This file contains experimental data from the Ph.D. thesis “Mechanisms Governing Ash Aerosol Formation and Deposition during Solid Fuel Combustion” at the University of Utah. The data include particle sizes, weights, and compositions of ash aerosols and deposits formed in the combustion of a range of fossil and biomass solid fuels under a wide range of conditions. Operation pressure, fuel composition and combustor scale are changed across these tests. These experimental data can provide information and inputs for further studies, such as modeling the ash deposition process, in the future.
Research background: Concern about global warming has called for new combustion systems to be used in order to reduce CO2 emissions from coal-fired power generation. Pressurized oxy-coal combustion coupled with carbon capture and storage as well as co-firing biomass with coal are gaining more interest in building new power plants and retrofitting existing plants. The combustion conditions of these systems could be significantly changed and thus affect the ash formation and deposition. The experimental work of this thesis consists of combustion tests at various scales and conditions, namely, on a 100 kWth rated oxy-fuel combustor (OFC), a 300 kWth rated entrained flow pressurized reactor (EFPR), a 1.5 MWth rated horizontal multifuel combustor (L1500) and a 500 MWe full-size utility boiler (Hunter). The solid fuels involved in these tests include pulverized coal, torrefied wood, blend fuels of the coal and wood, and coal with K/Cl/S additives. In each test, iso-kinetically sampled ash aerosols are analyzed in terms of particle size distributions and size-segregated compositions. Ash deposition rates are measured using a surface-temperature-controlled probe which simulates the deposition process on superheater tubes.
