Julien Phother-Simon

Ni–(35–45)Cr–4Nb alloys containing different fractions of α‐Cr were exposed to potassium chloride (KCl)‐induced corrosion. The corrosion exposures were carried out for 168 hr at 600°C in a 15% (vol/vol) H₂O (g) + 5% (vol/vol) O₂ (g) + N₂ (g; balance) atmosphere using KCl‐free (reference) and predeposited KCl samples. To mimic the KCl deposition in real boilers, 24 hr exposures where KCl vapor condensed continuously onto samples were also performed. The corrosion attack of the studied materials increased significantly when KCl was present compared to the KCl‐free samples. For the KCl exposures, the corrosion attack drastically increased when a significant α‐Cr fraction was present. α‐Cr was either selectively attacked or dissolved through solid‐state diffusion and a layered build‐up of the outer external scale of K₂CrO₄ and chromia could be observed. For the in situ condensed KCl exposure, severe corrosion was observed already within the 24 hr exposure, indicating a higher corrosion rate compared with when KCl was predeposited.

Sulfur Recirculation is a novel technique for reducing the high temperature corrosion and dioxin formation in Waste-to-Energy plants by recirculating sulfur from the wet flue gas cleaning back to the boiler. This is achieved by separating SO 2 from the flue gas in a wet scrubber downstream of a HCl scrubber. H 2 O 2 dosed into the scrubber reacts with SO 2 in the gas and produces a 15-25 wt% H 2 SO 4 solution, which is injected into the boiler producing SO 2 , thus creating a sulfur loop. The first permanent full-scale installation has been in operation in one of the two commercial full-scale Waste-to Energy boilers at Maabjerg Energy Center (MEC) in Denmark since October 2016. The recirculated sulfur increased the gas concentration of SO 2 by a factor of 2-3 in the boiler, thereby enhancing the sulfation of corrosive alkali chlorides to non-corrosive alkali sulfates. The chlorine content of the superheater deposits decreased by 85%, and the superheater corrosion rate decreased by 40-90% during the first year of operation. The dioxin concentrations upstream of the dioxin removal system decreased by 75% and the dioxin emissions decreased by 72% with Sulfur Recirculation in operation. Furthermore, the sulfate containing effluent water was almost eliminated due to the increased sulfation of the ashes and deposits.