A Review of Coal-Biomass Co-Firing in China: Technological Pathways, Challenges, and Strategic Roles for Dual Carbon Goals

To achieve China's "Dual Carbon" goals and promote the low-carbon transition of coal-fired power generation, biomass, as a key carbon-neutral energy source, has made research on its co-firing technology with coal of significant strategic importance. This paper systematically reviews the development status of biomass co-firing technology both domestically and internationally, noting that many European countries and China have made remarkable progress in demonstration projects and application scale, though gaps remain in the localization of key equipment and technical challenges. Using systematic literature review and case study comparison methods, the study evaluates the maturity, adaptability, and retrofitting costs of technical pathways such as direct, indirect, and parallel co-firing. The findings indicate that biomass co-firing can effectively reduce CO₂ emissions and enhance operational flexibility, but it also faces engineering challenges such as combustion instability, slagging, and corrosion, which require mitigation strategies like fuel pretreatment and combustion optimization. Furthermore, policy analysis reveals that China’s "۱۴th Five-Year Plan" for Bio-Economy Development and the "Action Plan for Low-Carbon Retrofit and Construction of Coal Power (۲۰۲۴–۲۰۲۷)" have synergistic effects in promoting technology scale-up and supply chain development. Finally, the paper proposes implementation recommendations from the perspectives of technological breakthroughs, policy incentives, and industrial collaboration, aiming to provide insights for building a clean energy system and supporting high-quality development in China.

کلیدواژه ها:

Biomass Energy ، Coal-Biomass Co-Firing ، Coal-Fired Power Generation ، Combustion Stability ، Carbon Emission Mitigation