Prediction of the behaviour of biomass ash in fluidized bed combustors and gasifiers

Two types of agricultural residues (wheat straw and olive residue) in untreated and pretreated (fractionation, leaching) form were tested as concerns their ash melting behaviour during fluidized bed combustion and gasification by means of thermal analysis techniques. The techniques applied included DSC, simultaneous DSC/TG and TG-MS for the determination of low-temperature ash melts and losses caused by the volatilization of alkali material. In combination with ash elemental analyses on the materials, the applied techniques proved to offer valuable information for prediction of the ash behaviour in fluidized bed reactors.