Paper No.

FBC99-0157

Test Study of Salty Paper Mill Waste in a Bubbling Fluidized Bed Combustor

Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Fluidized Bed Combustion May 16 - 19, 1999 Savannah, Georgia

Copyright 1999 by ASME

Test Study of Salty Paper Mill Waste in a Bubbling Fluidized Bed Combustor
Song Wu and Kumar M. Sellakumar Foster Wheeler Development Corporation Livingston, New Jersey P.K. Chelian and Charles Bleice Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation Clinton, New Jersey Ian Shaw MacMillan Bloedel Limited Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

ABSTRACT Foster Wheeler Pyropower Inc. has supplied a 73.7 kg/s bubbling fluidized bed boiler to MacMillan Bloedels Powell River paper mill (now Pacifica Paper). The BFB boiler was designed to fire a fuel mixture of a mill effluent sludge and a hog fuel (bark) that is contaminated with seawater. Due to its very high alkali content and low ash content, the fuel is prone to cause problems such as agglomeration in the fluidized bed. Foster Wheeler and MacMillan Bloedel took a proactive approach to quantify likely problems and to identify solutions. A 200 hour-long test program was carried out at Foster Wheeler Development Corporation in Livingston, New Jersey with the Powell River feedstock. This paper provides the project background, an outline of the test facility, test matrix, fuel and bed material characteristics, followed by a test process overview. A summary of fuel alkali related agglomeration mechanism in fluidized bed is also included. The paper offers further observations on in-bed alkali accumulation as well as examinations of different types of bed material agglomerates found during the tests. A recommended boiler operating strategy for preventing agglomeration in the BFB boiler developed based on the test results is described. These recommendations have been successfully implemented during the start up of the boiler. The boiler has been in operation since November 1997. Boiler performance tests completed in April 1998 have demonstrated all guaranteed process conditions. INTRODUCTION In 1996, Foster Wheeler Pyropower Inc. was awarded a contract to supply a bubbling fluidized bed boiler to MacMillan Bloedels Powell River mill (now owned by Pacifica Paper). The boiler is rated at 73.7 kg/s steam at 6205 kPa and 477
C. It is the largest biomass fired bubbling fluidized bed boiler in North America. The BFB boiler is designed to fire a fuel mixture of bark, primary and secondary mill effluent sludges. In addition to a high moisture content and a low heating value, the fuel is also contaminated with sea salt.

Due to low ash content, the relative concentration of the alkali in the ash is very high. This indicates the potential ash related operating problems such as agglomeration in the fluidized bed. Facing this difficult fuel, Foster Wheeler and Macmillan Bloedel took the proactive approach. Studies of Powell River fuel and ash behavior were embarked co-currently with the project engineering and construction activities. Results of initial laboratory sintering tests by Foster Wheelers Karhula R&D Center indicated that all salty ashes generated from Powell River fuels started to agglomerate at temperatures as low as 600
C. These simple preliminary screening tests were performed by first ashing fuel samples and then heating this ash and bed sand in crucibles. Therefore, a test study of Powell River fuel on the fluidized bed combustion pilot plant PF-100 was proposed to evaluate the impact of alkali on the combustion process, specifically, agglomeration of bed material due to accumulation of alkali in the bed. Based on the test results, recommendations would be formulated for the Powell River BFB boiler. TEST OVERVIEW Test Facility The test unit is a pilot model of a fluidized bed combustor that can be operated in either circulating fluidized bed (CFB) mode or in bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) mode. It has a heat input capacity of approximately 30 kW. In the CFB mode, larger solid particles are separated from the gas in a hot cyclone and the collected solids are transferred back into the combustor. In the BFB mode, the primary cyclone is bypassed and all the gas goes directly to the dust cleanup cyclones downstream. A schematic of the test unit is shown in Figure 1. Temperature and pressure measurement devices are placed at various locations in the system. A continuous emissions monitoring (CEM) system determines the levels of O2, CO2, CO, SO2, and NOx in the flue gas. Data from these devices are acquired by a computer and recorded automatically. Fuel Handling and Pretests The as-received hog fuel contains 2- 6 long pieces. To ensure smooth feeding, all the hog fuel was screened and only the portion passing through the sieve was used for the pilot tests. The screened hog was still difficult to handle. The wood chips bridged wherever the flow was restricted, such as at the bottom of a hopper. After experimenting with numerous options, an agitating feeder was chosen for the hog fuel. The feeder has a feed screw that covers the whole length of the fuel hopper bottom. The fuel has a very high moisture content (over 60%). The fuel feed system operated well, irrespective of moisture content in the fuel. However, the high fuel moisture has caused excessive bed temperature swings during the pretests. This problem was solved by partially drying the fuel to reduce the moisture content from approximately 60% to about 20-30%.
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Several shakedown tests were carried out in preparation for the formal testing. During these tests several fuel handling and operation problems were solved. Test Matrix Four tests were conducted. The test conditions are given in Table 1. Table 1 Test Matrix 7-7-2 7-7-3 48 Hog 740 1.3 12.5 Hog 850 1.3

Test # Test Duration, hr Fuel Nominal Bed Temp.
C Primary Air Velocity, m/s

7-7-4 26.5 Hog 790 1.3

7-8-1 100 Hog + Sludge 780 1.3

The bed material samples were taken at 4-hour intervals. Each time, approximately 2-3 kg of bed material was drained from the bed. A sample of prescribed amount was then taken from the hot drained material. The rest of the bed drain and a replacement of fresh sand of the equal amount as the bed sample are fed back to the system through a sand-feed hopper. BED CHEMISTRY FOR AGGLOMERATION Agglomeration in fluidized bed involves a complex interplay of fuel, bed material and furnace operating conditions. In boilers firing high alkali fuels, there is a wide spectrum of potentially low-melting minerals. The melting points of some of the minerals are listed in Table 2 (Miller et al, 1995). Table 2 Melting Points of Minerals Melting Temp. Group Mineral
C Chlorides NaCl 801 CaCl2 782 KCl 770 MgCl2 714 Carbonates Na2CO3 851 CaCO3 1339 891 K2CO3 Sulfates Na2SO4 882 K2SO4 1069 Sulfides Na2S 1180 K2S 470 As discussed in the previous section, sea water contaminated wood wastes contain alkali, mainly in the form of chlorides. Carbonates and sulfates can also be found in the test fuels, especially in the sludge. The presence of a significant amount of sodium and potassium in the

sludge was a further concern. Considering the temperature of burning fuel particles, which can be 100 200
C higher than the average bed temperature, some of these minerals could melt and initiate binding activities leading to agglomeration. In the combustor, low melting compounds or eutectics may be formed. Some of the possible reactions are: 2NaCl + S + 3/2 O2 +H2O = Na2SO4 + 2HCl Na2SO4 + 3SiO2 = Na2O*3SiO2 + SO2 + O2 Salt can also react directly with silica, 2NaCl + 3SiO2+ H2O = Na2O*3SiO2 + 2HCl (3) (1) (2)

The mixture of Na2O and SiO2 can have melting temperature below 800
C, and the eutectics of NaO*SiO2 and N2SO4 can have melting temperatures as low as 635
C. If alkali silicates are responsible for sintering, metal oxides such as CaO, Fe2O3 or Al2O3 in finely divided form can be added to the fluidized bed to react with alkali silicates (Wall et al, 1975, Tamhankar and Wen, 1981). The final end products of these reactions generally have high melting temperatures. Clay is a natural mixture of hydrous aluminum silicates (Al2O3*2SiO2*2H2O). Clay, in the very fine state, has been found to be effective in retaining the alkalis to form high-melting temperature alkali-aluminum silicates. Dehydrated clay can react directly with NaCl and H2O: Al2O3*2SiO2 + 2NaCl + H2O = 2HCl + Na2O*Al2O3*2SiO2 (4)

Kaolin has been used as an additive to fluidized bed incinerators burning salty sludges to control fouling and sintering. Recent studies of agglomeration in biomass-fired fluidized bed combustors indicate that ferric oxide (Fe2O3) can be used to replace silica sand and sustain long-term operation (Grubor, et al, 1995). TEST RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Fuel and Bed Material Characterization Test Fuel Table 3 gives the conventional fuel proximate and ultimate analyses. Table 4 shows fuel ash chemical analyses. For ash chemical analyses of wood waste fuel, the sample is generated by low temperature ashing at 550
C. Ash chemical compositions are determined with an X-ray fluorescent analyzer.

Table 3 Fuel Proximate and Ultimate Analyses Test # 7-7-2 7-7-3 7-7-4 7-8-1* Proximate analysis, % wt. as received Fixed C. 18.58 19.85 18.15 VM 49.84 56.79 59.72 54.61 Ash 2.48 2.43 1.87 4.98 Moisture 30.72 22.2 18.56 22.26 Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 Ultimate analysis, % wt. as received Carbon 36.27 40.62 42.99 40.94 Hydrogen 4.02 4.51 4.8 4.5 Oxygen 26.39 30.08 31.62 26.98 Nitrogen 0.09 0.13 0.13 0.31 Sulfur 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 Ash 2.48 2.43 1.87 4.98 Moisture 30.72 22.20 18.56 22.26 Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 HHV, MJ/kg 14.52 15.96 17.22 Cl, % 0.25 0.24 0.31 * hog and sludge blended at 10:1 mass ratio 15.32 0.22

Sludge 14.97 45.35 16.76 22.92 100.00 33.28 3.78 21.58 1.49 0.19 16.76 22.92 100.00 13.19 0.11

Table 4 Fuel Ash Analysis* Test # 7-7-2 7-7-3 7-7-4 7-8-1 SiO2 38 43.8 36.5 44.3 Al2O3 9.2 10.1 9.1 16.1 TiO2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.7 Fe2O3 6.1 7.7 12.3 12.2 CaO 15.9 12.7 14.2 11.6 MgO 4.1 3.3 3.6 2.5 Na2O 10.2 7.8 7.8 4.7 K2O 3.9 3.3 3.1 2.2 SO3 2.2 1.4 1.3 1.1 P2O5 0.8 0.5 0.6 1.5 Cl 3.5 3.5 3.4 Total 94.20 94.40 92.20 96.90 CO3 7.6 5.5 6.7 1.48 *Low temperature ashing at 550
C

Sludge 43.3 29.2 2 4.8 7.9 1.8 2 1.4 1.6 4.2 98.20 0.64

The Na and K contents are determined by conventional fuel ash analysis and an in-house chemical analysis. It is noticed that the total Na and K determined by the in-house method is considerably higher than the total Na and K determined in ash chemical analyses (Table 4). A comparison of the alkali contents based on these two analyses is given in Table 5.

Table 5 Calculation of Na and K in Fuel 7-7-2 7-7-3 7-7-4 7-8-1 Based on ash chemical analyses: Na, % as received 0.188 0.141 0.108 0.174 K, % as received 0.080 0.067 0.048 0.091 Equivalent Na, % 0.235 0.180 0.137 0.227 Based on in house analysis Na, % as received 0.290 0.270 0.272 0.271 K, % as received 0.101 0.108 0.102 0.091 Equivalent Na% 0.349 0.334 0.332 0.324

Sludge 0.249 0.195 0.363 0.392 0.189 0.503

The difference in Na and K determined is likely caused by the difference in the two laboratory analytical procedures. Although the low temperature thermal ashing was intended to prevent release of minerals in vapor form, the temperature of the specimen, when ignited, may well be above the oven temperature that is controlled at 550
C and therefore, the ash may have lost some of the alkali compounds. Based on the above hypothetical scenario, it seems logical to conclude that the Na and K values determined by the in-house method are a better approximation of the total alkali amount in fuel. Test Sand As the agglomeration mechanism discussed in the previous section indicates, alkali silicates may be responsible for agglomeration at relatively low bed temperatures. Hence, pure quartz sand or sand containing with free quartz should be avoided. The bed material used in the tests is a washed river sand that contains significant levels of Al2O3, Fe2O3, CaO, MgO, as well as Na2O and K2O. Ash chemical analysis and in-house chemical analysis of the sand sample indicate that only small portions of alkalis in the sand are in water-soluble or organically bound form. The rest of the alkalis exist in the sand in more chemically stable forms. Based on these detailed analyses the selected sand was expected to be resistant to forming low melting temperature compounds. In addition, the fusion temperatures were also determined and are given in Table 6. The data indicates that the initial deformation temperature of the sand is at least 300
C above the average bed temperature Table 6 Ash Fusion Temperatures (C) of Sand Sample Reducing Oxidizing Initial Deformation 1187 1251 Soft. Temp. Sph. 1224 1246 Soft. Temp. Hem. 1262 1274 Fluid Temp. 1366 1326

Operating Conditions Test 7-7-2 had smooth operation and stable bed temperatures. The average bed temperature was about 739
C. Due to the short gas residence time in the furnace (5m combustor height compared to about 30m of a commercial unit), the CO concentration was high. Bed material at the end of the test showed no signs of sintering. Test 7-7-3 was shut down prematurely due to fuel feeder jam caused by bed agglomeration. Upon inspection of the bed drain, many clinkers, up to 50 mm 75mm in size were found. The highest temperature reached during the test was about 900
C at the upper bed temperature (T3) at the beginning of the test. However, no agglomerates were found in the first two bed samples (four hours and eight hours into the test). The third sample, taken at the 12th hour, contained several small clinkers up to 25 mm in size (longest dimension). Test 7-7-4 ran for about 24 hours. There was an interruption caused by a feeder jam that occurred at about the 7th hour. The combustor had to be emptied to clear the fuel feeder. After the feeder was fixed, the test resumed with the same bed material. Bed inventory collected at the end of the test contained a few pieces of agglomerates up to 25 mm in size (longest dimension). Test 7-8-1 ran 100 hours continuously as planned, at stable bed temperatures. This test fired a fuel blend of Powell River hog and sludge at a mass ratio of 10:1. It also had a higher drain rate aimed at controlling alkali accumulation. No agglomeration was detected from the bed ash. Table 7 summarizes the averaged operating conditions for all four tests. Table 7 Average Test Conditions Parameter 7-7-2 7-7-3 7-7-4 739 813 788 T2 middle bed,
C Oxygen, % dry 7.5 8.0 7.5 CO2, % dry 12.5 10.7 11.2 NOx,ppm dry 98 66 79 Material Balance An ash balance summary is given in Table 8. Good ash closures were obtained for the tests. The unaccounted ash might have been lost in the form of fouling deposit in the combustor as well as the rest of the unit. Despite the short combustor height, high carbon conversion and combustion efficiency were achieved. Sodium and Potassium closures were also calculated. A fraction of both sodium (10-28%) and potassium (13-20%) was unaccountable. This missing portion of alkali most likely is in vapor form in the flue gas. Another contributing factor to the unaccountable alkali is the fouling deposits formed in the combustor system. Some of the vapor phase alkalis solidify in the low temperature area of the back pass. During the tests, the gas sampling probe was

7-8-1 776 8.2 9.9 116

repeatedly clogged with a white deposit layer, which was determined as mostly NaCl and KCl. Table 8 Ash Balance Summary Parameter 7-7-2 7-7-3 7-7-4 Ash from fuel, kg 5.39 1.19 1.71 Ash from sand, kg 9.87 9.83 9.84 Total ash in, kg 15.26 11.02 11.55 Bed ash, kg 9.63 8.15 8.01 Fly ash, kg 3.83 3.02 2.76 Total ash out, kg 13.46 11.17 10.77 Ash out / in, % 88.22 101.35 93.25 Unaccounted ash, % 11.78 -1.35 6.75 Alkali Retention in Bed For all four tests, bed ash samples were taken at four-hour intervals. Typically, every other sample is analyzed for ash composition. The results are plotted in Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5. All four tests demonstrated a trend of increasing Na and K concentration in the bed ash By mass balance of all streams of material flow, the alkali retention rates were determined. The range is 12% to 43%. The alkali retention rate is affected by operating conditions, especially bed temperatures. The forms of alkali in the fuel, bed material chemistry, and fuel ash compositions are the other important contributing factors for the split between vapor phase and solid phase alkalis. The alkali retention is much less than those obtained with burning of fuel under similar combustor conditions (e.g. Tuncay et al, 1996). This indicates that the form of alkali in fuel is very critical in predicting alkali retention. As shown in Figures 2-5, equilibrium levels of alkali have not been reached at the end of all four tests. This is because the limited duration of the tests and also the significant bed drain rate due to sampling. For given combustor operating conditions and feedstock compositions, accumulation of alkali in the bed can be controlled by draining adequate amount of bed material and replenishing with fresh sand. Test 7-8-1 was run with a drain rate higher than that of the other three tests and also with moderate bed temperatures. The test lasted 100 hours with problemfree operation. The bed alkali concentrations were successfully controlled at acceptable levels. Inspection after the test did not show any signs of agglomeration. Analyses of Agglomerates Figure 6 is a 3X magnified photo of a typical agglomerate retrieved from the bed material of test 7-7-4. This type of agglomerates appears to consist of many small particles of bed material with size in the magnitude of 1mm. Figure 7 is a photo of the same sample taken with scanning electronic microscope (SEM) at a magnification of 30X. It shows that the

7-8-1 13.45 9.84 23.29 9.30 9.08 18.38 78.91 21.09

interstices between particles are filled with molten material that bonds the particles together, although the individual particles are still distinguishable and have not undergone melting. Test 7-7-3 had the highest bed temperature of all tests. A typical piece of agglomerate of this test is shown in Figure 8 in which the piece appears to be fused together to a rounded shape. Figure 9 is a magnified cross section of agglomerate. In this case, individual particles are no longer visible. Apparently the bed material had gone through a completely molten or fluidlike stage. The two types of agglomerates are similar to those described by Lin et al (1997) from laboratory study of straw burning in a FBC. Ash chemical analyses were performed on fresh sand, bed ash collected at the end of the test and fuel ash for Tests 7-7-3 and 7-7-4. In both cases, the chemical compositions of the bed material were still similar to the original sand, but there was also clear enrichment of several elements such as Na, K and Ca, all of which exist in the fuel. This confirms the alkali retention and accumulation that was discussed in the previous section. A comparison of the bed ash and agglomerates can shed some light on the following question: is the agglomerate simply many pieces of bed material stuck together or are there other factors involved? Ash analyses show that while the agglomerates in both cases have almost the same alkali contents as in the bed material, there was much more sulfur, calcium and iron in the agglomerates, elements that are more abundant in fuel ash. This leads to the following scenario for the formation of the agglomerates. When introduced to the bed, the wood waste first undergoes heat-up and drying. The fuel tends to form clusters within the bed and on the bed surface. The fibrous structure of wood allows the cluster to hold up many bed material particles. When a cluster burns at a temperature a few hundred degrees higher than the rest of the bed, the bed material that is trapped in the cluster becomes partially molten, leaving behind a piece of agglomerate when all the combustibles in the wood are burned. Additional amount of some of the fuel ash constituents such as iron and calcium also get trapped in the cluster-turned-clinker. The fuel sulfur may be combined with calcium to form calcium sulfate. Alkali compounds may have been vaporized due to the high temperature. This may explain the voids / bubbles formed on the photo in Figure 9. The materials from different stages of the tests were also analyzed with the SEM EDAX (Energy Dispersive Analytical X-ray). Compared to ash chemical analysis that reports the bulk properties, EDAX reveals the surface elemental compositions. It was found that on the bed material surface, calcium and magnesium surpassed silica as the most abundant elements. Evidently the Ca and Mg tend to adhere to the outer surface of bed material particles. COMMERCIAL BOILER PERFORMANCE Based on the laboratory and pilot plant studies, a strategy was developed to address the alkali accumulation and agglomeration concern. It includes the following elements: 1) Select a bed material that resists the formation of low-melting point-compounds. 2) Avoid excessively high combustor temperatures in the bed and in the freeboard. 3) Achieve stable and uniform

fluidization and mixing in the bed. 4) Drain and replenish bed material at a sufficient rate to control alkali accumulation. Based on the above principles, operating limits/conditions were recommended for the Powell River #19 BFB boiler. Figure 10 is a schematic of the BFB boiler. The recommendations have been successfully implemented in the boiler operation. The boiler was first started up in November 1997. There has been no significant boiler down time caused by bed agglomeration. Boiler performance tests were completed in April 1998. All guaranteed process conditions have been met, with good margin on many parameters. Table 10 is a summary of some boiler performance data. Table 10 Boiler Performance Summary Parameter Unit Guarantee Test Avg. 100% MCR Firing Hog Fuel Steam Flow kg/s Opacity % NOx mg/Sm3 CO mg/Sm3 Main Steam Temp.
C SH Outlet Pressure kpa Gas Temp. Leaving AH
C Excess Air % Carbon in ash % Total Particulate Emissions mg/Sm3 Particulate (excluding salt) mg/Sm3 Steam SiO2 ppb Steam Cl ppb Steam Na ppb 73.7 10 240 580 477+/-5 6516 191 35 5 115 25 20 6 10 75.2 1.5 152 129 479 6576 167 33 <3.4 3.9 1.8 0.7 0.03 3.5

CONCLUDING REMARKS The test data and laboratory analyses have led to the following conclusions. 1. The alkali levels in the test fuel samples have been analyzed with an in-house chemical analysis and by conventional ash chemical analyses with low temperature ashing. The in house method indicates that a majority of the sodium and potassium was in the form of water-soluble salts of Na and K, most probably as alkali chlorides. It provides a better approximation of fuel total alkali content than low temperature ashing method. 2. Data from each of the tests show a steady increase of alkali contents in bed material samples. The percent retention of fuel alkali is determined as 12% - 43%. 3. Na and K closure data based on total alkali in solid streams show that a small fraction of sodium and potassium are unaccountable in the ash streams. The unaccountable alkali

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may be present in vapor form leaving the system. Deposits of solidified alkali chlorides were seen in the low temperature part of back pass (on gas sampling probe). 4. Analyses of bed material and agglomerate samples showed enrichment of Na, K, Ca, Mg and Fe. Ca and Mg were found in deposits on the outer surface of bed particles. The formation of agglomerates may involve temperatures significantly higher than the bulk bed temperatures. A hypothetical scenario is proposed where the wood waste fuel may have formed clusters that carry bed material particles. During combustion and/or gasification, these clusters generate high temperatures that help partially melt or even completely fuse the trapped bed material particles. Based on the laboratory and pilot plant studies, operation guidelines were developed for the Powell River #19 BFB boiler. Key elements of the strategy for controlling agglomeration at the BFB boiler are: 1) Select a bed material that resists the formation of low-melting-point compounds. 2) Avoid excessively high combustor temperatures in the bed and in the freeboard. 3) Achieve stable and uniform fluidization and mixing in the bed. 4) Drain and replenish bed material at a sufficient rate to control alkali accumulation. The recommendations have been successfully implemented in the boiler operation. There has been no significant boiler down time caused by bed agglomeration since the boiler was started up. Boiler performance tests completed in April 1998 have demonstrated all guaranteed process conditions. REFERENCES Grubor, B.D. et al, Biomass FBC Combustion - Bed Agglomeration Problems, Proceedings of 13th Inter. Conf. on Fluidized Bed Combustion, Vol, Page 515, ASME, 1995 Lin W, et al, Agglomeration Phenomena in Fluidized Bed Combustion of Straw, Proceedings of 14th Intern. Conf. on Fluidized Bed Combustion, Vol. 2, Page 831, ASME, 1997 Miller, T. R. et al, Alkali Deposits Found in Biomass Power Plants, Summary Report for National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1995 Tamhankar, S. S. and Wen C. Y., Review of In-bed Hydrocarbon, Alkali and Trace Metals Control in Coal Conversion Processes, DOE/MC/14731-1297, 1981 Tuncay, J. et al, Alkali Emission Measurement in Atmospheric Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustors, Proceedings of 5th Intern. Conf. on Circulating Fluidized Beds, Page GSNA9, 1996 Wall, C.L, J. T. Graves and J. R. Elliot, How to Burn Salty Sludges, Chemical Engineering, Page 77, April, 1975

Acknowledgement The authors acknowledge the contribution of Foster Wheeler start-up personnel and MacMillan Bloedel operating staff in the successful implementation of the pilot test findings in the commercial unit, and MacMillan Bloedels permission to publish the data.

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T-9 T-6 T-8

DP4

T-5

T-4 FLUE GAS TO I.D. FAN / STACK Analyzer Pr o be T-12 ELECTRIC F URNACE T-10 DP T-3
Fl y Ash F eed Point

DP3

Fly Ash Coll ecti on Silos

Dust Co llector

DP2 ELECTRIC F URNACE P6 T-7 T-11 T-2 Fue l Fee der T-1 Primary Air Inlet DP1

Figure 1 Fluidized bed combustor pilot plant PF-100

7 6.5 6 5.5 Na2O, %
Na2O, %

2.5

7 6.5 Na2O K2O Linear (K2O) Linear (Na2O)

2.5

6 5.5

K2O,%

1.5

4.5 4 1

4.5 4 3.5 1

3.5 3 2.5 2 0.00 Na2O K2O Linear (K2O) Linear (Na2O) 0 60.00 0.5

3 2.5 2 0 2 4 6 8 Test Time, hr 10 12 14

0.5

10.00

20.00

30.00 Test Time, hr

40.00

50.00

Figure 2 Na and K in bed material (Test 7-7-2)

7 6.5 6 5.5 Na2O, % 2 2.5

Figure 3 Na and K in bed material (Test 7-7-2)

7 6.5 6 5.5 Na2O, % 2 2.5

K2O,%

1.5

4.5 4 1

4.5 4 3.5 1

3.5 3 2.5 2 0 5 10 15 Test Time, hr 20 25 30 Na2O K2O Linear (Na2O) Linear (K2O) 0 0.5

3 2.5 2 0 20 40 60 Test Time, hr 80 100 Na2O K2O Linear (K2O) Linear (Na2O)

0.5

0 120

Figure 4 Na and K in bed material (Test 7-7-4)

Figure 5 Na and K in bed material (Test 7-8-1)

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K2O,%

1.5

K2O,%

1.5

Figure 6 Typical agglomerates from Test 7-7-4 (3X magnification)

Figure 7 SEM image of an agglomerate from Test 7-7-4 (30X magnification)

Figure 8 Typical fused clinker from Test 7-7-4 (3X magnification)

Figure 9 Cross Section of a clinker from Test 7-7-3 (30X magnification)

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Figure 10 Bubbling fluidized bed boiler at Powell River Mill

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