Some industrial gas turbines are currently being fired directly using heavy fuel oil, which contains a small percentage of inorganic material that can lead to fouling and corrosion of turbine components. Deposits of heavy fuel oil ash were created in the Turbine Accelerated Deposition Facility (TADF) at Brigham Young University under gas turbine-related conditions. Ash was produced by burning heavy fuel oil in a downward-fired combustor and collecting the ash from the exhaust stream. The mass mean ash particle diameter from these tests was 33 microns. This ash was then introduced into the TADF and entrained in a hot gas flow that varied from 1088 to 1206°C. The gas and particle velocity was accelerated to over 200 m/s in these tests. This particle-laden hot gas stream then impinged on a nickel base superalloy metal coupon approximately 3 cm in diameter, and an ash deposit formed on the coupon. Sulfur dioxide was introduced to the system to achieve 1.1 mol% SO2 in the exhaust stream in order to simulate SO2 levels in turbines currently burning heavy fuel oil. The ash deposits were collected, and the capture efficiency, surface roughness, and deposit composition were measured. The deposits were then washed with deionized water, dried, and underwent the same analysis. It was found that, as the gas temperature increased, there was no effect on capture efficiency and the post-wash roughness of the samples decreased. Washing aided in the removal of sulfur, magnesium, potassium, and calcium.

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