Ash agglomeration and deposition during combustion of poultry litter in a bubbling fluidized-bed combustor

peer-reviewedn this study, we have characterized the ash resulting from fluidized bed combustion of poultry litter as being dominated by a coarse fraction of crystalline ash composed of alkali-Ca-phosphates and a fine fraction of particulate K2SO4 and KCl. Bed agglomeration was found to be coating-induced with two distinct layers present. The inner layer (0.05–0.09 mm thick) was formed due to the reaction of gaseous potassium with the sand (SiO2) surface forming K-silicates with low melting points. Further chemical reaction on the surface of the bed material strengthened the coating forming a molten glassy phase. The outer layer was composed of loosely bound, fine particulate ash originating from the char. Thermodynamic equilibrium calculations showed slag formation in the combustion zone is highly temperature-dependent, with slag formation predicted to increase from 1.8 kg at 600 °C to 7.35 kg at 1000 °C per hour of operation (5.21 kg of ash). Of this slag phase, SiO2 and K2O were the dominant phases, accounting for almost 95%, highlighting the role of K-silicates in initiating bed agglomeration. The remaining 5% was predicted to consist mainly of Al2O3, K2SO4, and Na2O. Deposition downstream in the low-temperature regions was found to occur mostly through the vaporization–condensation mechanism, with equilibrium decreasing significantly with decreasing temperatures. The dominant alkali chloride-containing gas predicted to form in the combustion zone was KCl, which corresponds with the high KCl content in the fine baghouse ash

Time Dependence of Bed Particle Layer Formation in Fluidized Quartz Bed Combustion of Wood-Derived Fuels

Formation of sticky layers on bed particles has been considered as a prerequisite for bed agglomeration in fluidized bed combustion of wood-derived fuels. The present investigation was undertaken to determine the quartz bed particle layer formation process in fluidized bed combustion of wood-derived fuels. Bed material samples from three different appliances, bench-scale bubbling fluidized bed, full-scale bubbling fluidized bed, and full-scale circulating fluidized bed, at different sampling times from startup with a fresh bed were collected. Scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to explore layer morphology and chemical composition and to gain information on crystalline phases of the layers and coatings. Significant differences in layer morphology and composition were found for quartz bed particles with different ages. For bed samples with operational duration of less than 1 day, only one thin Ca-, Si-, O-, and K-rich homogeneous quartz bed particle layer that has a relatively high K/Ca molar ratio was found. For quartz bed particles with an age from around 1 day to 2 weeks, an outer more particle-rich coating layer was also found. During the initial days of this period, the layer growth rate was high but decreased over time, and decreasing K/Ca and increasing Ca/Si molar ratios in the inner bed particle layer were observed. For bed particles with age between 2 and 3 weeks, a much lower layer growth rate was observed. At the same time, the Ca/Si molar ratio reached high values and the K concentration remained on a very low level. In addition to these layer formation processes mentioned, also an inner-inner/crack layer was also formed in the circulating fluidized bed quartz bed particles simultaneously with the inner bed particle layer