Effect of Heterogeneity in Coal Ash Chemical Composition on the Onset of Conditions Favorable for Agglomeration in Fluid Beds

Aditi B. Khadilkar, Peter L. Rozelle and Sarma V. Pisupati
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Aditi B. Khadilkar: John and Willie Leone Family, Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Peter L. Rozelle: United States Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy, FE-221/Germantown Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20585, USA
Sarma V. Pisupati: John and Willie Leone Family, Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA

Energies, 2015, vol. 8, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: Ash agglomeration issues that arise due to the sticking of slag-wetted, colliding particles have been creating operational difficulties and monetary losses for the fluidized bed combustion (FBC) industry. Difficulties have been experienced in the detection of slag-liquid at the low operating temperatures in fluidized bed combustors (FBCs) and predicting the agglomeration behavior of fuel. This study aims to study the effect of heterogeneity in ash composition on the detection of slag-liquid in FBCs. It quantifies the slag-liquid amounts at the particle-level, under oxidizing environments, by dividing the bulk fuel into density classes. FactSage ™ thermodynamic simulations of each of the particle classes, along with experimental validation of the trends with thermo-mechanical analysis (TMA) and high temperature X-ray diffraction (HT-XRD) were performed. The results obtained can be used to estimate the stickiness of particles in the development of ash agglomeration models based on particle collisions. The study of these particle classes shows that particle classes with specific minerals can form low temperature eutectics and lead to onset of slag-liquid formation at temperatures below those predicted by bulk analysis alone. Comparison of the differences in slag-liquid formation tendencies under reducing and oxidizing environments is also presented.

Keywords: fluidized bed combustors (FBCs); oxidizing; reducing; deposition; mineral matter transformations; computational thermodynamics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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