The effect of co-firing sewage sludge with used wood on the corrosion of an FeCrAl alloy and a nickel-based alloy in the furnace region

The effect of digested sewage sludge as a fuel additive to reduce corrosion of furnace walls has been studied. The nickel base alloy Alloy 625 and the iron-chromium-aluminium alloy Kanthal APMT™ were exposed for 14.25 h at the furnace wall in a power boiler burning 100% used (also known as waste or recycled) wood. The test was then repeated with the addition of sewage sludge to the waste wood. The samples were chemically analysed and thermodynamically modelled and the corrosion mechanisms were investigated. The results showed that the co-firing of sewage sludge with recycled wood leads to a reduction in the corrosion. Attack by a potassium-lead combination appeared to be the main corrosion mechanism in Alloy 625 during waste wood combustion, while attack by alkali chloride was found to be dominant in APMT alloy.