The significance of fly ash in wet-dry scrubbing of SO2

A bench scale flue gas desulphurization spray dry scrubbing unit was employed to study the effect of fly ash on the removal of SO2. The equipment consisted of a spray dryer with and ultrasonic nozzle for atomization and a pulse jet baghouse. The flue gas rate was 1500 lN/h (dry gas). Four fly ashes, originating from different countries were investigated. The alkalinity and reactivity of the fly ashes were determined in a pH-stat equipment. Pure fly ash removed SO2 in both the spray dryer and in the baghouse. An increase of humidity divided the fly ashes into two groups. The high calcium fly ash gave a considerably higher SO2 removal than the medium and low calcium fly ashes which showed similar SO2 removals. Fly ash did not enhance the removal of SO2 when added to a lime slurry because lime suppresses the dissolution of the alkali in the fly ashes. The pressure drop build-up in the fabric filter showed a strong dependence on material properties.