Condensation Behaviors of Potassium during Biomass Combustion
Abstract
Condensation of potassium species is the origin of the slag layer formation on superheater surfaces during biomass combustion. In this paper, the condensation behaviors of potassium species are studied by a one-dimensional down-fired furnace and a novel condensation probe. Two potassium salts (KCl and K 2 SO 4 ) and two biomass fuels (wheat straw and corn stalk) are used. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses were applied to analyze the microstructure and elemental composition of condensation products at different temperatures. The results showed that the condensation temperatures of KCl, K 2 SO 4 and their mixture were 770 ± 4, 745 ± 6, and 764 ± 10 °C, respectively. KCl in the initial slag layer was ascribed to the heterogeneous condensation of KCl vapor and the deposition of KCl fine particles that generated by homogeneous nucleation. The pathways were dependent on the wall temperature of the condensation probe. K 2 SO 4 in the initial slag layer was mainly attributed to the deposition of K 2 SO 4 -containing fine particles. K 2 SO 4 had much less significant influence on the formation of initial slag layer, compared with KCl. During combustion of biomass fuels, KCl could adhere on the surfaces of fly ash particles, and K 2 SO 4 deposited together with KCl. The condensation behaviors of K 2 SO 4 on fly ash particles were much less remarkable, compared with KCl. The condensation mechanisms of potassium species during biomass combustion were discussed.
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Alkali salt aerosols condense onto the heating surface of boilers to form a sticky initial layer.
“The alkali salt aerosols condense onto the heating surface of boilers to form a “sticky initial layer”.”
From High Temperature Corrosion Resistant and Anti-slagging Coatings for Boilers: A Review (2024) · cites this paper as [8]
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- Authors
- Jin, X., Ye, J., Deng, L., & Che, D.
- Affiliations
- State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Deng, Lei
- Venue
- Energy & Fuels
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2017-03-02
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 2951-2958
- ISSN
- 0887-0624 (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5029
- OpenAlex
- W2590070313
- Cited by
- 37
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 2.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Energy & Fuels (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (51406147)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Thermochemical Biomass Conversion Processes
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Coal and Its By-products
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanical Engineering › Coal Combustion and Slurry Processing
- Keywords
- biomass combustion, potassium chloride, potassium sulfate, heterogeneous condensation, homogeneous nucleation, fly ash, wheat straw, corn stalk, condensation temperature
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