Circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boilers offer a technically viable and environmentally friendly means for the clean and efficient utilization of solid fuels. However, the complex gas–solid two-phase flow processes within them have hindered a thorough resolution of prediction issues related to coupled combustion, heat transfer, and pollutant generation characteristics. To address the deficiencies in scientific research, meet the practical operational needs of CFB boilers, and comply with new carbon emission policies, conducting full-scale field tests on large-scale CFB boilers is needed, so that the complex gas–solid flow, combustion, and heat transfer mechanisms in the furnace can be comprehended. In this paper, issues related to large-scale CFB boilers, including the uniformity of air distribution, secondary air injection range, spatial distribution of oxygen consumption and combustion reactions, distribution of pollutant generation, hydrodynamic and heat transfer characteristics, coal feeding distribution characteristics, coal diffusion characteristics under thermal operating conditions, and engineering research on anti-wear technology, are reviewed. By integrating practical engineering applications, the basic methods and measurement techniques used in full-scale field tests for large-scale CFB boilers are summarized, providing a practical reference for conducting engineering tests with large-scale CFB boilers.

The use of the Maisotsenko cycle (M-Cycle) in traditional wet cooling towers (TWCTs) has the potential to reduce the costs of electricity generation by cooling water below the inlet air’s wet-bulb temperature. TWCTs cannot provide sufficient cooling capacity for the increasing demand for cooling energy in the power and industrial sectors—especially in hot and wet climates. Due to this fact, an experimental system of an M-Cycle cooling tower (MCT) with parallel counter-flow arrangement fills was constructed in order to provide perspective on the optimal length of dry channels (l_dry), thermal performance under different conditions, and pressure drops of the MCT. Results showed that the optimal value of l_dry was 2.4 m, and the maximum wet-bulb effectiveness was up to 180%. In addition, the impact of air velocity in wet channels on the pressure drops of the novel fills was also summarized. This study confirms the great potential of using the M-Cycle in TWCTs, and provides a guideline for the industrial application and performance improvement of MCTs.