JV 58-Effects of Biomass Combustion on SCR Catalyst

A portable slipstream selective catalytic reduction (SCR) reactor was installed at a biomass cofired utility boiler to examine the rates and mechanisms of catalyst deactivation when exposed to biomass combustion products. The catalyst was found to deactivate at a much faster rate than typically found in a coal-fired boiler, although this may have been the result of high ash loading rather than a general property of biomass combustion. Deactivation was mainly the result of alkali and alkaline-earth sulfate formation and growth in catalyst pores, apparently caused by alkaline-earth ash deposition on or near the pore sites. The high proportion of biomass in the fuel contributed to elevated levels of alkali and alkaline-earth material in the ash when compared to coal ash, and these higher levels provided more opportunity for sulfate formation. Based on laboratory tests, neither catalyst material nor ammonia contributed measurably to ash mass gains via sulfation. A model constructed using both field and laboratory data was able to predict catalyst deactivation of catalysts under subbituminous coal firing but performed poorly at predicting catalyst deactivation under cofiring conditions. Because of the typically higher-than coal levels of alkali and alkaline-earth elements present in biomass fuels that are available for sulfation at typical SCR temperatures, the use of SCR technology and biomass cofiring needs to be carefully evaluated prior to implementation