Co-combustion of solid recovered fuel (SRF) and coal and its impact on fly ash quality

Abstract

Due to the fact that the landfill deposition of municipal waste with the higher heating value (HHV) than 6 MJ/kg in Poland is prohibited, the application of waste derived fuels for energy production seems to be good option. There is a new combined-heat-and-power (CHP) plant in Zabrze, where varied solid fuels can be combusted. The formation of ashes originating from the combustion of alternative fuels causes a need to find ways for their practical application and demands the knowledge about their properties. Therefore, the present work is devoted to studying the co-combustion of solid recovered fuel (SRF) and coal, its impact on fly ash quality and the potential application of ashes to synthesis zeolites. The major objectives of this paper is to present the detail characteristics of ash generated during this process by using the advanced instrumental techniques (XRF, XRD, SEM, BET, TGA). The co-combustion were carried out at 0.1 MWth fluidized bed combustor. The amount of SRF in fuel mixture was 1, 5, 10 and 20%, respectively. The focus is on the comparison the ashes depending on the fuel mixture composition. Generally, the ashes characterise high amounts of SiO2, Al2 O3 and Fe2 O3. It is well observed, that the chemical composition of ashes from co-combustion of blends reflects the amount of SRF addition. Considering the chemical composition of studied ashes, they can be utilize as a zeolites A. The main conclusions is that SRF can be successfully combusted with coal in CFB technology and the fly ashes obtained from coal + SRF fuel mixtures can be used to synthesis zeolites.