Searching for a robust strategy for minimizing alkali chlorides in fluidized bed boilers during burning of high SRF-energy-share fuel

To meet the increasing volume of waste to be treated via energy recovery, high SRF-energy-share fuel is being fired in conventional waste-to-energy facilities. In this work, corrosion related risk during firing of 70 e-% share (target fuel) is studied and compared against the base case fuel containing 50 e-% share. Cl and S concentration is highest in the target fuel as a direct result of increasing the proportion of SRF in the fuel mixture. Br, Zn and Pb showed the same trend. Meanwhile, the concentration of Na, K, Al and Si are highly dependent on the type of the SRF fired. The corrosion risk of the base and target fuels are analyzed using the composition of the fine aerosol fraction and deposit samples measured near the vicinity of the superheater. Surprisingly aerosols for the target fuel are less risky - having less Cl and more S, than that of the base fuel. The effects of sulfur based additives - elemental sulfur and sulfate injection, and fuel substitution on the risk of superheater corrosion are likewise analyzed. All these strategies can reduce the concentration of Cl in the aerosols, however it is concluded that sulfate injection is considered as a robust strategy for mitigating alkali chloride formation. Sulfate injection is able to reduce Cl in the aerosols and deposits regardless of the quality of the fuel mixture. Robust strategies are important in ensuring the boiler performance during high SRF-energy share firing. An attempt of linking the quality of the deposits and the properties of the flue gas and aerosols around the superheater using partial least squares regression is also presented.