Pasi Vainikka

Chlorine in Deposits During Co-Firing of Biomass, Peat, and Coal in a Full-Scale CFBC Boiler

Co-combustion of coal with biomass or firing biomass alone is increasingly used as a first step to meet the Finnish commitments under the Kyoto agreement. Fluidized bed combustors are commonly used when co-firing, however, even if FBC’s have a wide tolerance for different fuel qualities, co-combustion of biomass or firing biomass alone may lead to unwanted ash-related problems. A deposit measurement campaign was done, at the 550 MWth biofuelled CFB in Jakobstad, Finland. During the campaign a total of 16 different fuel blends were burned. The deposits were sampled with air-cooled probes with detachable rings. The deposits were sampled at two different locations, one where the flue gas temperature was about 730°C (probe surface temp. 540°C) and the second where the flue gas temperature was about 530°C (probe surface temp. 350°C). From every deposit sample three elemental analyses were done — one from the wind side, one from the lee side, and one from an angle of about 50° from the wind side. The analyses were done with a SEM/EDX analyzer. The fuels used during the measurement campaigns were sampled and analyzed. In addition to proximate and ultimate fuel analysis so called fuel fractionation was applied. The fractionation method is based on selective leaching by water, ammonium acetate, and hydrochloric acid, consecutively. After each leaching step the solutions are analyzed for the most important elements. The method can be used to determine how the elements are bound in the fuel and how they may behave during combustion. The analysis results from the measurement campaign and from the advanced fuel analysis were combined and are reported in this paper, with emphasis on the fate of chlorine.Copyright

Comparing the greenhouse gas emissions from three alternative waste combustion concepts

Three alternative condensing mode power and combined heat and power (CHP) waste-to-energy concepts were compared in terms of their impacts on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a heat and power generation system. The concepts included (i) grate, (ii) bubbling fluidised bed (BFB) and (iii) circulating fluidised bed (CFB) combustion of waste. The BFB and CFB take advantage of advanced combustion technology which enabled them to reach electric efficiency up to 35% and 41% in condensing mode, respectively, whereas 28% (based on the lower heating value) was applied for the grate fired unit. A simple energy system model was applied in calculating the GHG emissions in different scenarios where coal or natural gas was substituted in power generation and mix of fuel oil and natural gas in heat generation by waste combustion. Landfilling and waste transportation were not considered in the model. GHG emissions were reduced significantly in all of the considered scenarios where the waste combustion concepts substituted coal based power generation. With the exception of condensing mode grate incinerator the different waste combustion scenarios resulted approximately in 1 Mton of fossil CO(2)-eq. emission reduction per 1 Mton of municipal solid waste (MSW) incinerated. When natural gas based power generation was substituted by electricity from the waste combustion significant GHG emission reductions were not achieved.

Co-Combustion of Coal With RDF and Biomass: Prevention of Chlorine Deposition by Using Coal Ash Alkali Absorption Ability

The co-combustion of fossil fuels with CO2 -neutral fuels is an attractive way both to decrease CO2 emissions in energy production and to use fuel synergies which decrease each other’s undesirable properties. This paper presents a new approach to understand and predict the chlorine deposition tendency in the co-combustion of coal with biomass and RDF. This novel approach combines the results from deposit analysis with flue gas emission measurement and advanced fuel characterization methods. The experiments were carried out in a 0.1 MW circulating fluidized bed reactor. Two different types of bituminous coal (South African and Polish) were co-fired with RDF, demolition wood and bark. The traditional way to predict risk for chlorine deposition, the fuel S/Cl molar ratio, and the safe limit molar ratio > 4 for biofuels were shown to be inadequate. The mineral kaolinite in coal ash was found to be able to capture alkalis and, in most cases, more effectively than sulphur compounds. The alkali capture capability of coal sulphur is quickly consumed due to reactions with calcium compounds. Furthermore, the ability of SO2 to sulfate alkali chlorides were found to be weaker than presented in the literature. Thus in many cases it is only kaolinite that keeps Cl away from the deposit. New index to predict chlorine deposition tendency were introduced: the reactive (Al+Si)/fuel Cl molar ratio. The results showed a good correlation between the chlorine concentration in the deposit and the new index. The reactive (Al+Si)/fuel Cl molar ratio higher than 8–10 was found to prevent chlorine to deposit. The new approach for better understanding and preventing of chlorine deposition promotes the co-combustion of coal with biomass and RDF by introducing new synergy benefits.Copyright

Bromine and Chlorine in Aerosols and Fly Ash when Co-Firing Solid Recovered Fuel, Spruce Bark and Paper Mill Sludge in a 80MWth BFB Boiler

Aerosol and fly ash sampling was carried out at a 80MWth bubbling fluidised bed (BFB) boiler plant co-firing solid recovered fuel (SRF), spruce bark and paper mill wastewater sludge in two experimental conditions. The SRF-Bark ratio in the fuel mix was kept constant at 50%–50% on dry mass basis in both experiments but two sludge proportions were used: 15% and 4% on dry mass basis. Aerosol samples were collected from the superheater region of the boiler furnace and fly ash from the electrostatic precipitator (ESP). Na, K, Cl and S were found to be in mainly water soluble compounds in the aerosols sampled by means of a Dekati type Low Pressure Impactor (DLPI). Bromine was found in several weight percentages in aerosols and it was amongst the main elements in some of the samples collected. Bromine is assumed to mainly originate from flame retarded plastics and textiles in the SRF. According to the measurements, the fate of Br seems to be analogous to the other main halogen, Cl, and its conversion from fuel to aerosols was high, indicating a strong tendency to form bromine salts.