The effect of low-NOx combustion on residual carbon in fly ash and its adsorption capacity for air entrainment admixtures in concrete

Fly ash from pulverized coal combustion contains residual carbon that can adsorb the air-entraining admixtures (AEAs) added to control the air entrainment in concrete. This is a problem that has increased by the implementation of low-NOx combustion technologies. In this work, pulverized fuel has been combusted in an entrained flow reactor to test the impact of changes in operating conditions and fuel type on the AEA adsorption of ash and NOx formation.

Increased oxidizing conditions, obtained by improved fuel-air mixing or higher excess air, decreased the AEA requirements of the produced ash by up to a factor of 25. This was due to a lower carbon content in the ash and a lower specific AEA adsorptivity of the carbon. The latter was suggested to be caused by changes in the adsorption properties of the unburned char and a decreased formation of soot, which was found to have a large AEA adsorption capacity based on measurements on a carbon black.

The NOx formation increased by up to three times with more oxidizing conditions and thus, there was a trade-off between the AEA requirements of the ash and NOx formation. The type of fuel had high impact on the AEA adsorption behavior of the ash. Ashes produced from a Columbian and a Polish coal showed similar AEA requirements, but the specific AEA adsorptivity of the carbon in the Columbian coal ash was up to six times higher.

The AEA requirements of a South African coal ash was unaffected by the applied operating conditions and showed up to 12 times higher AEA adsorption compared to the two other coal ashes. This may be caused by larger particles formed by agglomeration of the primary coal particles in the feeding phase or during the combustion process, which gave rise to increased formation of soot.