Yongqi Sun

Integrated carbon dioxide/sludge gasification using waste heat from hot slags: syngas production and sulfur dioxide fixation.

The integrated CO2/sludge gasification using the waste heat in hot slags, was explored with the aim of syngas production, waste heat recovery and sewage sludge disposal. The results demonstrated that hot slags presented multiple roles on sludge gasification, i.e., not only a good heat carrier (500-950 °C) but also an effective desulfurizer (800-900 °C). The total gas yields increased from 0.022 kg/kgsludge at 500 °C to 0.422 kg/kgsludge at 900 °C; meanwhile, the SO2 concentration at 900 °C remarkably reduced from 164 ppm to 114 ppm by blast furnace slags (BFS) and 93 ppm by steel slags (SS), respectively. A three-stage reaction was clarified including volatile release, char transformation and fixed carbon using Gaussian fittings and the kinetic model was analyzed. Accordingly, a decline process using the integrated method was designed and the optimum slag/sludge ratio was deduced. These deciphered results appealed potential ways of reasonable disposal of sewage sludge and efficient recovery of waste heat from hot slags.

Two-stage high temperature sludge gasification using the waste heat from hot blast furnace slags

Nowadays, disposal of sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants and recovery of waste heat from steel industry, become two important environmental issues and to integrate these two problems, a two-stage high temperature sludge gasification approach was investigated using the waste heat in hot slags herein. The whole process was divided into two stages, i.e., the low temperature sludge pyrolysis at ⩽ 900°C in argon agent and the high temperature char gasification at ⩾ 900°C in CO2 agent, during which the heat required was supplied by hot slags in different temperature ranges. Both the thermodynamic and kinetic mechanisms were identified and it was indicated that an Avrami-Erofeev model could best interpret the stage of char gasification. Furthermore, a schematic concept of this strategy was portrayed, based on which the potential CO yield and CO2 emission reduction achieved in China could be ∼1.92∗10(9)m(3) and 1.93∗10(6)t, respectively.

Effect of Al2O3 on the Viscosity and Structure of CaO-SiO2-MgO-Al2O3-FetO Slags

The present paper provided a fundamental investigation on the effect of Al2O3 on the viscosity and structure of CaO-SiO2-MgO-Al2O3-FetO slags for the purpose of efficiently recycling the valuable elements from the steelmaking slags. The results show that the viscosity of CaO-SiO2-Al2O3-MgO-FetO slags slightly increases with increasing Al2O3 content. The degree of the polymerization (DOP) of quenched slags, determined from Raman spectra and magic angle spinning–nuclear magnetic resonance, is also found to increase with increasing Al2O3 content. It can be deduced that the increasing DOP can promote the formation of gehlenite phase (Ca2Al2SiO7), thus facilitating the formation of higher phosphorous (or vanadium) contained solid solution (n′Ca2SiO4·Ca3((P or V)O4)2). As Al2O3 content increases up to a specific value, the charge compensating ions which present near [AlO4]-tetrahedra and [FeO4]-tetrahedra are not fully supplied due to the scarcity of Ca2+. In this case, the existing Fe3+ in the melt cannot completely form [FeO4]-tetrahedra and part of Fe3+ would form [FeO6]-octahedra to substitute Ca2+ to modify the slags.

Characteristics of low temperature biomass gasification and syngas release behavior using hot slag

This study proposes an emerging method to prepare syngas using integrated low temperature biomass gasification combined with heat recovery from hot slag. A series of non-isothermal and isothermal gasification experiments were performed in the temperature range of 250–500 °C to determine the effect of the presence of slag on gasification. The results showed that the addition of slag remarkably increased the production of syngas in the temperature range of 425–500 °C and during the gasification at 450 °C, with a mass ratio of wheat straw to slag of 1 : 1, syngas with 0.149 L CO, 0.036 L H2 and 0.069 L CH4 can be produced per gram of wheat straw. The kinetic mechanism of biomass gasification changed from an Avrami–Erofeev model to a three-dimensional diffusion model with the addition of slag. Although the presence of slag altered the mechanism of gasification, it did not lower the degree of gasification, and therefore the waste heat from the hot slag can be used to produce syngas. Therefore, an industrial prototype plant composed of multiple systems was proposed, through which an energy saving equivalent to 19.1 million tons of standard coal and an emission reduction of 69.9 million tons of CO2 emission would be achieved in China.

The Effect of P2O5 on the Crystallization Behaviors of Ti-Bearing Blast Furnace Slags Using Single Hot Thermocouple Technique

The present paper investigates how the P2O5 addition influences the crystallization behaviors of Ti-bearing blast furnace (Ti-BF) slags with different basicity using Single Hot Thermocouple Technique. It was found that the basicity showed a significant effect on the crystallization behaviors of the Ti-BF slags, and the trend of formation of the rod-shape crystal decreased while the trend of formation of dendrite crystal increased with increasing basicity. The addition of P2O5 was found to promote the formation of rod-shape crystal. The basicity and crystallization temperature that the rod-shape crystal could be formed increased, while the incubation time of formation of the rod-shape crystal decreased with increasing P2O5 content. Scanning electron microscope equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscope and X-ray diffraction were employed to observe the morphology and determine the crystalline phase of the Ti-enriched crystals. The results indicated that the rod-shape crystal was rutile. The kinetics of the formation of rutile was studied, and the mechanism of crystallization and growth was further discussed. The results indicated that the crystallization of rutile was one-dimensional interface-controlled growth, and the nucleation rate varied with the holding time.

Achieving waste to energy through sewage sludge gasification using hot slags: syngas production

To relieve the environmental issues of sewage sludge (SS) disposal and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in China, we proposed an integrated method for the first time to simultaneously deal with these two problems. The hot slags below 920 °C could act as a good heat carrier for sludge gasification and the increasing CO2 concentration in CO2/O2 atmospheres enhanced the production of CO and H2 at 400–800 °C. Three stages of syngas release were clearly identified by Gaussian fittings, i.e., volatile release, char transformation and fixed carbon reaction. Additionally, the effect of sulfur retention of slags and the synergy effect of the stabilization of toxic elements in the solid residuals were discovered in this study. Furthermore, a novel prototype of multiple industrial and urban systems was put forward, in which the produced CO + H2 could be utilized for direct reduced iron (DRI) production and the solid residuals of sludge ash and glassy slags would be applied as cementitious materials. For a steel plant with an annual production of crude steel of 10 million tons in China, the total annual energy saving and GHG emission reduction achieved are 3.31*105 tons of standard coal and 1.74*106 tons of CO2, respectively.

Integration of coal gasification and waste heat recovery from high temperature steel slags: an emerging strategy to emission reduction.

With the continuous urbanization and industrialization in the world, energy saving and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction have been serious issues to be addressed, for which heat recovery from traditional energy-intensive industries makes up a significant strategy. Here we report a novel approach to extract the waste heat and iron from high temperature steel slags (1450–1650 oC) produced in the steel industry, i.e., integration of coal gasification and steel slag treatment. Both the thermodynamics and kinetics of the pertinent reactions were identified. It was clarified that the kinetic mechanism for gasification varied from A2 model to A4 model (Avrami-Erofeev) in the presence of slags. Most importantly, the steel slags acted not only as good heat carriers but also as effective catalysts where the apparent activation energy for char gasification got remarkably reduced from 95.7 kJ/mol to 12.1 kJ/mol (A2 model). Furthermore, the FeO in the slags was found to be oxidized into Fe3O4, with an extra energy release, which offered a potential for magnetic separation. Moreover, based on the present research results, an emerging concept, composed of multiple industrial sectors, was proposed, which could serve as an important route to deal with the severe environmental problems in modern society.

Structural Roles of Boron and Silicon in the CaO-SiO2-B2O3 Glasses Using FTIR, Raman, and NMR Spectroscopy

The present paper provided not only a deep insight of network structures of borosilicate glasses but also a basic linkage between the network structures and the viscous flow behaviors of many borosilicate melts. The structures of a ternary system of CaO-SiO2-B2O3 were characterized using Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR), Raman, and magic angular spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The results of FTIR and Raman spectra complementally verified that the main Si-related units were SiO4 tetrahedral with zero, one, two, and three bridging oxygens [Q0(Si), Q1(Si), Q2(Si), and Q3(Si)]; the added B2O3 leaded to an increase of Q3(Si) at the cost of Q0(Si) and Q2(Si), and therefore an increasing degree of polymerization (DOP) was induced. Additionally, the 11B NMR spectra demonstrated that the dominant B-related groups were BO3 trigonal and BO4 tetrahedral, while an increasing B2O3 content facilitated the existence of BO4 tetrahedral. Moreover, there was a competitive effect between the enhanced DOP and the presence of BO3 trigonal and BO4 tetrahedral in the networks, which therefore resulted in a decreasing viscosity of borosilicate melts in numerous studies.

Role of steel slags on biomass/carbon dioxide gasification integrated with recovery of high temperature heat

Disposal of biomass in the agriculture and steel slags in the steel industry provides a significant solution toward sustainability in China. Herein these two sectors were creatively combined as a novel method, i.e., biomass/CO2 gasification using waste heat from hot slags where the influence of chemical compositions of steel slags, characterized as iron oxide content and basicity, on gasification thermodynamics, was systemically reported for the first time. Both the target gases of CO, H2 and CH4 and the polluted gases of NH3, NO and NO2 were considered. It was first found that an increasing iron content and slag basicity continuously improved the CO yield at 600-1000°C and 800-1000°C, respectively; while the effect on polluted gas releases was limited. Moreover, the solid wastes after gasification could be utilized to provide nutrients and improve the soil in the agriculture, starting from which an integrated modern system was proposed herein.

Effect of Al2O3 Addition on the Precipitated Phase Transformation in Ti-Bearing Blast Furnace Slags

The present paper aims to provide a fundamental understanding on phase change of Ti-enriched crystalline phase induced by Al2O3 addition in Ti-bearing blast furnace slags with different basicities using Single Hot Thermocouple Technique and X-ray Diffraction. The results showed that an increase in the Al2O3 content led to phase change from rutile or perovskite to Mg3Al4Ti8O25 and prompted crystallization of the slags with basicity of 0.60 and 0.75, whereas only CaTiO3 was precipitated at a basicity of 0.95. Both thermodynamic and kinetic analyses were conducted to study the slag crystallization, which would throw light on phase change and enhanced crystallization. To further reveal the relationship with Al2O3 addition on slag structure and crystallization, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and magic angle spinning-nuclear magnetic resonance were adopted, with AlO4 tetrahedra and AlO6 octahedra observed in the slag. For slags with the basicity of 0.60 and 0.75, AlO6 octahedron, which was suggested to induce the phase change from TiO2 or CaTiO3 to Mg3Al4Ti8O25, was detected at high Al2O3 content. On the other hand, in slags with the basicity of 0.95, abundant Ca2+ may be connected to TiO6 octahedra, resulting in CaTiO3 formation.