화학공학소재연구정보센터
Energy & Fuels, Vol.32, No.10, 11030-11037, 2018
Effect of SO2 Addition on PM Formation from Biomass Combustion in an Entrained Flow Reactor
The sulfation process during biomass combustion and cofiring, by converting KCl into K2SO4, can affect particulate matter (PM) formation, ash deposition, and corrosion in a furnace. In this study, the effects of temperature, SO2 concentration, O-2 concentration, and oxy-combustion atmosphere on the sulfation and PM formation were investigated in an entrained flow reactor. Results show that the particle size distribution (PSD) of PM10 from biomass combustion is bimodal and that PM10 is dominated by PM1.0 consisting of KCl and K2SO4. Enhanced sulfation by SO2 addition generally increases the particle size of PM1.0 and the K2SO4 content in PM1.0, but its effect on PM1.0-10 is marginal. The effect of sulfation on PM1.0 formation strongly depends on the temperature: at high temperature (e.g., 1300 degrees C), sulfation is not favorable, thereby having negligible influence on PM1.0 formation; while at moderate temperature (e.g., 1100 degrees C), sulfation is significantly promoted, resulting in a larger size and higher yield of PM1.0. With the increase of the SO2 and O-2 concentration, the particle size and the sulfur content in PM1.0 increase, indicating an enhanced sulfation process. When the combustion atmosphere switches from O-2/N-2 to O-2/CO2, the PM10 emission increases, while the sulfation process is inhibited. The comparison between the nucleation-growth modeling of KCl(g) and K2SO4(g) shows that the presence of K2SO4(g) advances homogeneous nucleation, resulting in a longer residence time for particle growth and therefore a larger PM1.0 size.