Effects of Water Cleaning on Different Deposit Types: An Experimental Study Combined with Mathematical Investigations

Abstract

The deposits in waste incinerators are commonly removed with cleaning systems. Hitherto, the power plants lack the possibility to adjust the cleaning optimally to the specific situation. As a result, the cleaning sometimes has no effect and the deposits remain on the walls, while another time, the cleaning is applied too frequently and may result in damage of the water walls. The current paper evaluates investigations of the cleaning effects of water cleaning systems and their dependency on deposit properties. Real deposits are classified regarding their properties with focus on water cleaning systems. A mathematical model is established which calculates the dominating cleaning effect for known deposits and firing parameters. Firstly, a parameter study analyzes the influence of the deposit’s porosity, material properties, structure and layer thickness on the cleaning results. Afterwards, the model is applied to a real incinerator and three actual cleaning procedures are evaluated concerning their suitability to the existing impurification. The results demonstrate the principal assessment ability of the cleaning cycle and reveal weak points that have to be considered in cleaning setups. Graphic Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]