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Mud ball formation in lime kilns has been a persistent problem in many kraft mills, particularly for older kilns that are equipped with chains. A systematic laboratory study was conducted to examine how mud balls are formed and the key factors that affect ball formation. The results confirm the general mill experience that high moisture and high sodium contents in lime mud are the main contributing factors to ball formation. The high moisture content allows lime mud to agglomerate and grow to form balls, while the high sodium content helps make the balls hard and retain their shape. A ball formation mechanism is proposed to explain how mud balls form and grow near the kiln feed end.

A study was conducted to examine the most likely parameters responsible for poor dregs settling at a kraft mill over a 2.5-year period, using multivariate data analysis (MVDA) and machine learning (ML) techniques. The dregs settling behavior seems to be seasonally influenced, implying that wood quality variation can be a factor. The results from the MVDA/ML analysis show that poor dregs settling is correlated to incomplete combustion and/or low load conditions in the recovery boiler, low sulfidity in the causticizing plant, and high flow in the green liquor–weak wash cycle. Compositions of dregs and black liquor were also examined to identify correlations with impaired dregs settling. The results show that poor dregs settling strongly correlates with high silicon (Si) content in dregs and moderately correlates with high iron (Fe) and high aluminum (Al) contents, and with low bulk density in dregs. For mills that experience dregs settling or green liquor filtering issues, regular compositional analyses of dregs, green liquor, weak wash, and black liquor are recommended in order to monitor the dynamics of silicon and other constituents in the recovery cycle.

The lime kiln at the Arauco Constitución mill experienced severe ringing problems requiring it to be shut down for ring removal every 3 to 6 months. The mill controlled the problems by blasting ring deposits off during operation with its existing industrial shotgun and a newly installed Cardox liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) cartridge system. Various ring blasting procedures were tested to determine the optimum ring location and thickness to blast; the optimum depth to insert the CO2 cartridge into the kiln; and the most effective blasting frequency and sequence to employ. The best strategy was found to be the weekly blasting operation that alternated between the liquid CO2 cartridge and the industrial shotgun, with the CO2 cartridge inserted into the ring mass, 20 cm (8 in.) away from the refractory brick surface, and the shotgun aimed at rings at about 28 m (92 ft) from the kiln discharge end. With each blasting event removing considerably more rings than before, it takes a longer time for rings to rebuild, allowing the kiln to run continuously between annual maintenance shutdowns with only a few short (< 4 h) downtimes for ring removal. This substantially reduces the costs associated with ring removal and lime replacement during unscheduled shutdowns.

The effective shattering of molten smelt is highly desired in recovery boiler systems. Ideally, shatter jet nozzle designs should: i) generate high shattering energy; ii) create a wide coverage; and iii) minimize steam consumption. This study proposes a novel converging-diverging multi-jet nozzle design to achieve these goals. A laboratory setup was established, and the nozzle performance was evaluated by generating jet pressure profiles from the measurement of a pitot tube array. The results show that the shatter jet strength is greater with a large throat diameter, high inlet pressure, and a short distance between the nozzle exit and impingement position. Increasing the number of orifices generates a wider jet coverage, and the distance between the orifices should be limited to avoid the formation of a low-pressure region between the orifices. The study also demonstrates that an optimized converging-diverging multi-jet nozzle significantly outperformed a conventional shatter jet nozzle by achieving higher energy and wider coverage while consuming less steam.

The formation of hard calcite (CaCO3) scale in green liquor handling systems is a persistent problem in many kraft pulp mills. CaCO3 precipitates when its concentration in the green liquor exceeds its solubility. While the solubility of CaCO3 in water is well known, it is not so in the highly alkaline green liquor environment. A systematic study was conducted to determine the solubility of CaCO3 in green liquor as a function of temperature, total titratable alkali (TTA), causticity, and sulfidity. The results show that the solubility increases with increased temperature, increased TTA, decreased causticity, and decreased sulfidity. The new solubility data was incorporated into OLI (a thermodynamic simulation program for aqueous salt systems) to generate a series of CaCO3 solubility curves for various green liquor conditions. The results help explain how calcite scale forms in green liquor handling systems.

Pulp and paper mill biosludge becomes sticky after being dried to a certain solids content. As biosludge becomes sticky, it agglomerates and adheres to the heat transfer surfaces of the dryer. This undesirable property can lower the dryer efficiency and cause the drying equipment to fail. A systematic study was conducted to examine the sticky behavior of biosludge. The stickiness was evaluated by measuring the adhesive force between a sludge cake and a stainless steel substrate, and the cohesive force between a sludge cake and a sludge substrate. The results show that: i) both adhesive and cohesive forces increase markedly as the solids content increases, reaching a maximum value at about 13% solids, and then decrease steadily at a higher solids content; ii) cohesive force is stronger than adhesive force, implying that biosludge tends to agglomerate rather than adhere to smooth equipment surfaces; and iii) mixing wood fines or fly ash from a biomass boiler reduces the stickiness of the mixture. These findings may help mills improve the thermal efficiency of biosludge dryers and to turn biosludge into a more attractive fuel for burning in biomass boilers.

Synthetic polymers are widely used in the treatment of biosludge (waste activated sludge) to enhance its dewaterability. This paper discusses the results of a systematic study using hemoglobin (Hb) from animal blood and methylated hemoglobin (MeHb), a derivative in which a methyl group replaces the hydrogen carboxyl groups, to replace synthetic polymers to improve the dewatering efficiency of biosludge. With regular hemoglobin, no improvement in biosludge dewatering was found. With 10% of methylated hemoglobin per total solids content, however, the dry solids content of biosludge increased from 10.2 (&plusmn, 0.3) wt% to 15.0 (&plusmn, 1.0) wt%. Zeta potential measurements showed a decrease in the negative surface charge of the particles in biosludge from &minus, 34.3 (&plusmn, 3.2) mV to &minus, 19.0 (&plusmn, 2.1) mV after the treatment with methylated hemoglobin. This, along with an unchanged particle size distribution after conditioning, suggests that charge neutralization is likely the main cause of particle flocculation. With charges neutralized, the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) around the biosludge flocs become loose, releasing the trapped water, thus increasing dewaterability.

The explosion energy generated as molten smelt droplets interact with water was evaluated as a function of smelt distribution, water temperature, and smelt temperature using a thermodynamic model. The results show that increasing smelt-to-water volume ratio and water temperature significantly increases the explosion energy, converting a larger proportion of the thermal energy of smelt into mechanical work. To reduce the chance of violent smelt-water explosions, it is important to: i) optimize the shatter jet design and operation to uniformly distribute the smelt over a large area in the dissolving tank; ii) avoid high green liquor temperature and ensure adequate liquor mixing; and iii) avoid upsets that may cause heavy smelt runoff or jellyroll smelt.

Dewatering and handling of pulp and paper mill sludge is challenging and often comprises more than half of the overall wastewater treatment costs at a mill. Primary sludge is usually more dewaterable than biosludge (waste activated sludge), and the ratio between both types of sludge largely determines the dewaterability of the sludge mix. This study has quantified the benefits of adding primary sludge to biosludge to enhance the dewaterability in terms of cake solids and filtrate/pressate solids content. Furthermore, the effects of the particle size distribution and the monovalent to divalent cation ratio of the various types of sludge were investigated. Biosludge and three types of primary sludge from a Canadian pulp and paper mill were mixed at various ratios and tested for dewaterability using a Crown Press®, a bench-scale device which simulates industrial belt press dewatering. Results show that after addition of primary sludge at up to 40% mass proportion (dry solids basis) the dewatered cake solids content increased substantially, from 10.4% to 18.7–19.9%, depending on the type of primary sludge added. Further addition of primary sludge led to comparably only small improvements. Primary sludge addition also resulted in decreased total suspended solids (TSS) concentrations in the combined gravity filtrate / Crown Press pressate. Primary sludge content of only 10% in the sludge mix was sufficient to decrease the TSS concentration from 1.8 g/L to 0.2 – 0.4 g/L. The study shows that only less than half of the sludge mix needs to consist of primary sludge, in order to achieve adequate dewaterability. This opens up the possibility of retaining more primary fiber within the pulping process, without compromising downstream sludge dewatering.

Electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) are used in most pulp mills to remove particulate from recovery boilers, power boilers, and lime kilns. As environmental regulations have become increasingly stringent in recent years, maintaining high ESP performance is of vital importance in mill operation. This paper discusses results of a literature review of the ESP technology used in industrial combustion units, including recovery boilers, as well as results of a parametric study using the well-known Deutsch-Anderson equation to correlate recovery boiler operating conditions with ESP collection efficiency. The results show that for particles up to about 0.3 μm, the ESP collection efficiency decreases drastically with increased particle size and with decreased temperature. For particles larger than 0.5 μm, however, the trend reverses; the collection efficiency increases with increased particle size and decreased temperature. The results also suggest that the particle concentration (or loading) in the flue gas has no effect on collection efficiency and that sodium chloride particles are more readily captured than sodium sulfate particles. The latter prediction, however, appears to be in contradiction with mill experience that sodium chloride particles are more difficult to capture.

Ring formation in lime kilns is a common problem in pulp mills. Unstable burner operation that causes wide temperature variations within the kiln has been shown to be a main contributor. As rings grow thicker and longer, they are expected to affect the burner flame pattern, alter the temperature distribution, and further aggravate the problem. This study systematically examines the effect of rings on burner operation as a function of primary air and ring characteristics, using a laboratory mock kiln. The results show that primary air greatly affects the burner flame pattern and stability. Without a ring, the flame is brighter and shorter, with an increase in primary air (PA) up to 17%, and blows out at 20% PA or higher. In the presence of a ring, the flame becomes unstable and blows out when the ring is placed near the burner, but it is more stable when the ring is placed away from the burner. Thick and long rings destabilize the flame more than thin and short rings.

The connection of active site structures and their catalytic chemistry during butanal deoxygenation on polyoxometalate clusters with varying H+ site densities and identity of central atoms [HxNa4-xSiW12O40 (x=0-4) and HyNa3-yPW12O40 (y=0-3)] was established with rate assessment, infrared spectroscopic, and chemical titration methods. Butanal adsorbs on the H+ or Na+ ions on polyoxometalate clusters and forms RC=O…H+ or RC=O…Na+ complexes at 348 K. A portion of the adsorbed butanals on the H+ sites converts to surface acetates through their reactions with vicinal framework oxygen atoms, as confirmed from the detection of νas(OCO) band at ~1580 cm-1 and remains as the spectator species. Bi-molecular reactions of butanals on the remaining H+ sites lead to 2-ethyl-2-hexenal as the predominant products, whereas a small fraction of 2-ethyl-2-hexenal undergoes sequential cyclization-dehydration to produce aromatics. A trace amount of butanal involves in the other two competitive pathways, namely, intra-molecular C=C bond formation and isomerization-dehydration, to produce light olefins and dienes. These findings on the connection between active sites and their catalytic chemistry provide mechanistic insights useful for tuning the rates of the various concomitant paths and thus yields towards the different products during deoxygenation reactions.

Handling and disposal of biosludge has been a persistent problem for many pulp and paper mills primarily because of the material’s high moisture content and poor dewatering and drying characteristics. Most biosludge is landfilled or incinerated, and some is used as a soil amendment. To incinerate biosludge, the mills mix it with primary sludge, mechanically dewater the mixture to 15%–30% solids, and burn it with hog fuel in biomass boilers. For biosludge to burn effectively, however, it must be dewatered or dried to at least 30%–35% solids. A systematic study was conducted to examine the drying characteristics of biosludge collected from pulp and paper mills at various temperatures using a thermogravimetric dryer. The drying behavior of the tested biosludges was similar, adding fillers such as wood fines and biomass boiler fly ash to biosludge up to 30 wt% did not significantly affect the drying rate, higher organic content might make biosludge more difficult to dry, and increasing drying temperature significantly increases the drying rate as expected.

Operating data of a bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) boiler and three stoker grate (SG) biomass boilers from different pulp mills were analyzed over a 2-year period. The results show that in all cases, the thermal perfor - mance decreases markedly from 5.5 to 4 lb steam/lb dry biomass as the feedstock moisture content increases from 40% to 60%. The BFB boiler had better thermal performance, although it operated in a higher moisture content range compared with the SG boilers. Multivariate analysis was also performed on one of the SG boilers to determine operating parameters that affect thermal performance. The results show that furnace temperature, oil flow rate, and induced draft fan current positively correlate with thermal performance, while the feedstock moisture content, total air flow, and excess oxygen (O 2 ) negatively correlate with thermal performance. This implies that when making mod - ifications to improve thermal performance, it is important to take into account correlations among various parame - ters. In some cases, one positively correlated parameter might cause an increase in a negatively correlated parame - ter. The net effect might be a decrease in thermal performance.

Molten smelt normally flows smoothly down the smelt spout of a recovery boiler like water, but at times it suddenly becomes sluggish and forms a viscous blob on the spout trough that partially or completely blocks the smelt flow. This form of smelt is commonly referred to as “jellyroll” smelt. How such smelt forms has been a puzzle to boiler operators and mill personnel for years. Numerous mill observations and the results of a recent study performed on both smoothly flowing smelt and jellyroll smelt collected from a recovery boiler suggest that that jellyroll smelt can form through three main mechanisms: i) the freezing of the molten smelt, ii) the melting of fallen deposits, and iii) the inclusion of a large amount of unburned char in the molten smelt. These mechanisms are consistent with mill experience that jellyroll smelt tends to form in older recovery boilers burning liquor with low solids and low sulfidity.

Wood ash is typically applied to soils to counteract acidification and base cation depletion, but the effects of this ash on the organic layer microbial community are rarely studied. We analyzed microbial responses to ash addition in two field-scale experiments in Ontario, Canada. One experiment was in a young boreal forest soil and the other was in an uneven-aged hardwood north-temperate forest soil. We also investigated the effects of a natural forest fire near the boreal experiment. In both cases, ash addition had no effect on overall microbial biomass and respiration, but increased the phylogenetic diversity of bacterial communities and the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes taxa, though effects on other bacterial taxa were site-specific. Eukaryotic effects also varied by experiment; at the boreal site, ash increased eukaryotic phylogenetic diversity and decreased the fungi:bacteria ribosomal marker ratio, but at the temperate site ash decreased eukaryotic diversity and did not affect the fungi:bacteria ratio. There was limited additional effect on the boreal soil microbial community of increasing ash addition from 0.7 to 5.7 t ha −1 , as determined by T-RFLP analysis, though soil pH in both experiments increased with higher addition rates. At the temperate site, ash effects were consistently stronger for fly ash than for bottom ash. In both experiments, only 14 unique bacterial taxa were found after ash addition, and the strongest driver of overall community composition was the forest type, not ash treatment. In contrast, the soil microbial community observed at the forest fire site was clearly different. Overall, these results indicate that wood ash addition has only minimal effects on the composition of the soil microbial community in sites across two distinct global forest biomes.

Black liquor is often mixed with various types of materials before being burned in a recovery boiler to meet specific needs of kraft pulp mills. A systematic study was conducted using a thermogravimetric combustor to examine how added materials might affect the combustion behavior of black liquors obtained from several pulp mills. The results show that adding soap, caustic, white liquor, and sawdust significantly reduces the liquor swelling tendency, thereby requiring a longer time for the liquor to burn completely. Adding makeup saltcake, precipitator ash, sodium sulfate, and biosludge, on the other hand, has little or no effect on the liquor combustion behavior.

Agglomeration of bed materials at high temperature is one of the most important and challenging problems for fluidized-bed biomass boilers for thermal/power generation. Inorganic alkali components from the fuel can be problematic as they form low-melting alkali compounds. In the present study, the critical amount of liquid (molten ash in real biomass boiler operations) that would result in severe bed agglomeration and defluidization was studied in a small pilot-scale bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) rig, operated at elevated temperatures (415–420 °C) using low melting-point salt (KOH) to simulate molten ash. In the BFB fluidization system tested, the critical liquid amount of simulate molten ash that could cause the bed materials start to form agglomeration/channeling, and form severe agglomeration/channeling (poor fluidization) is approx. 0.5 wt.% and 0.8 wt.% at a lower fluidizing gas velocity (3.9 Umf) and a higher fluidizing gas velocity (5.9 Umf), respectively. With more low-melting-point compound (KOH) present in the BFB, more agglomerates of bed material are formed. Increasing the amount of liquid could change the fluidization behavior of group B (bubbling) particles towards group A (Aerated) and even C (Cohesive) depending on the amount of the low-melting-point compound in the bed material.

Fireside deposits in recovery boilers are typically white, red, pink, grey, black, or occasionally yellow, depending on where they are in the boiler, the mechanisms by which they are formed, and the environment to which they are exposed. Although rare, blue deposits have been reported, and some were “bluer” than others. This study systematically examines the cause of the blue coloration of deposits in recovery boilers. The results show that for a deposit to become blue, it must a) contain sodium carbonate, b) contain a small amount of manganese, c) be molten or partially molten, and d) have exposure to an oxidizing atmosphere. Because deposits always contain sodium carbonate and manganese, these requirements suggest that blue deposits can form only in the superheater region of the recovery boiler when oxidizing conditions prevail. Blue coloration is thus more likely to be observed in boilers operating at a reduced firing load with a high excess oxygen target.

Wood ash may be an effective soil amendment in North America to restore acidified and low-nutrient forest soils, but little research exists beyond its effects on soil and plants. Eastern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus (Green, 1818)) abundance was assessed in a northern hardwood forest 1 year following an ash-addition field trial. Plots were established with fly ash and bottom ash treatments of 0, 1, 4, and 8 Mg·ha−1 (n = 4), and cover boards were positioned both with and without ash beneath. One year following ash additions, salamander abundance had increased under boards with fly ash beneath, and bottom ash had no effect. Soil pH and electrical conductivity increased under cover boards with ash beneath them and for uncovered soil, and the effects were strongest under cover boards with ash beneath. The effects of ash were generally stronger at higher dosages, and fly ash was stronger than bottom ash. The moisture holding capacity of fly ash was 60% higher than the soil and was 63% lower than the soil for bottom ash, but they had little effect on moisture of the forest floor. These results suggest that ash altered salamander abundance via soil pH and moisture and would not inhibit salamander movement over the forest floor.

A multivariate data analysis (MVDA) was conducted to identify operating parameters that affect the sludge dewatering efficiency in a Canadian pulp and paper mill. The sludge is a mixture of waste activated sludge (WAS) and three different types of primary sludge. The dewatering efficiency was defined by three target parameters: the cake solids content after dewatering, the solids capture efficiency, and the costs of dewatering aids (chemicals) used per ton of dewatered sludge solids. The results show that the most influential parameters affecting the dewatering efficiency are 1) the type and amount of primary sludge added to the sludge mix, 2) the operating parameters of the dewatering equipment and 3) the sludge solids throughput. A high proportion of fiber-rich primary sludge in the sludge mix substantially enhances dewaterability. Operating the screw press at a low torque and/or at a high screw press speed lowers the dewatering performance. The pH adjustment of the sludge prior to dewatering also significantly affects dewaterability. The effectiveness of the dewatering aids decreases notably when the pH is not within the target range. Besides the processes in the dewatering plant, the activated sludge process and the associated amount and quality of the WAS also affect the dewaterability of the sludge mix. In particular, the dewatering efficiency seems to be seasonal. The higher temperature during the summer produces less WAS, and thus increasing the proportion of primary sludge in the sludge mix and improving dewaterability. Also, WAS with high microbial activity and firm flocs, as well as a low sludge volume index enhances dewaterability.

Agglomeration of bed materials at a high temperature is one of the most important and challenging problems for fluidized-bed biomass boilers for thermal/power generation. Inorganic alkali compounds derived from the biomass ash, mainly potassium (K) and sodium (Na) can be problematic as they form low-melting alkali compounds and may also react with the bed material (silica sand) forming low-melting alkali silicates. These low-melting alkali compounds, if surpassing a critical amount, could coat the sand particles to form agglomerates, eventually leading to partial or complete de-fluidization of the reactor. In the present study, the critical amount of liquid (molten ash in real biomass boiler operations) that would result in severe bed agglomeration and defluidization was studied a small pilot-scale cold bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) test rig filled with silica sand particles as bed materials equipped with non-invasive capacitance sensors and differential pressure transducers. In the cold BFB test rig, a solution of glycerol–water (30% v/v), employed to simulate molten ash in real biomass boiler operations, was injected to the bed at different quantities during the tests. It was found that in the present fluidization system the critical liquid amount causing bed agglomeration is likely 0.2 wt% (in relation to the weight of bed material loaded) and 0.7 wt% would cause severe channeling and de-fluidization conditions.

Burning feedstock with high and constantly varying moisture content is a challenge in the operationof the stoker-grate type biomass boilers in pulp and paper mills. A fundamental study was performed, using a thermogravimetric combustor controlled at different temperatures, to systematically investigate the effect of moisture content on the combustion behavior of several woody biomasses. The results show that combustion occurred through three stages: drying, devolatilization, and char burning. Increasing the moisture content of the sample above 30% significantly increased the drying time and the time to ignition of the sample. Moisture content, however, had only a small effect on the devolatilization rate and virtually no effect on the char burning rate. Furnace temperature had a great effect on combustion. Samples containing 40% moisture could still ignite and burn readily at 800°C, but they took a much longer time to ignite at 500°C and did not ignite at 400°C. These results imply that in biomass boiler operation, the high moisture content in feedstock delays combustion and causes the furnace temperature to decrease. The low temperature, in turn, suppresses combustion, further decreasing the furnace temperature and causing more delay in combustion. This downward spiral will eventually lead to a boiler blackout unless the biomass feed rate is significantly reduced or the auxiliary fuel (natural gas and fuel oil) flow rate cofired in the boiler is increased to keep the furnace temperature high.

Overliming and the consequent presence of unreacted lime (or free lime) in the lime mud are commonly believed to be the cause of many problems in the operation of causticizing plants and lime kilns in kraft pulp mills. The free lime content in lime mud is typically determined in mill laboratories using a so-called ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) method and in commercial laboratories using a thermal decomposition (TD) method. Over the years, we analyzed many lime mud samples from mills and found that the free lime content was consistently low, < 3 wt% calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2), even in cases where overliming was suspected to have caused problems. A systematic study was therefore conducted to investigate the validity of free-lime measurement methods, the reason for the consistently low free lime content in lime mud, and if free lime values can be used to indicate overliming. The results show that the NH4Cl method is not suitable for determining free lime. The TD method is good, but the possible interference of magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2) must be taken into account. Since most pulp mills perform their free lime analysis on mud samples collected from pre-coat filters which have been washed, the resulting free lime value is low, and thus, cannot be used to assess the extent of overliming in the causticizing plant.

Lime kilns are used to calcine lime mud to produce lime for reuse in the causticizing plant of pulp mills. With significant increase in fossil fuel costs and the sustained drive to minimize carbon footprint, there has been a great deal of research and development of the biorefinery concept and production of biofuels for use within pulp mills. Several new biofuels will become available, together with traditional mill derived fuels such as tall oil. In considering use of biofuels for replacement of fossil fuels in the lime kiln, each fuel has a different impact on kiln performance. An assessment on kiln performance can be achieved and compared to either heavy fuel oil or natural gas. In most cases, the lime kiln fuels with high oxygen content and moderately low calorific values burn in a similar manner as natural gas; hence, in assessing impact on kiln performance, production and induced draft fan limits together with kiln exit gas temperatures need to be considered.

For kraft pulp mills that have thermally limited recovery boilers, lignin removal from black liquor has become an attractive option for increasing pulp production by allowing more black liquor to be processed through the boiler. This study systematically examined the combustion characteristics of lignin-lean black liquor and precipitated lignin from three kraft mills using a thermogravimetric combustor. The results confirm that adding lignin-lean black liquor to its original black liquor decreased the heating value and the degree of swelling of the mixed liquor. The effect on liquor swelling, however, was insignificant for mixed liquors that contained less than 20 wt% of lignin-lean liquor. As with other biofuels, the combustion of precipitated lignin was found to occur through three main stages: drying, volatile burning, and char burning. During the volatile burning stage, hardwood lignin swelled significantly, softwood lignin did not swell much, and mixed hardwood and softwood lignin was somewhere in between. Although the char content in lignin was about half of the volatile content, it took 10 times longer for the char to burn compared to the volatiles.

There is considerable interest in the nature and causes of heavy smelt runoff from recovery boilers because of the role it has played in numerous dissolving tank explosions and for personnel safety around the dissolving tank. Most mills have experienced runoff problems, which can be caused by cleaning plugged spouts, burning down a large bed, low sulfidity smelt, startup with a bed in the unit, and improper firing practices. The peak smelt flow during a runoff is often 3 to 5 times normal and may be much greater in severe cases. Heavy runoffs are self-limiting and typically last less than 30 min. The geometry of the lower furnace plays a significant role in runoff events. Sloped floor units are more vulnerable to smelt pool buildup and heavy runoff when released. Decanting bottom units are inherently more tolerant of smelt pool buildup. Low sulfidity results in smelt with a high melting temperature, making the smelt easy to freeze and difficult to flow. Sulfate-rich slag/deposits falling on the hearth from the upper furnace can contribute significantly to runoff problems by causing dams and spout plugging, increasing the load of smelt pool to be removed, decreasing bed temperatures, and lowering the sulfidity of the smelt leaving the furnace.

Sootblowing technology used in recovery boilers originated from that used in coal-fired boilers. It started with manual cleaning with hand lancing and hand blowing, and evolved slowly into online sootblowing using retractable sootblowers. Since 1991, intensive research and development has focused on sootblowing jet fundamentals and deposit removal in recovery boilers. The results have provided much insight into sootblower jet hydrodynamics, how a sootblower jet interacts with tubes and deposits, and factors influencing its deposit removal efficiency, and have led to two important innovations: fully-expanded sootblower nozzles that are used in virtually all recovery boilers today, and the low pressure sootblowing technology that has been implemented in several new recovery boilers. The availability of powerful computing systems, superfast microprocessors and data acquisition systems, and versatile computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling capability in the past two decades has also contributed greatly to the advancement of sootblowing technology. High quality infrared inspection cameras have enabled mills to inspect the deposit buildup conditions in the boiler during operation, and helped identify problems with sootblower lance swinging and superheater platens and boiler bank tube vibrations. As the recovery boiler firing capacity and steam parameters have increased markedly in recent years, sootblowers have become larger and longer, and this can present a challenge in terms of both sootblower design and operation.

There have been limited studies on the potential use of enzymes for enhancing the dewaterability of biosludge. The mechanisms for such enhancement have not been investigated despite the environmental advantages of using enzymes over synthetic polymers for biosludge conditioning. In order to find enzymes with this potential, a screening of commercially available enzymes was carried out using capillary suction time to assess biosludge dewaterability. The only enzyme that showed dewatering improvements in the screening tests was a lysozyme which reduced the capillary suction time by 36% and increased the cake solids content from 5.6 to 8.9 DS%. Lysozyme aided in the flocculation of particles reducing the polymer demand from 11% to 6%. Active and inactive lysozyme exhibited a similar ability for enhancing sludge dewatering, indicating that the conditioning mechanism of lysozyme is similar to that of a flocculant.

The agglomeration of bed material is one of the most serious problems in combustion of biomass in fluidized-bed boilers, due to the presence of some inorganic alkali elements such as K and Na in the biomass ash, which form low-melting-point alkali compounds during the process. In this study, agglomeration behaviors of bed materials (silica sand particles) were investigated in a bench-scale bubbling fluidized-bed reactor operating at 800 °C using simulated biomass ash components: KCl, K2SO4, and a mixture of KCl and K2SO4 at eutectic composition (molar ratio K2SO4/(KCl+ K2SO4)=0.26). The signals of temperature and differential pressure across the bed were monitored while heating up the fluidized bed of silica sand particles premixed with various amounts of KCl, and the KCl-K2SO4 mixture in bubbling bed regime. A sharp decrease in temperature and differential pressure was observed around 750 °C and 690 °C for 0.4–0.6 wt% loading of the low melting-point KCl and KCl-K2SO4 mixture, respectively, suggesting the formation of bed material agglomeration and even de-fluidization of the bed. Moreover, this work demonstrated the effectiveness of kaolin and aluminum sulfate to minimize agglomeration. The results indicated that these additives could successfully prevent the formation of agglomerates by forming compounds with high melting points.

Burning biomass fuels generates large quantities of ash products which contain plant nutrients, such as Ca, Mg, P and K. To return these nutrients back to forest soil, biomass ash could be spread onto forest soil. Although biomass ash land application can decrease soil acidity and restore soil nutrient balance, its high alkalinity presents some challenges in terms of direct land application. The high alkalinity affects the leachability of various ash components and adversely affects ground vegetation. In this paper, we will show how CO2 can be used to effectively decrease ash alkalinity. The use of CO2 aqueous solubility and bicarbonate reactivity will be shown to be essential. From the study, we found that the rate of CO2 absorption depends heavily on the moisture content of the ash. Thus, the amount of water that needs to be added to the cooled ash products is important. The rate is also influenced by the CO2 partial pressure in the gas, up to almost 15% by volume. This concentration of CO2 is commonly found in treated flue gas providing an opportunity for CO2 capture. The work also reports on the effect of carbonation on the leachability of ash nutrients.

Pugliese, S., Jones, T., Preston, M. D., Hazlett, P., Tran, H. and Basiliko, N. 2014. Wood ash as a forest soil amendment: The role of boiler and soil type on soil property response. Can. J. Soil Sci. 94: 621–634. Wood ash is produced in large quantities in Canada as a by-product of the pulp and paper, sawmill, and bioenergy industries and it is anticipated that its disposal in landfills will not be a viable option. An alternative option may be to use it to amend forest soils. Wood ash is a complex mixture and its composition depends on several variables, including the combustion parameters of the boiler in which it is generated. We present an analysis of the amendment of two Canadian forest soils (a Brunisol from the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence and a Luvisol from the Carolinian forest regions of Ontario) with six different wood ashes collected from different biomass boilers through short-term controlled incubations. We show that following an 8-wk incubation period, amendment of the soils with wood ash led to small to moderate increases in soil pH, but had little effect on soil microbial activity and biomass. The concentration of important base cations such as calcium, magnesium and potassium as well as phosphorus generally increased in both soil types following amendment with different ash. This practice can return nutrients lost from forest ecosystems during harvesting; however, effects were found to be boiler-specific. Lastly, we show that four ash types led to small increases in cadmium in either soil; the concentration of all other measured heavy metals was not significantly increased following amendment, and in certain cases decreased, particularly with lead. The only potentially negative aspect encountered was elevated sodium, particularly with ash from one boiler, but unacceptable Na-absorptivity ratios were not exceeded. These results demonstrate that with proper characterization and selection of wood ash type and application rates, amendment of Canadian forest soils with wood ash may benefit forest ecosystems and is unlikely to disrupt the chemical and biological processes in soil environments.

This study investigated orange-peel pyrolysis due to solar radiation that was applied as a unique source of energy using a parabolic-trough solar concentrator. An optical analysis was conducted using a Monte Carlo ray-tracing method to provide a detailed tridimensional description of the optical performance of the thermo-solar system. The average irradiance of the pyrolytic reactor surface was 15.65 suns. The peak irradiance was very similar to that calculated using the ray-tracing method, confirming that the operational conditions were optimal. The heat balance was analyzed by applying optical and thermodynamic principles. The main heat losses were caused by the reflectivity of the biomass (37.85%) and the difference between the temperatures of the environment and the reactor (36.23%). The solar pyrolytic reactor reached a peak temperature of 465 °C at the middle of the focal line. The total weight loss of the orange peels was 79 wt.% at an average irradiance of 12.55 kW/m2. Furthermore, substances valuable to the energy, chemical and pharmaceutical industries were identified in the bio-oil that was produced during solar pyrolysis, such as (Z)-9-octadecenamide, diisooctyl phthalate, squalene, d -limonene, and phenol.

The electrical resistivity of ash particles is an important parameter that determines the efficiency of electrostatic precipitators. This systematic study examines the resistivity of recovery boiler precipitator ash as a function of electrical field strength, time of exposure, particle composition, and gas composition and temperature. Synthetic ash and actual ash samples from several pulp mills are used. The results show that most ash samples tested had a resistivity between 109 and 1010 Ω·cm, but one of the samples had an unusually high resistivity, 1012 Ω·cm. The resistivity increases with temperature up to about 140°C, then decreases. At a given temperature, the resistivity decreases with increasing moisture and sulfur dioxide concentration in the gas. Resistivity also increases with an increase in chloride content in the ash, but is not affected by the carbonate, sulfate, and potassium contents. The results imply that recovery boilers burning liquors with high solids and high chloride contents produce ash with higher resistivity, making it more difficult for electrostatic precipitators to capture.

Difficulties in dewatering of biosludge result in economical and environmental issues for wastewater treatment plants. Various attempts have been made to overcome this problem by achieving some pretreatment on biosludge. The main purpose of all pretreatment methods is to modify the biosludge characteristics in such a way to boost settling of cells and solid particles of sludge, and to ease the release of water molecules from extracellular polymeric substances and cells and to facilitate flow of water through forming filter cake. The present work presents an overview of different properties of sludge and their measurement, the main reasons of sludge dewatering difficulty, the fundamentals of sludge dewatering and various proposed methods for sludge pretreatment. The advantages and drawbacks of different methods are described and the dominance of one over the others is discussed mostly with respect to energy requirement and environmental impacts. Some recommendations have been made for optimal application of each method.

Fouling of heat-transfer surfaces by fireside deposits can be of significant concern in industrial boilers burning poor-quality fuel. It is commonly controlled by sootblowers that blast deposits with high-pressure supersonic steam or air jets. However, sootblowing is expensive, which motivates efforts to fundamentally understand how sootblower jets behave and how they interact with heat-exchanger geometries and deposits, to guide efforts to improve and optimize sootblower use. Here, we report on the development of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to predict the flow behavior of sootblower jets, work that began with the customization of a research code but has more recently led to an implementation using the commercial CFD software ANSYS Fluent, which makes the model more accessible to the wider engineering community. CFD model results are compared to experimental data that we obtained for jet flow within model tube bank geometries, which are representative of superheaters and generating banks in...

Zn and Cl have been found in deposits in municipal solid waste (MSW) boilers and industrial boilers. This leads to the general belief that ZnCl2 may play a role in corrosion of heat-transfer tubes, owing to its low melting temperature and high corrosivity. In this study, the thermal stability of the compounds ZnCl2, ZnSO4, and ZnO as well as mixtures of ZnCl2 and NaCl/KCl was investigated by means of thermogravimetric analysis/differential scanning calorimetry (TGA/DSC). The reactions of the Zn compounds with SO2/SO3 and HCl were also investigated. The results obtained show that ZnCl2 melts at 320 °C. Above 400 °C, ZnCl2 vaporizes and is partly oxidized to ZnO. ZnSO4 is stable up to 680 °C, at which it decomposes and, subsequently, forms ZnO above 900 °C. ZnO is stable at a much higher temperatures but can be chlorinated to ZnCl2 in the presence of HCl at temperatures around 300 °C. In the presence of a large amount of NaCl/KCl, which is typically the case in actual boilers, ZnCl2 reacts with NaCl/KCl to ...

A systematic study was performed in the laboratory and in the field to examine the effect of magnesium oxide additive on deposit accumulation and removal. Laboratory results show that the additive has little effect on the amount of deposits collected on a probe, but it can make deposits easy to remove if a coating layer thicker than 30 μm can be effectively applied on the probe surface. The results also show that mixing the additive with black liquor or injecting it separately has no significant effect on deposit accumulation and removal. Tests performed in a recovery boiler where the additive was continuously injected show no evidence for the existence of the coating layer. The magnesium oxide content in the boiler deposits varied between 0.1 and 0.4 wt%, which is several times lower than the amount that was found to be effective in laboratory tests. Nonetheless, the additive was shown to be effective in facilitating deposit removal if it can form a coating layer on deposit/tube surfaces. This may be possible by periodically injecting a large amount of additive into the boiler for a short period and reducing the black liquor firing rate at the same time.

The effects of flashing on black liquor spray patterns were investigated by analyzing numerous spray images obtained from laboratory experiments using small scale splashplate nozzles with water and experiments using actual size splashplate nozzles with black liquor. The results showed that flashing produces small droplets and increases droplet velocity. The liquor mass flow rate varies with direction: the rate is higher at the center than at the sides of the spray sheet, particularly at a lower excess temperature. At a higher excess temperature, however, the mass distribution becomes more uniform across the spray sheet. Criteria were developed for predicting the onset of flashing and for estimating the mean droplet size of the black liquor spray under flashing conditions.

Scaling, the formation of hard deposits, in green liquor handling systems is a persistent problem in many kraft pulp mills. Scaling is commonly believed to be a result of pirssonite (Na2CO3·CaCO3·2H2O) formation when the green liquor total titrateable alkali (TTA) is high. In this study, we characterized 12 scale samples obtained from 10 kraft pulp mills using various analytical methods, including TGA/DSC (thermogravimetric analysis/differential scanning calorimetry), XRF (X-ray fluorescence spectrometry), XRD (X-ray diffraction spectrometry), SEM (scanning electron microscopy), and EMPA (electron microprobe analyzer). The analysis identified only four of these samples as pirssonite; the remaining consisted mostly of calcite (CaCO3). The reason for the predominant presence of calcite in the majority of the scale samples is not known. It may be a result of selective dissolution of sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) from the pirssonite scale during the time when the green liquor total TTA was low, leaving the insoluble CaCO3 behind.

Sootblowers used to control deposit accumulation on boiler tubes consume substantial amounts of costly high pressure steam; this cost motivates the study of sootblowers and development of improved sootblowing strategies. This paper reviews recent research done on sootblowing at the University of Toronto on three fronts. First, the breakup behavior of brittle deposits impacted by a supersonic gas jet was experimentally studied. Results reveal that crack formation is vital to deposit breakup: to effectively break a deposit, the jet must drill into the deposit and crack it in the short time that the deposit is exposed to the jet. Second, the interactions between a supersonic jet and various tube geometries were visualized to understand sootblower jet flow between boiler tube bundles. Images show that sootblower jet flow and penetration between platens is strongly affected by any interaction between the jet and the first tube of the platen. Finally, a CFD model of a turbulent supersonic sootblower jet was developed. The model yields results that are in good agreement with available laboratory and in situ sootblower measurements.

Two additional field trial studies were conducted in different kraft recovery boilers in Sweden using force-measurement probes to determine the force of sootblower jets under various blowing conditions. The results confirm the findings of previous trials that, at a given distance, the force exerted on a target by a fully expanded sootblower jet increases nearly linearly with an increase in lance pressure. At a given lance pressure, the jet force decreases drastically as the distance between the sootblower nozzle and the target increases. At a distance farther than 1 m from the nozzle, the jet retains less than 10% of its original strength. The studies also show clearly that the size and shape of the target have a significant effect on the force exerted on it by the jet. A flat surface receives a greater force from the jet than a target with an inclined surface.

The change of variables (see [G. Kleinstein, Quart. J. Appl. Math., 20 (1962), pp. 49–54], and also see [G. Kleinstein, J. Spacecraft, 1 (1964), pp. 403–408]) applied to the mean flow equations for a free compressible axisymmetric shear layer is extended to the turbulence model equations. This reduces these nonlinear PDEs to the form of nonhomogeneous cylindrical heat transfer equations, which can be integrated using Green's functions. The integration results in a fixed point problem, the solution to which is obtained numerically. The method is validated against experimental data of free axisymmetric compressible turbulent jets, and good agreement is obtained.

In late 2008, a survey on lime kiln operation and fuel usage was conducted through questionnaires distributed to pulp mills in nine countries. Responses were received from 59 pulp mills, totaling 67 lime kilns. This paper discusses the key findings from the survey with respect to kiln design parameters, operating data, control strategies, fuel types, energy consumption, and operating issues. Where possible, comparisons were made with findings obtained from a similar survey conducted in 1991. Over the past two decades many improvements have been made in kiln design and operation. Included are a larger number of kilns equipped with product coolers and lime mud dryers, along with changes designed to deliver higher mud dry solids content to the kiln. However, ring formation and dusting/high dust load remain the major operational issues among the respondents. Although few kilns have used alternative fuels to date, there is considerable industry interest in their use in the future. About two-thirds of the kilns have plans for implementing alternative fuels within the next five years.

The authors also wish to acknowledge Tero Karttunen and Markku Tanttu of YTI Research Centre for their assistance with probe design and construction of the probe, together with Lars-Gunnar Magnusson of Andritz, for their leading role in the collection of field data. Thanks also due to the SCA Ob - bola mill for providing the test site and help during the trials. This work was conducted as part of the research program on “Increasing Energy and Chemical Recovery Efficiency in the Kraft Process,” jointly supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and a con - sortium of the following companies: AbitibiBowater, Alstom Power, Andritz, Babcock & Wilcox, Boise Paper Solutions, Carter Holt Harvey, Celulose Nipo-Brasileira, Clyde-Berge - mann, Diamond Power International, Domtar, DMI Peace River Pulp, Fabria, Georgia Pacific, International Paper, Irving Pulp & Paper, Metso Power, MeadWestvaco, StoraEnso Re - search, and Tembec.

The recovery boiler at the Irving Pulp and Paper Saint John, NB, mill has been through several major retrofits to increase its original firing capacity of 1100 metric tons/day of black liquor dry solids to the present level of 1680 metric tons/day. Many problems have been encountered over the years, including tube corrosion and cracking, as well as plugging of flue gas passages, but they all have been overcome through operational changes and process optimization. The latest challenge is to increase throughput without experiencing high total reduced sulfur (TRS) levels that would impact the environment and jeopardize compliance. An optimization program has been in place at the mill since December 2008 to further increase boiler production while maintaining environmental performance. The program, which automates liquor addition at full capacity according to targeted stack gas O2 and TRS levels, enables the boiler to operate at lower stack gas O2 targets and to achieve a 2%-3% increase in liquor throughput, while keeping TRS emissions under compliance.

Severe corrosion led to an in-service failure of one of the six spouts on a recovery boiler at Cenibra. The failure resulted in a large amount of cooling water entering the boiler and contacting smelt around the spout opening, but fortunately no smelt-water explosion occurred. An extensive investigation was conducted to determine the causes of the spout failure. The failure was caused by insufficient cooling water flow to the smelt spout, which, in turn, was caused by a sequence of events that occurred after a general blackout of an electrical energy system at the mill. The experience has led to the development and placement of operating and maintenance procedures that ensure adequate cooling water flows to smelt spouts to prevent future failures.