CORROSION OF SIC BASED REFRACTORIES BY MOLTEN SALTS IN MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE-TO-ENERGY FACILITIES

摘要

SiC refractories are used successfully in municipal solid waste-to-energy facilities (WtE). They are subjected to severe thermo-chemical stresses that limit their performances. For a better understanding of aggressive species reacting with SiC refractories, the corrosion of several SiC refractory samples by molten salts is performed at the lab scale to simulate the degradations of refractory ceramics in waste-to-energy facility conditions. The corrosion of tested samples obtained at the lab scale agreed relatively well with the corrosion of "post mortem" SiC samples taken from incinerator plants. Volume expansion created by phase transformation (cristobalite, wollastonite) increases the formation of micro cracks in a refractory lining. In this paper, the degradation mechanisms of SiC refractories will be presented and the main research and development work to be put into action in the future will be discussed.