Laboratory and Field Evaluation of the Controlled Condensation System for SO3 Measurements in Flue Gas Streams

Abstract

The study reported by this paper involves the use of the Controlled Condensation System (Goksoyr/Ross Coil) for flue gas SO3 measurements in both the laboratory and the field, under low and high mass loadings. The Controlled Condensation System cools the flue gas to below the dewpoint of H2SO4 but above the H20 dewpoint. The resulting aerosol is collected either on the coil walls or on the back-up glass frit. The laboratory recovery of the H2SO4 in streams of varying SO2, H20, and H2SO4 content was found to be 95 ± 6%. A new quartz filter holder was designed to meet the filtration problems encountered in collecting SO3 from particle laden flue gas streams. This quartz system, when heated to above 250°C, quantitatively passed the H2SO4 into the condensation coil. Later studies with this filter system preloaded with fly ash equivalent to a mass loading of 1.3 g/m3 yielded a 80-85% recovery of H2SO4. The laboratory system was simultaneously tested at a 150 megawatt, pulverized coal-fired power plant prior to and after a wet limestone FGD. The inlet grain loading to the FGD ranged from 0.06 g/m3 to 11.4 g/m3 with SO2 concentrations as high as 4000 ppm. The average inlet H2SO4 value was 8.3 ppm and the outlet from the FGD was 3.1 ppm. The source fluctuation value was determined to be ±65%. © 1979 Air & Waste Management Association.