Tm Lind

Analysis of size-fractionated coal combustion aerosols by PIXE and other analytical techniques

Abstract Particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) analysis, instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) were used to study the chemical composition of size-fractionated in-stack fly-ash particles emitted during coal combustion. The samples were collected before the electrostatic precipitator at a gas temperature of 120°C during the combustion of Venezuelan coal in a 81 MW capacity circulating fluidized bed boiler. The sampling device consisted of a Berner low pressure impactor, which was operated with a cyclone precutter. The Nuclepore polycarbonate foils, which were used as collection surfaces in the low pressure impactor, were analyzed by the three techniques and the results of common elements were critically compared. The PIXE results were systematically lower than the INAA data and the percentage difference appeared to be stage-dependent, but virtually independent upon the element. The discrepancies are most likely due to bounce-off effects, particle reentrainment and other sampling artifacts, which may make that a fraction of the aerosol particles is deposited on the impaction foils outside the section analyzed by PIXE. However, by resorting to a “mixed internal standard” approach, accurate PIXE data are obtained. Also in the comparison between the ICP-MS and the INAA data significant discrepancies were observed. These are most likely due to incomplete dissolution of the particulate material and in particular of the alumino-silicate fly-ash matrix, during the acid digestion sample preparation step for ICP-MS. It is suggested that a comparison between ICP-MS data of acid digested samples and INAA can advantageously be used to provide speciation information on the various elements. Selected examples of size distributions are presented and briefly discussed.

Study of size-fractionated coal-combustion aerosols using instrumental neutron activation analysis

The chemical composition of aerosols emitted during coal combustion was studied as a function of particle size down to 0.01 μm. The aerosol collections were carried out in a 81 MW capacity boiler that burned Venezuelan coal in a circulating fluidized bed combustion chamber. The samples were analyzed with upstream of the electrostatic precipitator using a Berner low-pressure impactor, which was quipped with a cyclone pre-cutter to avoid overloading of the first impaction stages. The samples were analyzed by INAA for up to about 40 elements. The elemental concentrations in the particulate matter for each impaction stage were plotted as a function of stage number (particle size). For the elements Na, Al, K, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Ga, La and Sm, the concentration variation was limited to a factor of 2 to 4, and the concentrations of these elements were lower for the initial and final impactor stages than for the intermediate particle sizes. The variations were also limited to a factor of 2–4 for Mn, Fe, As, Sb and Th, butall these elements showed increasing concentrations with decreasing particle size. Still other elements, such as Ni, Cr, Co, Za, W, Mo and the halogens, were highly enriched (up to 20–100 fold) in the fine particles when compared with the coarse particles.

In-stack particle size and composition transformations during circulating fluidized bed combustion of willow and forest residue

Abstract The in-stack transformations of the particle size and composition of the fly ash were studied experimentally during combustion of forest residue and willow in a 35 MW circulating fluidized bed co-generation plant. Samples of the in-stack fly ash were taken with 11-stage Berner low pressure impactors (BLPIs) at two locations in the flue gas stream, i.e., downstream of the circulating cyclone at a temperature of 810–850°C and downstream of the convective back pass at a temperature of 150–160°C. The mass size distribution of the fly ash was derived from weighing the BLPI substrate films. For obtaining the multielemental composition of the fly ash as a function of particle size, the BLPI films were analyzed by both particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA).