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Ash formation was studied experimentally during combustion of forest residue and willow in a 35 MW circulating fluidized-bed co-generation plant. Ash particles and vapors were sampled downstream of the process cyclone at flue gas temperatures of 810-850 °C. Inorganic vapors and fly ash particles were collected separately on filters. Size-classified fly ash particle samples were collected with an impactor. Elemental analysis methods and electron microscopy were used for ash characterization. During combustion of forest residue, about 30-40% of the total ash and a similar percentage of Ca and P was attached on the bed-material particles and were eventually removed from the bed along with bottom ash. K was retained with a higher efficiency (about 50%). S and Cl were volatilized in the furnace and were not retained in the bed. During combustion of forest residue, 80% of S had already reacted with species present in supermicrometer ash particles when detected after the process cyclone at 810-850 °C. When willow was combusted, about one-half of the sulfur remained as SO 2 . More than one-half of the particlephase S was present as alkali sulfate fine particles that were almost nonexistent during forest residue combustion. Cl was present as gaseous species (KCl and presumably HCl) at 810-850 °C with both fuels.

Fly ash deposition on heat-exchanger surfaces during fluidized-bed combustion of biomass causes operational problems such as reduced heat transfer and corrosion of superheater tubes. Ash deposition and alkali vapor condensation were studied during circulating fluidized-bed combustion of forest residue in a 35 MW co-generation plant. A 70 ± 10% amount of fly ash was deposited on the heat-exchanger surfaces in the convective back pass between soot-blowing periods. Practically all the largest ash particles (d > 10 μm) but only a small fraction of particles d < 3 μm were deposited. The deposition efficiency of particles with a given size was not correlated with their elemental composition. About 50% of alkali chloride vapors (KCl and NaCl) were condensed in the convective back pass on fine-mode particles (d < 0.6 μm) and the other 50% on the coarse-mode particles. Alkali chlorides were not effectively deposited since they were depleted in the largest (d > 10 μm) ash particles.

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