Dr. Haixia Zhang

Haixia Zhang received her bachelor’s degree from Shenyang University of Chemical Technology and obtained her Ph.D. degree from Beijing University of Chemical Technology. She worked at Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Science. She joined LACER at Washington University in St. Louis as a visiting scholar in October 2018.

Research:

Although a considerable effort has been made to develop renewable sources, fossil fuels will account for about 80% of the projected primary energy needs in 2040. In the foreseeable future, coal will be the main source for electricity and heat generation globally. The degree of carbon burnout is an important operating characteristic for coal utilization system, which affects energy efficiency and the properties of the fly ash as valuable byproduct.

Staged Pressurized Oxy-Combustion process (SPOC) was developed by LACER and has been recognized as a promising technology with high efficiency and low emissions compared. The primary focus of Dr. Zhang’s research is to investigate the carbon burnout via a 100KW pilot scale pressurized oxy-combustion reactor and a lab scale two stage Hencken flat flame burner. The research results will help the design, operation and optimization of the reactor and achieve high efficiency with low cost.