The Corrosion Effect of Fly Ash from Biomass Combustion on Andalusite Refractory Materials

Abstract

The main problem affecting the life of refractory linings in furnaces is alkaline corrosion formed during biomass combustion, especially in systems with SiO2–Al2O3. This corrosion effect is very intensive compared to using conventional technologies designed for burning traditional fuels. This study focuses on the development of a new type of andalusite refractory material with a higher corrosion resistance to K2CO3 and fly ash after biomass combustion. The original andalusite refractory material is labeled A60PT0, with an oxide content of 60 wt.% Al2O3 and 37 wt.% SiO2, a compressive strength parameter of 64 MPa, and an apparent porosity of 15%. In the experiment, four mixtures (labeled A60PT1–A60PT4) were modified primarily using the raw materials and granulometry. The fly ash was characterized by an X-ray diffraction analysis with the following phases: quartz, calcite, microcline, leucite, portlandite, and hematite. According to the X-ray fluorescence analysis, the samples contained the following oxides: 47 wt.% CaO, 12 wt.% K2O, 4.6 wt.% SiO2, 3.5 wt.% MgO, and some minority oxides such as P2O5, MgO, MnO, and Fe2O3 between 2 and 5 %. The tendency for slagging/fouling of the ash was determined with the help of the indexes B/A, TA, Kt, and Fu. The final material was a shaped andalusite refractory material labeled A60PT4 with a content of 65 wt.% Al2O3 and 36 wt.% SiO2. The properties of the andalusite material were a compressive strength of 106.9 MPa, an apparent porosity of 13%, and the recommended temperature of use up to 1300 °C. For corrosion testing, a static crucible test was performed according to the norm ČSN CEN/TS 15418 and the company’s internal regulation. The exposure time of the samples was 2 h and 5 h at temperatures of 1100 °C and 1400 °C for K2CO3 and ash, respectively. For the evaluation of tested samples, an X-ray powder differential analysis, an X-ray fluorescence analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used.