Investigating Potential Problems and Solutions of Renewable Fuel Use in Steel Reheating Furnaces

Implementing renewable fuels in steel reheating furnaces can reduce carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, so the steel industry is interested in finding the optimal method of implementation. The relatively low cost of solid biofuels from forest products make them an attractive candidate, but there is a risk of reaction between pellets ash and furnace brick. Therefore a test was conducted with wood pellets ash on a furnace brick to test the sensitivity to pellets ash. One problem is the formation of a glassy phase due to the interaction of furnace refractories with pellets ash. The risk for the formation of a glassy phase depends on the composition of the refractory, composition of the ash and the furnace conditions, for example, a glassy phase was found to form on a chamotte refractory furnace brick when a pellets ash and the brick were heated to 1200°C. One method to analyze the risk for volatile and low melting point compounds from solid biofuels is to use a tertiary phase diagram to divide various components in the ash. Oxides and compounds rich in the alkali metals (Na and K) tend to form volatile compounds. These alkali metal oxides together with silica can give low melting point phases for compositions near the bottom of this diagram. Ash compositions near the top of the diagram which are rich in CaO and MgO tend to have higher melting points. The wood pellets ash investigated was analysed and found to contain a large percentage of Ca, Si and Mg, expressed as CaO (44.4%), SiO2 (14.6%) and MgO (10.1%) and relatively modest amounts of the alkali metals Na and K expressed as Na2O (3.5%) and K2O (6.2%). This mostly stem wood pellets ash could give concern with the formation of a glassy phase, so biofuels with more twigs, leaves and bark with a higher concentration of alkali metals could give even greater concerns. Therefore alternatives like gasification should be considered. Gasification of solid biofuels is one way to avoid ash-forming compounds in reheating furnaces. A survey was performed to evaluate different gasification technologies, as well as existing applications of syngas in other high-temperature industries.QC 20140107Förnybar