Investigating the Cause of Ash Deposition and Equipment Failure in Wood Chip-Fueled Cogeneration Plant

The use of biomass is increasing as a response to the convention on climate change. In Korea, a method applied to replace fossil fuels is using wood chips in a cogeneration plant. To remove air pollutants generated by burning wood chips, a selective denitrification facility (Selective catalytic reduction, SCR) is installed downstream. However, problems such as ash deposition and descaling of the equipment surface have been reported. The cause is thought to be unreacted ammonia slip caused by ammonia ions injected into the reducing agent and metal corrosion caused by an acidic environment. Element analysis confirmed that ash contained alkali metals and sulfur that could cause catalyst poisoning, leading to an increase in the size of ash particle and deposition. Measurement of the size of ash deposited inside the facility confirmed that the size of ash deposited on the catalyst was approximately three times larger than the size of generally formed ash. Therefore, it was concluded that a reduction in pore area of the catalyst by ash deposition on the surface of the catalyst could lead to a problem of increasing differential pressure in a denitrification facility.