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Cofiring sludge with coal based on existing power plants is a promising method to realize harmless recycling treatment for sludge disposal. However, the influences of sludge addition on NOx emission are still controversial. Moreover, the optimal operating strategies for the cocombustion boiler need further investigations. In this study, the influences of sludge blending ratio, moisture content, sludge inlet position, and air-staging parameter on the combustion characteristics and NOx emission behaviors in a 330-MW boiler were analyzed numerically. The results show that with the increase of sludge blending ratio, the flue gas temperature in the primary zone decreases. The overall burnout ratio declines with the addition of sludge due to the higher ash and moisture contents. Although the sludge contains more N than coal, the NOx emissions in the cofiring case are lower than those in the coal-fired case due to the lower temperature and stronger reducing atmosphere in the primary zone. Reducing the moisture in the sludge is beneficial to the combustion within the furnace. Nevertheless, because of the higher temperature and lower CO concentration within the furnace, the NOx concentration at the furnace outlet increases. For wall-fired boilers, feeding the sludge from the lower burners should be avoided considering the potential surge in NOx emission. When the excess air ratio in the primary zone increases from 0.74 to 0.96, the NOx concentration at the furnace outlet rises by 58%. Hence, although relatively lower excess air ratio in the primary zone could bring adverse impacts on the burnout behaviors, air-staging combustion is still necessary when cofiring sludge in the coal-fired boiler. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]