The influence of fuel additives on the behaviour of gaseous alkali-metal compounds during pulverised coal combustion

The alkali-metal vapour release during pulverised hard (bituminous) coal combustion was investigated in a semi-technical drop flow reactor in the temperature range 1100–1400°C. Absolute concentrations of total gas-phase sodium and potassium species were determined using the in situ/on-line excimer laser induced fragmentation fluorescence technique (ELIF). Alkali-metal concentrations measured for the untreated coals were found to be in the range 0.1 to 4.7 ppm, depending on the temperature. As well as observing the temperature dependence, the effect of co-feeding defined amounts of silica and clay minerals was studied. In addition, to assist interpretation of ELIF measurements, ash samples were taken and analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). The additives lead to a pronounced binding of the alkali-metal species and suppression of the sharp temperature dependence observed without co-feeding. Therefore, the use of such getter materials can be confirmed as an effective way to remove corrosive alkali-metal species from the flue gas in pulverised coal combustion.