Aktiv – 07.2021 bis 12.2024

REBECCA is a 3.5-year research project funded by the European Commision managed Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS). The aim is to improve the sustainability and economics of existing coal-fired fluidized bed power plants by retrofitting these boilers by means of substitution of coal by waste-derived fuels and integration of CO₂ capture technology, while maximizing the efficiency, availability, and load flexibility oft he power plant.

The following objectives are defined to reach this aim:

• Develop and test a concept in pilot testing, as well as in a commercial boiler to enable the utilization of waste-derived fuels up to 100 % in existing fluidized bed boilers.
• Develop and test concepts of retrofitting existing Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) boilers for more than 90% CO₂ capture by means of oxy-fuel and chemical looping combustion, as well as for CO₂ utilization or storage.
• Maximizing the boiler efficiency by different means such as a reduction of excess air or the avoidance of depostion on heat exchanger surfaces.
• Maximizing the flexibility of power generation through increasing the ramp-up/down speed of the boiler load and through reducing the minimum load.
• Maximizing the lifetime and availability of the boiler by avoiding fouling, corrosion and erosion of heat exchanger surfaces and refractory.
• Application of air staging and multipollutant emission reduction technologies.
• Performing multi-level impact assessment (environmental, techno- and socio-economic assessment) to develop conecpts for future useage of retrofit CFB boilers.