Hydrogen Chloride Release From Combustion of Corn Straw in a Fixed Bed

Abstract

Chlorine plays an important role in the slagging and corrosion of boilers that burn high-chlorine content biomass. This research investigated the emissions of hydrogen chloride (HCl) gas from combustion of biomass in a fixed bed, as functions of the mass air flow rate through the bed and of the moisture content of the fuel. The biomass burned was corn straw, either raw or torrefied. Results showed that increasing the air flow rate through the bed increased the release of HCl gas, as a result of enhanced combustion intensity and associated enhanced heat release rates. When the airflow through the bed was increased by a factor of six, the amount of fuel-bound chlorine converted to HCl nearly tripled. Upon completion of combustion, most of the chlorine remained in the biomass ashes, with the exception of the highest air flow case where the fraction of chlorine released in HCl equaled that captured in the ashes. HCl emissions from torrefied biomass were found to be lower than those from raw biomass. Finally, drying the biomass proved to be beneficial in drastically curtailing the generation of HCl gas.