD Wet flue gas desulfurization
Greek symbols
α Heat transfer coefficient, W/m2℃
γ(t) Latent heat of vaporization under temperature t, kJ/kg
λ Thermal conductivity. W/m℃
μ Dynamic viscosity, Pa·S
ν Kinematic viscosity, m2/s
ρ Density, Kg/ m3.
ψ Heat flux rate, W
Subscripts
fg Flue gas
dfg Dry flue gas
v Water vapor
d Droplet
l Slurry

1. INTRODUCTION
There is an increasing concern about pollution and emissions in the world. Sulfur dioxide
represents one of the most dangerous compounds released from the combustion of sulfur-
containing fuels like coal [1]. Coal is still largely utilized for power production and its
demand is expected to increase by 15% by 2040 [2]. The most utilized method for Flue Gas
Desulfurization (FGD) is the wet scrubbing process [3]. In fact, almost 90% of the FGD units
are constituted by WFGD spraying scrubbers [4]. Specifically, enormous large-scale power
plants have been equipped with sophisticated WFGD units to meet near-zero air pollutant
emission standards since 2018 in China, which means the concentration of SO2 is less than
10mg/Nm3 under conditions of reference oxygen content of 6% [5]. Therefore, it is evident
that a better understanding of the WFGD spraying tower will have an enormous impact on the
optimization of the design and the operation of the WFGD system.
The related research focused on the following two aspects, the mechanism of the
removal of SO2 and the distribution characteristics of thermodynamics parameters in spray
process.
In the first aspect, considerable research has been carried out in terms of the SO2
absorption in the liquid slurry and the dissolution of the solid limestone [6]-[12]. The
temperature of slurry and flue gas has an important influence on SO 2 mass transfer coefficient
in two phases. It was usually treated as assumed constants from which errors will inevitably
result. In fact, in the steady operation process of WFGD system, the slurry is circulated
continually in nearly adiabatic condition, when neglecting the discharge of gypsum
(CaSO4·2H2O) and the supply of limestone, the temperature of slurry will tend to a constant
value at given parameters of inlet flue gas. The actual operating data has proved this
deduction. The literature on the law of how to identify the slurry temperature is rare.
 In the second aspect, many studies in the past concentrated on the research of theoretical
model, experiment, and numerical simulation.
M. Kadja et al. [13] put forward a theoretical model to investigate heat, mass and
momentum transfer between slurry drops and flow gas in spraying dryers, and received that
the ambient temperature is the main factor that affects the drying process. Xu, et al. [14]
studied the distribution characteristics of droplet motion, heat and mass transfer and resistance
in the spray tower for humid air turbine cycle and got 1-D numerical solutions, meanwhile,
the related experiments were performed to validate the accuracy of models. Because the
temperature of inlet liquid and outlet liquid is different in these technological process, it is
difficult to spread the related results to the humidification process of WFGD system. To
improve the removal of fine particles from outlet flue gas of WFGD system, Yang, et al. [15]
studied the distribution characteristics of temperature and humidity of out flue gas, discussed
the effect of inlet flue gas temperature and humidity, slurry temperature, ratio of liquid to gas
on saturation of outlet flue gas. Wu, et al. [16] presented a method of adding humid air to
improve the saturation of flue gas and carried out related experimental research. The slurry
temperature is treated as an independent variable in these research
many scholars [17]-[22] studied the characteristics of heat transfer and resistance of the
spraying zone in cooling tower by the method of numerical simulation and neural network, set
up related models and concluded that the heat transfer and resistance ratio of spraying zone
account for about 20% and 50% of whole tower. Lin, et al. [23] and other scholars [24]-[26]
studied pressure loss and resistance characteristics of WFGD system by numerical simulation,
discussed the effect of different scrubber diameter, level spacing interval, level number, load,
ratio of liquid to gas on resistance characteristics, and presented some optimization design. In
the process of research, the influence of heat and mass transfer on the motion was neglected,
meanwhile, the temperature of slurry and flue gas as well as their physical property
parameters were treated as constant values, obviously, the simplified model will lead to some
errors. Yu, et al. [27] developed 3-D numerical simulation model to predict heat and mass
transfer between liquid-gas two phases in WFGD system, demonstrated that the heat and mass
transfer almost finish in 1m height of tower, and predicted that the temperature of flue gas
decreases to about 50℃ at given conditions of 300MW unit. In these research, the slurry
temperature is also treated as an independent variable.
As can be seen from the above review, the previous researches treated the slurry
temperature as an assumed constant or an independent variable, the results, to a certain extent,
does not conform to the actual operating conditions of WFGD system. Therefore, it is crucial
to identify the slurry temperature before further researching the performance of WFGD
system. The aim of this study is to develop a simple and reliable thermodynamic model for
the WFGD system. First of all, the correlation between the inlet flue gas parameters and the
slurry temperature was made, then a model for predicting the slurry temperature was set up.
Secondly, a coupled model of droplet motion, heat and mass transfer and pressure loss of two
phases was put forward according to the predicted slurry temperature. the effects of multiple
factors on performance of WFGD system were discussed, including droplet mean diameter,
liquid-gas ratio, and inlet flue gas temperature. The conclusions could lay the foundation for
further research and the guidance of actual operation.
2 CALCULATION MODELS FOR THE WFGD SYSTEM
2.1. Assumptions and Simplifications for models
In the process of setting up the model, it is necessary to neglect some subordinate factors,
Some reasonable assumptions and simplifications are made as follows:
(1) Spray tower is adiabatic.
(2) The flue gas is treated as the ideal gas, the particles and gaseous pollutants containing
in flue gas are neglected.
 (3) The effect of solid or liquid solutes in slurry and the curved surface of droplets on
phase equilibrium are ignored.
(4) The droplet is spherical and has the same diameter, no distortion and coalition occurs
among the droplets.
(5) The distribution of thermal parameters of two phases is continuous along the height
of tower and uniform across the section of tower.
2.2. Calculation model for the slurry temperature
Fig. 1. is the schematic diagram of WFGD spraying tower which works approximately in
adiabatic condition. The slurry is introduced through injection nozzles and converted into
large amounts of droplets in the atomization process. Flue gas (h fg1 dfg1 tfg1) flows in from the
side of the tower to the top of the tower in counter current mode with the limestone slurry
droplets. The slurry droplets evaporate into countercurrent flue gas stream. Heat and mass
transfer occurs on the surface of the droplets. The humidity of flue gas gradually increases
and the temperature decreases (hfg dfg tfg). Eventually, outlet flue gas (hfg2 dfg2 tfg2) almost
reaches to the saturation state.

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of desulfurization spray tower

The whole process is approximately isenthalpic humidifying and cooling process in

which thermal state diagram is shown in Fig. 2.
By analogizing the concept of the adiabatic saturation temperature of air, when the outlet
flue gas is in the saturation state, the temperature of out flue gas, which is as same as that of
slurry, is defined as the adiabatic saturation temperature of inlet flue gas .
 Fig. 2. Thermal state diagram of flue gas

Enthalpy conservation equation for 1 kg dry flue gas can be written as,
h fg1  (d fg 2  d fg1 )hd  h fg 2 (1)
For (dfg2-dfg1)hd is much smaller than hfg1 and dfg2, the thermal process can be thought
approximately isenthalpic.
h fg1  hdfg1  d fg1hv1 (2)
h fg 2  hdfg 2  d fg 2 hv 2 (3)
In consideration of hv 2 -hd   (td ) , t fg 2  td so,
hv1  hd  hv1  hv 2  hv 2  hd  c p,v (t fg1  td )   (td ) (4)
hdfg1  c p,dfg t fg1 (5)
hdfg ,2  c p,dfg td (6)
Reconfiguring these relations, the slurry temperature can be expressed as,
(c p,dfg  d fg1c p,v )(t fg1  td )  (d fg 2  d fg1 ) (td ) (7)
(d fg 2  d fg1 ) (td )  (td )
(t fg1  td )  
(d fg 2  d fg1 ) (8)
c p ,dfg  d fg1c p ,v C p'
From the height Z1 to Z2, flue gas temperature tz1, tz2 and corresponding humidity dz1, dz2
can be inferred by analogy with the above derivations,
 (t )
(t z 2  t z1 )  'd (d z 2  d z1 ) (9)
Cp
2.3. Model for droplet motion
When the droplets of slurry are sprayed into countercurrent flue gas stream, the forces
exerted on them include the gravity (Gd), buoyancy from the flue gas (Fd), and resistance
from the flue gas (Rd), as shown in Fig. 3.
 Fig. 3. Forces on droplet

The motion equation of the droplet can be written as,

dU d
Md  Gd  Fd  Rd (10)
dt

d  d d3
Md  (11)
6

d  d d3
Gd  g (12)
6

 fg  d d3
Fd  (13)
6

 fg  dd2
Rd  Cd (U d  U fg )2 (12)
8

dU d dU d
 U (15)
dt dZ
For slurry droplet, the buoyancy can be neglected and won’t yield large errors.
Reconfiguring Eqs. (10-15), the droplet velocity can be written as,
dU d 3  fg
Ud  Cd (U  U fg )2  g (16)
dz 4 d d d d

The correlations of Cd [17] are as follows:

24
Cd  for Re<2 (17)
Re

18.197
Cd  for 2<Re<500 (18)
Re0.599

Cd  0.44 for 500<Re<2 105 (19)

2.4. Models for heat transfer

In spray tower, bulk slurry is converted into large amount of small droplets in the
atomization process. In the calculation of heat and mass transfer, it is convenient to work only
with mean diameters rather than the complete drop size distribution. In general, the Sauter
mean diameter d32 (SMD), which is defined as the diameter of a drop having the same
volume/surface area ratio as the entire spray, is adopted to calculate the heat and mass transfer
process. It can be expressed as,

d32 
N d i i
3

(21)
N d i i
2

The number of droplets N can be calculated by the following relation:

6Vl
N (22)
 d323

The heat and transfer area A can be expressed as,

6Vl
A (23)
d32

Droplet falls at a speed of Ud, at location Z, in the height of dz, the number of droplets
Ndz can be expressed,
6Vl
N dz  dz (24)
d 32
3
Ud
The heat and mass transfer area Adz is written as,
6Vl
Adz  dz (25)
U d d32

Enthalpy conservation equation of flue gas side from z1 to z2 (based on1 kg dry flue gas):
hz 2  (hz1  (d z 2  d z1 )hv,td )  qz1 z 2 (26)
(d z 2  d z1 )hv,td  (d z 2  d z1 )htd  (d z 2  d z1 ) (td ) (27)
General enthalpy conservation equation:
hz 2  hz1  (d z 2  d z1 )hv,td (28)
Substituting Eq. (28) into Eq. (26), Eq. (26) can be written as,
qz1 z 2  (d z 2  d z1 ) (td ) (29)
Substituting Eq. (9) into Eq. (29):
(30a
qz1 z 2  C p' (t z 2  t z1 )
)
Differential form is written as,
(30
dq  C p' dt fg
b)
 
The mass flow rate of dry flue gas is m dfg , the mass flow rate of flue gas is m fg , heat flux
d can be written as,
  (c p, dfg  d1c p,v ) 
d  mdfg (c p ,dfg  d1c p,v )dt fg  m fg dt fg  m fg c p, fg dt fg (31)
1 d
On the other hand, heat transfer equation can be written as,
 d    t fg  td  Adz (32)
The heat transfer coefficient has been determined from the correlations developed by
Ranz and Marshall [20] which is shown in Eq. (33),
 d32
 2  0.552 Re1/ 2 Pr1/3 (33)
 fg

Reconfiguring these relations, the temperature of flue gas can be written,

dt fg    t fg  td 
6Vl
dz
 (34)
m fg c p , fgU d d32

z 6Vl
 0 
dZ

t fg , z  td   t fg ,0  td  e (35)
m fg c p , fgU d d32

2.5. Model for pressure loss

Pressure loss of flue gas in spray tower is a important parameter for the operation. It is
produced by flue gas flow without spray and interaction between flue gas and spray. In this
study, the latter part is discussed.
Droplet falls at a speed of Ud, at location Z, in the height of dz, the number of droplets
Ndz can be expressed as,
6Vl
N dz  dz (36)
d 32
3
Ud
Pressure loss of droplets can be written as,

 g  d d2
Rd  Cd (U d  U fg )2 (37)
8
The resistance per unit cross-sectional area (tower diameter D) in the height dz, i.e.,
pressure loss ΔP:

3 gVl (U d  U fg )2
P  R  Cd dz (38)
 D 2 d32U d

The total pressure loss P:

z Z 3 gVl (U d  U fg )2
P   P   Cd dz (39)
0 0  D 2 d32U d

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The slurry temperature can be solved by Eq. (8).
Combining Eq. (16), Eqs. (33-35) and Eq. (39), the distribution of droplet velocity, the
temperature, relative humidity, heat transfer coefficient, and pressure loss of flue gas can be
calculated by iteration. In the WFDG system, the initial axial droplet velocity Ud(in) at the
atomizer exit varies from 5-10m/s. The height of abortion process 5-10 meters. The droplet
mean diameter of 1000, 2000 and 3000 um is selected in calculation.
The related parameters (600MW unit BMCR work condition) are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. The related parameters (600MW unit BMCR work condition) in WFDG under 1atm

Item value
Diameter of tower (m) 16
Volume of flue gas (Nm3/h) 2140000
Water content of inlet flue gas
9
(%)
Ρd (Kg/m3) 1090
Dd (mm) 1-3
Height of abortion (m) 8
Ud(in) (m/s) 8
Ufg (m/s)(tfg=50℃) 3.5
Liquid-gas ratio (L/Nm3) 17 14 11
Sauter mean diameter (d32) 1000um 2000um 3000um
Temperature of inlet flue gas (℃
130 ℃ 110℃ 90℃
)
Ρfg (kg/m3) 0.8863 0.9326 0.9839
cp,fg (kJ/kg) 1.0408 1.0408 1.0408
λfg×102 (w/m·℃) 3.3940 3.2180 3.0420
2
A (m /s) 36.5797 32.96622 29.5330
μfg×106 (Pa·S) 21.9770 21.1567 20.3162
νfg×106 (m2/s) 24.7959 22.6862 20.6477
Pr 0.6779 0.6882 0.6991
3.1. Results of calculation
3.1.1. The slurry temperature
In coal-fired power plant, inlet flue gas of WFGD system is composed by dry flue gas
and water vapor. In dry flue gas, N2 volume content is relatively stable and varies from 79%
to 82%, O2 from 3% to 6%, CO2 from14% to 18%. Water vapor content (H2O) varies from
5% to 10%. At the temperature range from 50 to 150℃, cp,dfg varies from 0.99 to 1.01 kJ/kg℃
.
To simply calculation, making dry flue gas composed by O2=5%, N2=81%,CO2=14%,
H2O varies from 5% to 10%, temperature of inlet flue gas varies from 90℃-150℃.
Composition and thermal property parameters of inlet flue gas are shown in Table2.
Table2. Composition and thermal property parameters of inlet flue gas in WFDG syetem
under 1atm
Water
Dry flue gas
Item vapor
CO2 N2 O2 H2O
Vol of dry basis (%) 14 81 5 0
Vol of wet basis (%) 12.6-13.3 72.9-77.0 4.5-4.7 10-5
cp (50-150℃) (kJ/kg℃) 0.87 1.04 0.92 1.86
cp,dfg (50-150℃) (kJ/kg℃) 1.00
 cp,v (50-150℃ )(kJ/kg℃) 1.86
dfg1
0.0312/0.03788/0.0445/0.0515/0.0585/0.0658
(5%/6%/7%/8%/9%/10%)
C p' (5%/6%/7%/8%/9%/10%
1.0579/1.0703/1.0829/1.0957/1.1089/1.1223
)
The results of calculation of slurry temperature are shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4. The temperature profiles of slurry for different temperature of inlet flue gas
In Fig. 4, the temperature of slurry is plotted against the water vapor content of inlet flue
gas. The symbols represent different temperature of inlet flue gas varied from 90℃ to 150℃.
The results show the temperature increases almost linearly with the increase of water vapor
content at a certain temperature of inlet flue gas.
The predicted results and the actual operation data of WFDG system from a 600MW unit
power plant of china in 2017 are presented in Table 3. The predicted results are in good
agreement with the actual data with a maximum error of 4.56%.
Table 3. Comparison of predicted and operation data
Item Item
The temperature on inlet flue gas (℃) 130℃
Vol (%) content of water vapor of inlet flue
6% 7% 8% 9%
gas
Predicted slurry temperature (℃) 47.8 49.3 50.7 52.0
Operation data of slurry temperature (℃) 46.5 48.9 51.0 53.2
Error (%) 0.63 1.22 0.59 2.31
The temperature on inlet flue gas (℃) 110℃
Vol (%) content of water vapor of inlet flue
6% 7% 8% 9%
gas
Predicted slurry temperature (℃) 45.8 47.4 49 50.4
Operation data of slurry temperature (℃) 44.0 48.6 50.5 52.7
Error (%) 0.39 2.53 3.06 4.56
3.1.2. Droplet velocity distribution
If the height of tower is enough, the resistance exerted on droplet is gradually decreased
to the value of gravity. The motion of droplet can be divided into two stages, which are
decelerated motion stage and uniform motion stage.
 For the different drop mean diameter (SMD 1000um 2000um 3000um), the results of
uniform velocity are 1.08m/s, 4.31m/s, and 5.94m/s, respectively. Velocity profiles against
the height of tower are shown in Fig. 5

Fig. 5. Droplet velocity profiles for different droplet SMD (tfg(in)=110℃ Vol(%)=9%)

At the bottom of spraying zone (Z=0), the velocity almost reaches its uniform velocity
with a maximum deviation of 2.46% for the droplet of SMD 3000um. Distance of droplet
decelerated motion is about 1/3 tower height for the droplet of SMD 1000um, and it increases
with the droplet diameter and its initial velocity.
3.1.3. Temperature of flue gas distribution
For the different droplet of SMD (1000um 2000um 3000um), the temperature profiles of
flue gas against the height of tower are shown in Fig. 6. At the height of 1m of tower, the
excess temperature decreases by 60.02% and 88.88% for SMD 3000um and 2000um. For
SMD 1000um, the temperature decreases much more rapidly than the one for SMD 2000um
or 3000um. At the height of 0.1m, the temperature has been reduced to 59.20℃ with excess
temperature decreasing by 85.23%. The reason is that the heat transfer area and the heat
transfer coefficient for SMD 1000um is much more than those for SMD 2000um or 3000um,
the change of temperature is proportional to the heat transfer area and the heat transfer
coefficient.

Under the condition of droplet SMD=2000um and liquid-gas ratio 17L/Nm3, the process
of heat and mass transfer mainly happens within 1m height of spraying zone, which is in good
agreement with the simulation results in literature [27].

(a) Profiles against height from 0m to 1m (b) Profiles against height from 1m to 8m
 Fig. 6. Flue gas temperature profiles for different droplet SMD (tfg(in)=110℃ Vol(%)=9%
liquid-gas ratio 17L/Nm3)
3.1.4. Heat transfer coefficient of flue gas distribution
Heat and transfer coefficient profiles over the height of tower are shown in Fig. 7. For
the droplet SMD 1000um, 2000u and 3000um, heat transfer coefficient decreases with the
height of tower until to a minimum value, then it begins to increase with the height. In the
initial stage, the reason that the heat transfer coefficient gradually decreases is that the
velocity of flue gas decreases quickly with the decrease of the temperature. In the latter stage,
on the contrary, with the quick increase of the droplet velocity, the relative velocity of flue
gas to droplets increases, which leads to the increase of heat transfer coefficient. For diameter
1000um, at initial point(height 0m), heat transfer coefficient is 304.69W/m2℃. It decreases to
274.87W/m2℃ at height 0.2m, then it keeps almost the same until 5m. It increases with the
height to a maximum value 403.03W/m2℃at height 8m. For diameter 2000um and 3000um,
at initial point, heat transfer coefficient is 249.21W/m2℃ and 217.46W/m2℃. It decreases to
a minimum value 231.66W/m2℃ and 205.73W/m2℃ at height 2m, then it increases with the
height until a maximum value 273.85W/m2℃ and .219.56W/m2℃ at height 8m.

Fig. 7. Heat transfer coefficient profiles for different droplet SMD (tfg(in)=110℃
Vol(%)=9% liquid-gas ratio 17L/Nm3)
3.1.5. Relative humidity of flue gas distribution
Relative humidity profiles along the height of the tower are shown in Fig. 8. For the
droplet SMD 1000um, 2000um and 3000um, relative humidity of flue gas increases with the
height of tower. For diameter 1000um, it increases rapidly to 68.98% at height 0.1m, 94.51%
at height 0.2m, and 98.67% at height 0.3. Then the flue gas gradually reaches to the saturation
state at height 1m. For diameter 2000um, relative humidity increases to 69.89% at height 1m,
94.98% at height 2m, and 98.77% at height 3. Then the flue gas almost reaches to the
saturation state at height 4m. For diameter 3000um, it increases to 29.78% at height 1m,
58.83% at height 2m, and 79.06% at height 3. Then slowly, it almost reaches to the saturation
value at height 8m. For droplet diameter 1mm, heat transfer coefficient and area are much
more than those for droplet of diameter 2mm and 3mm, which result in rapid increase of
relative humidity.
 Fig. 8. Relative humidity of flue gas for different droplet SMD (tfg(in)=110℃ Vol(%)=9%
liquid-gas ratio 17L/Nm3)
3.1.6. Pressure loss distribution
Pressure loss profiles against the height of the tower are shown in Fig. 9. Pressure loss
increases almost linearly to 3419.15Pa, 1051.61Pa, 749.52Pa for the droplet SMD 1000um,
2000um and 3000um,

In the operation of WFGD system of 600MW unit (B-MCR condition), the Sauter mean
diameter (SMD) is about 2000um, actual measured results of pressure loss at liquid-gas ratio
17L/Nm3 are in the range of 950-1100Pa, which is in agreement with the calculation results
and produces a maximum error of less than 7%.

Fig. 9. Pressure loss profiles for different droplet SMD (tfg(in)=110℃ Vol(%)=9% liquid-
gas ratio 17L/Nm3)

3.2. Discussions
Effect of droplet SMD on working performance is discussed in 3.1. Other influential
factors, such as temperature and humidity of inlet flue gas, liquid-gas ratio, have relatively
smaller influence on working performance than droplet SMD. Effect of other factors is
discussed as follows.

3.2.1 Effect of temperature and humidity of inlet flue gas on working performance
 As can be shown from Table 2, the temperature of slurry temperature changes along the
isenthalpic line of inlet flue gas. With the increase of temperature and humidity of inlet flue
gas, the temperature of slurry increases accordingly.

Under the condition of liquid-gas ratio 17L/Nm3, compared with the inlet flue gas (tfg
(in)=110℃Vol(%)=9%), the change of inlet flue gas temperature (tfg(in)=130℃ Vol (%)=9%)
causes the slurry temperature difference of 1.6℃ , the difference of excess temperature
decreasing rate of less than 3%, relative humidity difference of less than 6%, the difference of
heat transfer coefficient of less than 1%, pressure loss difference of less than 1%. Compared
with the inlet flue gas (Vol(%)=9% t fg(in)=110℃), the change of inlet flue gas (Vol(%)=7%
tfg(in)=110℃) causes the slurry temperature difference of less than 3.3℃, the difference of
excess temperature decreasing rate of less than 2%, relative humidity difference of less than
6%, the difference of heat transfer coefficient of less than 1%, pressure loss difference of less
than 1%.
3.2.2 Effect of liquid-gas ratio on working performance
The slurry temperature is independent of the liquid-gas ratio.
Compared with the condition of liquid-gas ratio 17L/Nm3, at given temperature and
humidity of inlet flue gas (tfg(in)=110℃ Vol(%)=9%), the change of liquid-gas ratio from
17L/Nm3 to 11L/Nm3 causes the difference of excess temperature decreasing rate of less than
2%, relative humidity difference of less than 6.5%. The pressure loss is proportional to liquid-
gas ratio.

4 CONCLUSIONS
One prediction model for slurry temperature in WFGD system was put forward. A
coupled 1-D model of the droplet motion, the temperature, relative humidity, heat transfer
coefficient and pressure loss of flue gas was set up. The distribution characteristics of droplet
velocity, temperature and relative humidity of flue gas, and pressure loss over the height of
spraying zone were discussed. The principal conclusions are as follows:
(1)The slurry temperature is a function of the temperature and humidity of inlet gas.
With one of the two variables given, the slurry temperature changes near linearly with the
other variable. Calculation results coincides well with those of field tests with a maximum
relative error 4.56%.

(2)The velocity of droplet decreases rapidly in initial stage and gradually tends to its
uniform velocity. For droplet of SMD 1000um, 2000um and 3000um, the uniform velocity is
1.08m/s, 4.31m/s, and 5.94m/s respectively at given flue gas parameters (t fg(in)=110℃Vol
(%)=9%).
(3)The flue gas temperature changes along the height of tower as an exponential function,
Under the condition of droplet SMD=2000um and liquid-gas ratio 17L/Nm3, which is similar
with the design value of WFGD system, the main process of heat and mass transfer happens
in 1m height of tower where the excess temperature of flue gas decreases by more than 85%
and the relative humidity increases to around 70%. Calculation results coincides well with
simulation results in the literature.
 (4)The pressure loss is almost proportional to the spraying height and liquid-gas ratio.
The temperature and humidity of inlet flue gas have little impact on pressure loss. Calculation
results coincide well with those of field tests with a maximum relative error of less than 7%.

ACKNOWLEDGE
This paper is supported by Shandong Natural Science Foundation (No.ZR201709180049).

REFERENCES
[1] Cataldo De Blasio, Claudio Carletti, et al. Ultrasonic Power to Enhance Limestone
Dissolution in the Wet Flue Gas Desulfurization Process. Modeling and Results from
Stepwise Titration Experiments. ChemEngineering 2018, 2(4), 53: 1-17

[2] Xiliang Hong, Jianhong Chen, et al. Advanced exergoenvironmental evaluation for a
coal-fired power plant of near-zero air pollutant emission. Applied Thermal Engineering.
2018, 128: 1139-1150.
[3] De Gisi S, Molino A, Notarnicola M. Enhancing the recovery of gypsum in limestone-
based wet flue gas desulfurization with high energy ball milling process: A feasibility
study. Process Saf. Environ. Prot. 2017, 109: 117–129.

[4] Guelli U, Souza S M A, Santos F B F, Ulson de Souza A A, Vidal Barrero F. Limestone

dissolution in flue gas desulfurization — experimental and numerical study. J. Chem.
Technol. Biotechnol. 2010, 85: 1208–1214.

[5] Xiliang Hong, et al. Advanced exergoenvironmental evaluation for a coal-fired power
plant of near-zero air pollutant emission, Applied Thermal Engineering. 2018, 128:
1139-1150
[6] Guelli U, Souza S M A, Santos F B F, Ulson de Souza A A, Vidal Barrero F. Limestone
dissolution in flue gas desulfurization — experimental and numerical study. J. Chem.
Technol. Biotechnol. 2010, 85: 1208–1214.

[7] S Kill, M Michelsen, K Dam-Johansen. Experimental investigation and modeling of a

wet flue gas desulfurization pilot plant. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 1998, 37: 2792-2806.
[8] I Bjerle, S Bengtsson, K Färnkvist. Absorption of SO2 in CaCO3-slurry in a laminar jet
absorber. Chem. Eng. Sci. 1972. 27: 853-1861.
[9] S Olausson, M Wallin, I Bjerle. A model for the absorption of sulfur dioxide into a
limestone slurry. Chem. Eng. J, 1993. 51: 99-108.

[10] J Warych, M Szymanowfski. Model of the wet flue gas desulfurization process for cost
optimization. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2001, 40: 2597-2605.
[11] E Sada, H. Kumazawa, M A Butt. Absorption of sulphur dioxide into aqueous slurries of
sparingly soluble fine particles. Chem. Eng. Sci. 1980, 35: 771-777.
[12] C. Brogren, H.T. Karlsson Test. Modeling the absorption of SO 2 in a spray scrubber
using the penetration theory. Chem. Eng. Sci , 52 (1997), 3085-3099.

[13] M.Kadjaab, et al. Modelling of slurry drying. Applied Thermal Engineering. 2003, 23:
1275-1293.
[14] Zhen Xu, Yunhan Xiao. Yue Wang. Experimental and theoretical studies on air
humification by a water spray at elevated pressure. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2007;
27(14-15):2549-2558.
[15] Hao Wu, Linjun Yang, et al. Improving the removal of fine particles by heterogeneous
condensation during WFGD processes. Fuel Processing Technology. 2016, 145: 116-122.

[16] Hao Wu, Danping Pan, et al. Improving the removal of fine particles from desulfurized
flue gas by adding humid air. Fuel. 2016, 184: 153-161.
[17] Hongwei Li, et al. Numerical simulation study on different spray rates of three-area
water distribution in wet cooling tower of fossil-fuel power station. Applied Thermal
Engineering. 2018, 130: 1558-1567
[18] Mohammad Zunaid, Qasim Murtaza, Samsher Gautam. Energy and performance
analysis of multi droplets shower cooling tower at different inlet water temperature for air
cooling application. Applied Thermal Engineering. 2017, 121: 1070-1079.

[19] Xiaoni Qi, Yongqi Liu, et al. Performance prediction of a shower cooling tower using
wavelet neural network. Applied Thermal Engineering. 2016, 108: 475-485.
[20] Oskar Javier González Pedraza, J. Jesús Pacheco Ibarra, et al. Numerical study of the
drift and evaporation of water droplets cooled down by a forced stream of air. Applied
Thermal Engineering. 2018, 142: 292-302.

[21] Thirapong Muangnoi, Pibool Hungspreugs, Wanchai Asvapoositkul. Performance

characteristics of a downward spray water-jet cooling tower. Applied Thermal
Engineering. 2014, 69 (1-2): 165-176.

[22] Abdullah Alkhedhair, Hal Gurgenci, et al. Numerical simulation of water spray or pre-
cooling of inlet air in natural draft dry cooling towers. Applied Thermal Engineering.
2013, 61 (2): 416-424.
[23] Yongming Lin, Xing Gao, et al. Numerical simulation on resistance characteristic of
large scale wet flue gas desulfrization spraying scrubber. Proceedings of the CSEE. 2008,
28(5): 28-33 (in Chinese).

[24] Dudek S A, Rogers J A. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for predicting two-
phase flow in a flue-gas-desulfurization wet scrubber [c]. Proceedings of EPRI-DOE-
EPA Combined Utility Air Pollutant Control Symposium Georgia. Atlanta. USA. 1999.

[25] Shanming Zhou, Baosheng Jin, et al. Flow simulation for large scale FGD scrubbers and
optimization design. JOURNAL OF SOUTHEASE UNIVERSITY (natural science
edition). 2005, 35(1): 105-110 (in Chinese).
[26] Weiguo Pan, Xuefeng Leng, et al. Numerical simulation of flow field inside WFGD
under different spray levels operation. Journal of Shanghai University of Electric Power.
2009, 25(5): 413-417 (in Chinese).

[27] Yu Lin, Dezhen Chen. Numerical simulation and verification of gas-liquid two-phase
flow and heat transfer in spraying zone of large-scale desulfurization absorption tower.
Journal of Combustion Science and Technology. 2016; 22(1):1-8(in Chinese).
 Highlights

1. A model was put forward to predict the slurry temperature in WFDG system.
2. The correlation between slurry temperature and inlet flue gas parameters was first
made.
3. A 1-D model for predicting temperature and pressure loss of flue gas was set up.
4. Impacts of multiple factors on performance of spraying tower were analyzed.