Fouling Tendency of Ash Resulting from Burning Mixtures of Biofuels

摘要

Specified mixtures of peat with bark and peat with straw were burned in a lab-scale entrained flow reactor that simulates conditions in the superheater region of a biomass-fired boiler. Deposits were collected on an air-cooled probe that was inserted into the reactor at the outlet. For both mixtures, the deposition behaviour followed a non-linear pattern, which suggests that physico-chemical interaction between the ashes of the different fuels has taken place. The results indicate that it is possible to burn up to 30 wt-% bark (renewable biofuel and pulp mill waste) and up to 70 wt-% straw (renewable biofuel and agricultural waste) in mixtures with peat without encountering increased deposition rates in the reactor. The deposit composition was compared to the fuel ash composition using chemical fractionation analysis and SEM/EDX. While the composition of deposits obtained from pure fuels resembles the feed composition, a considerable change is observed in deposits obtained from mixtures. K and S compounds are attached to Si spheres and the substrate surface. The deposition rate is significantly lowered when removing K, S, Cl and Na in bark prior to burning by washing and mechanical/thermal dewatering.