Partitioning of Trace Elements During Fluidized Bed Combustion of High Ash Content Lignite

The behavior of 20 trace elements (As, B, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, P, Pb, Sb, Se, Sn, Tl, V, Zn) and 8 major and minor elements (Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Na, Si, Ti) during the combustion of high ash content lignite with and without limestone addition have been investigated in the 0.3 MW_t Middle East Technical University (METU) Atmospheric Bubbling Fluidized Bed Combustor (ABFBC) Test Rig. Experiments were performed without fines recycle. Inert bed material utilized in the experiments was bed ash obtained previously from the combustion of the same lignite without limestone addition in the same test rig. Concentrations of trace elements in coal, limestone, bottom ash, cyclone ash and filter ash were determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Measurements show that the distribution of major and minor elements follows the ash split between the bottom ash and fly ash and that the major proportion of most of the trace elements (As, Ba, Cr, Hg, Li, Mo, Ni, Sn, V, Zn) are recovered in fly ash. Comparisons between the trace element partitioning of the runs with and without limestone addition reveal that addition of limestone shifts the partitioning of Ba, Cr, Hg, Mo, Ni, Sn, V, Zn from bottom ash to fly ash.