No abstract

The purpose of this work was to study different ways to mitigate alkali-related problems during combustion of biomass in circulating fluidized beds. Wood chips and wood pellets were fired together with straw pellets, while the tendency to agglomerate and form deposits was monitored. In addition to a reference case, a number of countermeasures were applied in related tests. Those were addition of elemental sulphur, ammonium sulphate and kaolin to a bed of silica sand, as well as use of olivine sand and blast-furnace slag as alternative bed materials. The agglomeration temperature, composition and structure of bed-ash samples were examined. The flue-gas composition, including gaseous alkali chlorides, was measured in the hot flue gases and in the stack. Particles in the flue gas were collected and analysed for size distribution and composition. Deposits were collected on a probe in hot flue gases and their amount and composition were analysed. Addition of kaolin was found to be the best method to counteract the agglomeration problem. The deposition problem is effectively counteracted with addition of ammonium sulphate, while kaolin is too expensive to be used commercially against deposits, and sulphur is less effective than ammonium sulphate.

The emission of potassium- and sodium-containing compounds during rapid birchwood pyrolysis was studied. Birchwood particles (2−130 mg) were inserted into a preheated furnace at constant temperature (350−850 °C) and the alkali emission was measured. Particle mass, furnace temperature, and moisture were varied. At temperatures ≤ 500 °C, the alkali emission from birchwood particles took place solely during the pyrolysis phase. At temperatures ≥ 600 °C, alkali evaporation from the ash increased. The total alkali release increased with temperature in the range studied and the release during the pyrolysis was larger or equal to the release from the ash phase. Small particles (2−10 mg) emitted more alkali per unit mass than large ones (60−130 mg) and this tendency increased with temperature. At 800 °C the emission per unit mass from small particles was 10 times the one for large particles. Wet particles went through a drying phase, which delays the heating, and thereby the alkali emission. The present findings are of importance for actions aimed at minimizing alkali related problems during large-scale biomass conversion.

This paper is part I in a series of two describing the fate of alkali metals and phosphorus during cocombustion of rapeseed cake pellets in a 12 MW thermal CFB boiler. In paper I the results of using the mixture of wood chips and wood pellets as a base fuel are described. Up to 45% on energy basis of rapeseed cake was cocombusted during a 4 h test. Two approximately 12 h tests with energy fractions of rapeseed cake of 12 and 18% were performed with limestone as a varying parameter. Fuels were characterized by means of chemical fractionation and standard methods. Elemental mass balances were calculated for ingoing and outgoing streams of the boiler. In addition SEM/EDX analyses of ashes were performed. Gaseous (KCl þ NaCl) as well as HCl and SO 2 were measured upstream of the convection pass, where deposit samples were also collected with a deposit probe. The deposit samples were analyzed semiquantitatively by means of SEM/EDX. The elemental mass balances show accumulation of alkali metals and phosphorus in the boiler. Analyses of bed material particle cross sections show the presence of phosphorus compounds within a K-silicates matrix between the agglomerated sand particles, indicating a direct attack of gaseous potassium compounds on the bed surface followed by adhesion of ash particles rich in phosphorus. Build-up of deposit during the cocombustion tests mainly took place on the windward side of the probe; where an increase of K, Na, and P has been observed. Addition of limestone prevented formation of K-silicates and increased retention of phosphorus in the bed, most probably due to formation of high-melting calcium phosphates. During the tests with limestone, an increase of potassium chloride upstream of the convection pass and a decrease of phosphorus in the fly ash fraction could be noticed. Agglomeration and slagging/fouling when cofiring wood with rapeseed cake may be linked to its high content of organically bonded phosphorus;phytic acid salts;together with high contents of water-soluble alkali metals chlorides and sulfates in the fuel mixture.

The objective of this work is to survey the fate of potassium in the gas phase of a fluidised bed boiler and gain deeper understanding of the involved mechanisms during co-firing of municipal sewage sludge with biomass containing high amounts of potassium and chlorine. The results show that formation of alkali chlorides in the flue gas and corrosive deposits on heat transfer surfaces can be controlled by addition of municipal sewage sludge even though the fuel is highly contaminated with chlorine. The beneficial effects are partly due to the content of sulphur in the sludge, partly to the properties of the sludge ash. The sludge ash consists of both crystalline and amorphous phases. It contains silica, aluminium, calcium, iron and phosphorus which all are involved in the capture of potassium.