Emissions from an Oil-Fired Furnace Burning MgO Containing Fuel Oils

Abstract

Low‐grade heavy oils are generally used as fuel oils for combustion systems of industrial or marine power‐plants such as boilers, furnaces, diesel engines, etc. for the pursuit of fuel economy. However, the burning of those fuel oils containing various organic or inorganic compounds of impurities in fuel ash leads to the formation of various very complex oxidation products in the burnt gas, resulting in the deterioration of atmospheric air quality and serious corrosion failures of construction materials. To combat the corrosion problems, some chemical agents such as MgO or CaO are considered as possible corrosion inhibitors. The MgO or CaO additive would react with other metallic compounds in fuel ash to form flying burnt salt with high melting point and adhere to the metal surface, consequently resulting in a decrease of the corrosion rate. In contrast to the understanding of MgO on the corrosion mechanism, the investigation of MgO on the emission characteristics of combustion systems is still rather limited. In this study a small oil‐fired furnace is employed to systematically investigate the effects of MgO addition on the emissions, burning efficiency and gas temperature. The results show that the addition of MgO causes higher burning gas temperature, CO2 concentration and lower O2 and SO2 concentrations. In addition, the combustion efficiency is promoted with the addition of MgO.