Effect of K2O/Na2O on fusion behavior of coal ash with high silicon and aluminum level

Abstract Ash fusion temperatures (AFTs) are widely used for evaluation of fusibility of coal ash for combustion and gasification. K2O and Na2O is regarded as the effective component to enhance the ash fusibility for slag tapping. The combination of K2O and Na2O may enhance the flux efficiency. In this work, the effect of K2O/Na2O mass ratio on fusion behavior of coal ash with high silicon and alumina level was evaluated by the height variation of ash cone during heating. The results showed that AFTs and theoretical fusion range (Tliq-Tini) decreased quickly and then increased slowly as the K2O/Na2O mass ratio in the coal ash was reduced. The sub-liquidus phase changed from mullite into feldspar, which was responsible for change of AFTs. Meanwhile, most of K element occurred in leucite (KAlSi2O6) and the rest existed in nepheline (KAlSiO4), but Na almost existed in nepheline (NaAlSiO4). The competition effect between K2O and Na2O on AFTs was reflected by KAlSiO4/NaAlSiO4 in nepheline, so the SiO2-KAlSi2O6-NaAlSi2O6 ternary phase diagram was constructed, which well explained the variation of AFTs caused by K2O/Na2O mass ratio. Meanwhile, the fusion process was divided into two stages based on variation rate of ash cone height. At first stage, the amount of liquidus phase is limited and the viscosity is high, so only a low shrinkage rate of ash cone exhibits. However, at the second stage, high shrinking rate is caused by not only the rapid increase of slag content but also the sharp decrease of viscosity besides, the addition of K2O/Na2O change ash fusion process from “melting-dissolving” into “softening-melting”.