KOH capture by coal fly ash

Abstract

The KOH-capture reaction by coal fly ash at suspension-fired conditions was studied through entrained flow reactor (EFR) experiments and chemical equilibrium calculations. The influence of KOH-concentration (50–1000 ppmv), reaction temperature (800–1450 °C), and coal fly ash particle size (D50 = 6.03–33.70 μm) on the reaction was investigated. The results revealed that, at 50 ppmv KOH (molar ratio of K/(Al + Si) = 0.048 of feed), the measured K-capture level (CK) of coal fly ash was comparable to the equilibrium prediction, while at 250 ppmv KOH and above, the measured data were lower than chemical equilibrium. Similar to the KOH-kaolin reaction reported in our previous study, leucite (KAlSi2O6) and kaliophilite (KAlSiO4) were formed from the KOH-coal fly ash reaction. However, coal fly ash captured KOH less effectively compared to kaolin at 250 ppmv KOH and above. Studies at different temperatures showed that, at 800 °C, the KOH-coal fly ash reaction was probably kinetically controlled. At 900–1300 °C it was diffusion limited, while at 1450 °C, it was equilibrium limited to some extent. At 500 ppmv KOH (molar ratio of K/(Al + Si) = 0.481), and a gas residence time of 1.2 s, 0.063 g K/(g additive) and 0.087 g K/(g additive) was captured by coal fly ash (D50 = 10.20 μm) at 900 and 1450 °C, respectively. Experiments with coal fly ash of different particle sizes showed that a higher K-capture level were obtained using finer particle sizes, indicating some internal diffusion control of the process.