Mitigation of skull formation in high temperature gas extraction system

Abstract

The adverse impact of particle adhesions and agglomerations on gas flow performance is a prominent concern in high volume extraction systems. The formation of severe skull deposits, involving agglomeration and adhesion processes, particularly at elevated operation temperatures, necessitates labor­intensive and costly manual removal. Consequently, investigating conditions that promote increased skull generation and exploring mechanisms for spontaneous removal through crack formation and chipping are of great significance. This study comprehensively documents the operational conditions of an industrial extraction system, accom panied by elemental gas phase composition analyses. Additionally, the chemical compositions of agglomerated adhesion samples were assessed using X­ray diffraction (XRD) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP­OES), and their inner structure was examined through SEM. Subsequently, mechanisms leading to these build­ups were simulated on laboratory scale by covering original wall surface samples with agglomeration powder screened for a defined particle size. In experiments conducted at various high temperatures ranging from 800 °C to 1200 °C, while varying the CaCO3 content levels in the powders, a layered structure similar to the real system was successfully acquired. Moreover, under certain defined conditions and different atmospheres, crack formation, significantly impacting the chipping behavior of the skull formations from wall surfaces during application, was observed and the compressive strength was examined. Through our laboratory experiments, specific operating conditions within the calcination cycle were revealed, leading to a substantial enhancement of autonomous discharge of large particle–wall agglomerations. Based on these findings, we propose general process optimization steps to improve the overall performance of the extraction system, such as reduction of fine CaCO3 particles and reduction of the gas flow temperature.

Keywords

• adhesion
• particle agglomeration
• skull formation
• high temperature
• gas extraction system
• compressive strength