Strategies to reduce gaseous KCl and chlorine in deposits during combustion of biomass in fluidised bed boilers

Abstract: Combustion of a biomass with an enhanced content of alkali and chlorine (Cl) can result in operational problems including deposit formation and superheater corrosion. The strategies applied to reduce such problems include co-combustion and the use of additives. In this work, measures were investigated in order to decrease the risk of superheater corrosion by reducing gaseous KCl and the content of chlorine in deposits. The strategies applied were sulphation of KCl by sulphur/sulphate containing additives (i.e. elemental sulphur (S) and ammonium sulphate (AS)) and co-combustion with peat. Both sulphation of KCl and capture of potassium (K) in ash components can be of importance when peat is used. The experiments were mainly performed in a 12 MW circulation fluidised bed (CFB) boiler equipped for research purposes but also in a full-scale CFB boiler. The results were evaluated by means of IACM (on-line measurements of gaseous KCl), conventional gas analysis, deposit and corrosion probe measurements and ash analysis. Ammonium sulphate performed significantly better than elemental sulphur. Thus the presence of SO3 (i.e. AS) is of greater importance than that of SO2 (i.e. S) for sulphation of gaseous KCl and reduction of chlorine in deposits. Only a minor reduction of gaseous KCl was obtained during co-combustion with peat although chlorine in the deposits was greatly reduced. This reduction was supposedly due to capture of K by reactive components from the peat ash in parallel to sulphation of KCl. These compounds remained unidentified. The effect of volatile combustibles on the sulphation of gaseous KCl was investigated. The poorest sulphation was attained during injection of ammonium sulphate in the upper part of the combustion chamber during the lowest air excess ratio. The explanation for this is that SO3 was partly consumed by side reactions due to the presence of combustibles. These experimental results were supported by modelling, although the sulphation of KCl in the presence of combustibles were somewhat overestimated in the chemical kinetic model. Oxygen also had an effect on the sulphation when injecting AS in the cyclone. Less gaseous KCl was reduced during air excess ratio λ = 1.1 compared to the higher air excess ratios. A correlation was also observed between the sulphation of gaseous KCl and reduced chlorine content in the deposits.