Ashes of oxyfuel- and air-fired pulverised fuel combustion processes - mineralogical characterisation and long-term modification

Abstract

The focus of our work was the mineralogical analysis of ashes obtained from the combustion of soft brown coal (93.4 % huminite, 4.2 % liptinite, 0.8 % inertinite, 1.6 % pyrite and quartz; detectable amounts of Ca, Fe, Na, K, Mg, Al, Si, S, Cl in the macerals) from the open mine site Welzow-Süd in Lower Lusatia (East Germany). The combustion process was achieved in the Atmospheric Pulverized Fuel Combustion Rig (KSVA) of the Institute of Combustion and Power Plant Technology (IFK), formerly Institute of Process Engineering and Power Plant Technology (IVD) at Universität Stuttgart in air and in the oxyfuel mode. Such ashes, which form during the combustion (oxyfuel process) for power production, were characterised with the methods of polarising microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, electron microprobe analysis and carbon/water-analytics and compared with ashes from the conventional combustion process in air.