In this paper, a new technology for a tangential firing pulverized coal boiler, high efficiency and low NO, combustion technology with multiple air-staged and a large-angle counter flow fuel-rich jet (ACT for short) is proposed. To verify the characteristics of this technology, experiments of two combustion technologies, ACCT and CFS-1 (Concentric Firing System-1), are carried out under a cold model of a 1025 t/h tangential firing boiler with a PDA (particle dynamics anemometer). The distributions of velocity, particle concentration, particle diameters and the particle volume flux of primary air and secondary air are obtained. The results show that the fuel-rich primary air of ACCT can go deeper into the furnace and mix with the main flow better, which means that the counter flow of fuel-rich jets in ACCT can realize stable combustion, low NOx emission and slagging prevention. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.