A Comparative Study of Fouling and Bottom Ash from Woody Biomass Combustion in a Fixed-Bed Small-Scale Boiler and Evaluation of the Analytical Techniques Used

Lara Febrero, Enrique Granada, David Patiño, Pablo Eguía and Araceli Regueiro
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Lara Febrero: Industrial Engineering School, University of Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, s/n, 36310 Vigo, Spain
Enrique Granada: Industrial Engineering School, University of Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, s/n, 36310 Vigo, Spain
David Patiño: Industrial Engineering School, University of Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, s/n, 36310 Vigo, Spain
Pablo Eguía: Industrial Engineering School, University of Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, s/n, 36310 Vigo, Spain
Araceli Regueiro: Industrial Engineering School, University of Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, s/n, 36310 Vigo, Spain

Sustainability, 2015, vol. 7, issue 5, 1-19

Abstract: In this work, fouling and bottom ash were collected from a low-power boiler after wood pellet combustion and studied using several analytical techniques to characterize and compare samples from different areas and determine the suitability of the analysis techniques employed. TGA results indicated that the fouling contained a high amount of organic matter (70%). The XRF and SEM-EDS measurements revealed that Ca and K are the main inorganic elements and exhibit clear tendency in the content of Cl that is negligible in the bottom ash and increased as it penetrated into the innermost layers of the fouling. Calcite, magnesia and silica appeared as the major crystalline phases in all the samples. However, the bottom ash was primarily comprised of calcium silicates. The KCl behaved identically to the Cl, preferably appeared in the adhered fouling samples. This salt, which has a low melting point, condenses upon contact with the low temperature tube and played a crucial role in the early stages of fouling formation. XRD was the most useful technique applied, which provided a semi-quantitative determination of the crystalline phases. FTIR was proven to be inadequate for this type of sample. The XRF and SEM-EDS, techniques yield similar results despite being entirely different.

Keywords: biomass; combustion; fouling; bottom ash; analytical techniques (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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