Trace element analysis of fly ash samples by EDXRF technique

Trace element analysis of some fly ash samples and soil samples have been carried out by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence technique. Fourteen elements namely K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Se, Rb, Sr and Pb have been quantified in the fly ash samples by this technique. It was found that there is no huge concentration difference between the fly ash and soil samples as a result of which fly ash can be used as soil manure without any adverse impact on the plants.      

Laboratory studies of back-discharge in fly ash

The back-discharge is a type of discharge that takes place in the presence of corona discharge and occurs at an electrode covered with a dielectric layer of resistivity higher than about 10⁸ Ω m. Back-discharge can be observed in electrostatic precipitators when dust covering the collection electrode has low conductivity. In this paper, the studies of back-discharge generated in ambient air, in point-to-plane geometry with the plate electrode covered with fly ash are presented. The discharge is characterised in terms of its visual forms, current–voltage characteristics, and light emission spectra. Three forms of back-discharge were investigated: glow discharge, streamers, and low-current back-arc discharge. The current of the back-arc discharge was only a few milliamps. The discharge was stabilised by a high series resistance. It was noted that the voltage of ignition of the back-discharge for negative polarity is lower than for a positive one. Spectroscopic measurements of emission spectra provided information on elements present in the discharge column. The elements present in the fly ash, including toxic metals, can be re-entrained into the gas as particles or can be emitted as ions or neutrals during the discharge, and can decrease the collection efficiency of electrostatic precipitators. These elements were detected in the emission spectra. The effect of the discharge on the fly ash layer was also discussed. It was observed that sinter-like leftovers remain in the dust layer after a back-arc discharge.     

Fluorescence lidar for remote monitoring of plant

<正>The laser-induced fluorescence(LIF) characteristic of plant is directly linked to the photosynthesis.The LIF lidar for remote monitoring of plant has been suggested as one of the useful tools to identify plant species and determine its physiological status for a long time.So recently a LIF lidar for remote sensing of plant in Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics is developed.It transmits laser beam at wavelength of 354.7 and 532 nm,and receives elastic echo and fluorescence echo at wavelength of 680 and 740 nm.Numerical simulations are carried out to determine achievable lidar performance including operation range.Validity of fluorescence signal is certified and then some results are presented.Comparison of the fluorescence characteristic among birch,conifer,and algae show that the fluorescence lidar is one of the potential tools to differentiate plant species.     

In situ ultrasonic diagnostic of zeolite X crystallization with novel (hierarchical) morphology from coal fly ash

In this paper the applicability of an in situ ultrasonic diagnostic technique in understanding the formation process of zeolite X with a novel morphology was demonstrated. The complexity of the starting fly ash feedstock demands independent studies of the formation process for each type of zeolite since it is not known whether the crystallization mechanism will always follow the expected reaction pathway. The hierarchical zeolite X was noted to follow a solution phase-mediated crystallization mechanism which differs from earlier studies of the zeolite A formation process from unaged, clear solution extracted from fused fly ash. The use of the in situ ultrasonic monitoring system provided sufficient data points which enabled closer estimation of the time of transition from the nucleation to the crystal growth step. In order to evaluate the effect of temperature on the resulting in situ attenuation signal, synthesis at three higher temperatures (80, 90 and 94 °C) was investigated. It was shown, by the shift of the US-attenuation signal, that faster crystallization occurred when higher temperatures were applied. The novel hierarchical zeolite X was comprised of intergrown disc-like platelets. It was further observed that there was preferential growth of the disc-shaped platelets of zeolite X crystals in one dimension as the synthesis temperature was increased, allowing tailoring of the hierarchical morphology.     

Biomass fly ash deposition in an entrained flow reactor

Fly ash deposition on boiler surfaces is a major operational problem encountered in biomass-fired boilers. Understanding deposit formation, and developing modelling tools, will allow improvements in boiler efficiency and availability. In this study, deposit formation of a model biomass ash species (K₂Si₄O₉) on steel tubes, was investigated in a lab-scale Entrained Flow Reactor. K₂Si₄O₉ was injected into the reactor, to form deposits on an air-cooled probe, simulating deposit formation on superheater tubes in boilers. The influence of flue gas temperature (589 – 968°C), probe surface temperature (300 – 550°C), flue gas velocity (0.7 – 3.5?m/s), fly ash flux (10,000 – 40,000?g/m²h), and probe residence time (up to 60?min) was investigated. The results revealed that increasing flue gas temperature and probe surface temperature increased the sticking probability of the fly ash particles, thereby increasing the rate of deposit formation. However, increasing flue gas velocity resulted in a decrease in the deposit formation rate, due to increased particle rebound. Furthermore, the deposit formation rate increased with probe residence time and fly ash flux. Inertial impaction was the primary mechanism of deposit formation, forming deposits only on the upstream side of the steel tube. A mechanistic model was developed for predicting deposit formation in the reactor. Deposit formation by thermophoresis and inertial impaction was incorporated into the model, and the sticking probability of the ash particles was estimated by accounting for energy dissipation due to particle deformation. The model reasonably predicted the influence of flue gas temperature and fly ash flux on the deposit formation rate.     

应用光声效应检测粉煤灰中的碳含量

以光声效应的基本原理为理论基础,介绍了应用光场效应检测粉煤灰中碳含量的研究及仪器的结构设计。该仪器以计算机为操作平台,通过一数据采集卡将光声池中产生的光声信号采集进计算机,经计算机数据处理,给出所测样品的碳含量。检测实验数据说明,该方法是一种简便、低廉、精确的检测方法。     

The determination of trace element concentrations in fly ash samples using ultrasound-assisted digestion followed with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry

A method of ultrasound-assisted digestion followed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) used for the determination of trace element (chromium, copper, lead, nickel, vanadium and zinc) concentrations in fly ash samples was developed. All the measurements were performed in robust plasma conditions. Ultrasound-assisted digestion procedures using digestion solutions of aqua regia and hydrofluoric acid (HF) resulted in recovery rates of over 80% for all the analyte elements. Ultrasound-assisted two-step digestion with digestion solutions of 6 mL of HNO₃ (Step 1) and 3 mL of HNO₃ + 3 mL of HF (Step 2) resulted in recovery rates of over 92% for all the analyte elements with one exception, chromium, which had a recovery of about 85%. The analysis of SRM 1633b showed that the two-step ultrasound-assisted digestion method developed resulted in chromium, copper, nickel and zinc concentrations higher than the microwave digestion method standardized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA method 3052). This is the very first time when a digestion method using ultrasound resulted in higher efficiency than microwave (USEPA method 3052) for chromium and nickel in very hard to dissolve samples. The major advantages of the ultrasound-assisted digestion over microwave digestion is the high treatment rate (about 30 samples simultaneously with a sonication time of 18 min) and the possibility to use new sample vessels without a significant increase in costs.     

Prediction of particle sticking efficiency for fly ash deposition at high temperatures

The tendency of ash particles to stick under high temperatures is dictated by the ash chemistry, particle physical properties, deposit surface properties and furnace operation conditions. A model has been developed in order to predict the particle sticking efficiency for fly ash deposition at high temperatures. The model incorporates the particle properties relevant to the ash chemistry, particle kinetic energy and furnace operation conditions and takes into consideration the partial sticking behaviour and the deposit layer. To test the model, the sticking behaviours of synthetic ash in a drop tube furnace are evaluated and the slagging formation from coal combustion in a down-fired furnace is modelled. Compared with the measurements, the proposed model presents reasonable prediction performance on the particle sticking behaviour and the ash deposition formation. Through a sensitivity analysis, furnace operation conditions (velocity and temperature), contact angle and particle size have been found to be the significant factors in controlling the sticking behaviours for the synthetic ash particles. The ash chemistry and furnace temperature dictate the wetting potential of the ash particles and the melting ability of the deposit surface; particle size and density not only control the particle kinetic energy, but also affect the particle temperature. The furnace velocity condition has been identified as being able to influence the selective deposition behaviour, where the maximum deposition efficiency moves to smaller particles when increasing the gas velocity. In addition, the thermophoresis effect on the arrival rate of the particles reduces with increasing the gas velocity. Further, increasing the melting degree of the deposit layer could greatly enhance the predicted deposition formation, in particular for the high furnace velocity condition.     

Fluorescence detection of exafs: Sensitivity enhancement for dilute species and thin films

The fluorescence intensity is used to measure the X-ray absorption cross-section and is found to yield essentially the same results as a more conventional transmission experiment. However, the fluorescence method is shown to extend the sensitivity of the EXAFS technique by two or more orders of magnitude, and thus nake feasible the study of extremely dilute species.     

飞尘气溶胶粒子散射特性分析:对比实验和米散射方法

采用Mie散射理论计算了可见光波段等效球飞尘气溶胶粒子的Stokes散射矩阵,并与实验得到的空间随机取向的非球形飞尘气溶胶粒子结果进行了对比分析;由理论与实验方法得到的散射相函数,采用离散坐标法计算了两者的双向反射函数(BRDF),并对此结果进行了分析研究。结果表明:实验测量的非球形飞尘气溶胶粒子群的散射矩阵和基于球形粒子假设的Mie散射理论计算结果在大多数散射角上都不相同,但是不对称因子却大致相同;球形-非球形粒子群的BRDF随反射角的变化趋势基本一致,但是球形粒子群的BRDF曲线分布具有更大的波动趋势;随着光学厚度的增加,球形-非球形粒子群的BRDF曲线分布均趋于平坦,计算结果趋于一致。因此在飞尘气溶胶粒子散射特性研究中,当光学厚度较小时,用球形假设的方法会造成一定的误差,BRDF相对误差最大可以达到60%,需考虑粒子非球形特性造成的影响;而当光学厚度较大时,BRDF相对误差一般不会超过10%,采用球形假设的方法具有一定的适用性。     

Sonocatalytic removal of ibuprofen and sulfamethoxazole in the presence of different fly ash sources

We examined the feasibility of using two types of fly ash (an industrial waste from thermal power plants) as a low-cost catalyst to enhance the ultrasonic (US) degradation of ibuprofen (IBP) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX). Two fly ashes, Belews Creek fly ash (BFA), from a power station in North Carolina, and Wateree Station fly ash (WFA), from a power station in South Carolina, were used. The results showed that >99% removal of IBP and SMX was achieved within 30 and 60 min of sonication, respectively, at 580 kHz and pH 3.5. Furthermore, the removal of IBP and SMX achieved, in terms of frequency, was in the order 580 kHz > 1000 kHz > 28 kHz, and in terms of pH, was in the order of pH 3.5 > pH 7 > pH 9.5. WFA showed significant enhancement in the removal of IBP and SMX, which reached >99% removal within 20 and 50 min, respectively, at 580 kHz and pH 3.5. This was presumably because WFA contains more silicon dioxide than BFA, which can enhance the formation of OH radicals during sonication. Additionally, WFA has finer particles than BFA, which can increase the adsorption capacity in removing IBP and SMX. The sonocatalytic degradation of IBP and SMX fitted pseudo first-order rate kinetics and the synergistic indices of all the reactions were determined to compare the efficiency of the fly ashes. Overall, the findings have showed that WFA combined with US has potential for treating organic pollutants, such as IBP and SMX, in water and wastewater.     

飞尘气溶胶粒子散射特性分析：对比实验和米散射方法

采用Mie散射理论计算了可见光波段等效球飞尘气溶胶粒子的Stokes散射矩阵,并与实验得到的空间随机取向的非球形飞尘气溶胶粒子结果进行了对比分析;由理论与实验方法得到的散射相函数,采用离散坐标法计算了两者的双向反射函数(BRDF),并对此结果进行了分析研究。结果表明：实验测量的非球形飞尘气溶胶粒子群的散射矩阵和基于球形粒子假设的Mie散射理论计算结果在大多数散射角上都不相同,但是不对称因子却大致相同;球形-非球形粒子群的BRDF随反射角的变化趋势基本一致,但是球形粒子群的BRDF曲线分布具有更大的波动趋势;随着光学厚度的增加,球形-非球形粒子群的BRDF曲线分布均趋于平坦,计算结果趋于一致。因此在飞尘气溶胶粒子散射特性研究中,当光学厚度较小时,用球形假设的方法会造成一定的误差,BRDF相对误差最大可以达到60%,需考虑粒子非球形特性造成的影响;而当光学厚度较大时,BRDF相对误差一般不会超过10%,采用球形假设的方法具有一定的适用性。     

Enhancement of surface properties of oil fly ash by chemical treatment

In this study, surface modification of oil fly ash (OFA), a by-product generated by oil power plants, was achieved by chemical treatment. A mixture of sulfuric and nitric acids was used to modify the surface in order to attach a carboxylic functional group to the surface of OFA. The goal of surface modification of OFA is to make its surface more compatible with nonpolar polymers in order to produce OFA/polymer composite materials with improved dispersion of OFA, and to increase OFA surface area in order to support its use as adsorbent materials in adsorptive separation and purification applications. Different acid compositions were used for treatment by gradually increasing the nitric acid concentration from 0 to 20%. Also, the effect of oxidation on surface modification was examined by introducing air to enhance the oxidation of OFA. FTIR analysis was performed to identify the different functional groups attached to OFA surface before and after the chemical treatment. Evaluation of different structural changes during the surface modification was investigated by XRD analysis. Surface morphology and spot analysis was studied by SEM technique to identify the composition of different elements present in the OFA such as carbon, oxygen and sulfur. BET analysis showed major increase in surface area after modification as well as pore size and micropore volume of OFA particles. The maximum increase in surface area was obtained with 15 vol.% HNO₃. Also, carboxylic functionalization of OFA was enhanced when air was injected.     

Recent progress on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for the monitoring of coal quality and unburned carbon in fly ash

Our recent progress on developments of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) based equipments for on-line monitoring of pulverized coal and unburned carbon (UC) level of fly ash are reviewed. A fully software-controlled LIBS equipment comprising a self-cleaning device for on-line coal quality monitoring in power plants is developed. The system features an automated sampling device, which is capable of elemental (C, Ca, Mg, Ti, Si, H, Al, Fe, S, and organic oxygen) and proximate analysis (Q _ad and A _ad) through optimal data processing methods. An automated prototype LIBS apparatus has been developed for possible application to power plants for on-line analysis of UC level in fly ash. New data processing methods are proposed to correct spectral interference and matrix effects, with the accuracy for UC level analysis estimated to be 0.26%.     

Non-gray chemical composition based radiative property model of fly ash particles

Particle radiation has a spectral dependence and is closely related to the chemical composition of the material. Iron oxide, one of the main components of fly ash, observably affects the complex index of refraction of the particles. In this study, following the theory of the spectrum k-distribution based weighted sum of gray particles model (Guo et al. [4,13]), a non-gray fly ash radiative property model involving the chemical composition was developed. First, four typical fly ash particles with different iron oxide contents were selected, and the corresponding particle radiative parameters were obtained using the Mie theory. Then, the absorption efficiency and weighting factors of the non-gray model were directly obtained from the Gaussian integral points of the k-distribution. The scattering efficiency of the particles was obtained from the Planck mean. The accuracy of the newly developed model was evaluated in a one-dimensional plane-parallel slab system through comparison with the line-by-line (LBL) model and two commonly used gray radiative property models. The results show that the new non-gray model agrees well with the LBL solution and becomes more accurate as the iron oxide content increases. When the iron oxide content of the fly ash increased from 5.47% to 30.50%, the maximum relative error of the radiative heat flux and the radiative source term decreased from 12.50% to 5.68% and from 20.97% to 12.62%, respectively. The new model can improve the prediction accuracy of radiative heat transfer in pulverized coal-fired furnaces.     

Freeze casting of aqueous coal fly ash/alumina slurries for preparation of porous ceramics

A porous mullite-matrix composite with a bimodal pore structure has been prepared by a freeze casting route using water/coal fly slurry system. The top and bottom parts of the sintered freeze cast body consisted of solid particles and micropores, which were irregularly distributed. However, the middle section was made up of small lamellar pores and porous ceramic walls, aligned along the solidification direction. The porosity of mullite composites was in the range 67-55% after sintering at 1300-1500 °C. The addition of 3Y-ZrO₂ reduced the porosity, especially material in sintered at 1500 °C due to relatively high densification. The compressive strength of the porous composite with 10 wt% 3Y-ZrO₂ addition, sintered at 1500 °C exhibited a maximum value of ∼41 MPa.     

Dynamic evolution of impaction and sticking behaviors of fly ash particle in pulverized coal combustion

This paper aims to reveal the mechanisms governing the impaction and sticking dynamics of fly ash particles in pulverized coal combustion. The modeling work is of relevance to experiments in a 25?kW self-sustained down-fired furnace, which provides a sequence of real deposit shapes as varied boundary conditions for CFD simulations. Although the formed ash deposit has a comparable length scale with the probe, it has little effect on the global impaction efficiency of newly-coming particles. However, as the deposit builds up, incident particles impact the deposit and probe at generally larger impact angles and smaller normal velocities despite the almost invariant global impaction efficiency. It results in an enhanced local sticking probability in the center region of the probe, but a decreased one in the lateral regions. The incident kinetic energy of newly sticking particles to the deposit exhibits a converse correlation with their impact angle. The relationship of the averaged local sticking probability as a function of the azimuthal angle of probe is illustrated. Finally, the effect of Reynolds number on global particle impaction efficiency is examined. A universal formula is proposed, which is of importance to bridge lab-scale experiments and practical applications.     

The influence of fly ash physical and chemical properties on electrostatic precipitation process

Flue gases emitted from coal fired power plants are mainly cleaned with electrostatic precipitators (ESP). Increased awareness of the effects of atmospheric pollution and tightening legislation force precipitator producers to increase their ESP efficiency, especially when collecting very fine particulates (PM2.5). The fly ash characteristic parameters are formatted during combustion process and its depend on the coal type as well as boiler parameters and combustion conditions. Due to that many series of tests were done to investigate the influence of fly ash physical and chemical properties on ESP operation.