Abstract:
Particle agglomeration, fouling on the heating surface and other issues are closely related to the alkali metals during biomass thermo-chemical conversion. The potassium fixation ability and ash fusing characteristics in the combustion of rice straw (RS) added with ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (NH
4H
2PO
4) were studied in a 21%O
2/79%CO
2 atmosphere. The reaction residue from the experiment in a drop tube furnace was analyzed with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The potassium retention ratio of co-combustion of RS and NH
4H
2PO
4 is higher than that of RS alone, especially at 900℃, and the retention ratio increases from 14.65% to 68.79%. The reaction between NH
4H
2PO
4 and alkali metals in rice straw leads to the formation of KPO
3 at 700 ℃ and K
2CaP
2O
7 at 900℃, which is a high melting point compound. SEM analysis on residue indicates the agglomeration is inhibited, and the ash fusion temperature of RS is increased by adding NH
4H
2PO
4. These results can be helpful to the research and development of high-alkali biomass clean utilization process.