Quantitative Concentrations of Sodium and Potassium Released from Brown Coal and Pine Wood in a Laminar Premixed Flame Using Libs

Abstract

A quantitative point measurement of total sodium and potassium released during combustion of Australian Loy Yang brown coal particles (23 ± 3 mg) and pine wood pellets (63 ± 3 mg) has been performed using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) in a laminar premixed methane flame at the equivalence ratio (Φ) of 1.287. Calibration was performed using droplets of sodium sulfite (Na2SO3) and potassium sulphate (K2SO4) entrained into the flame. A correction to the calibration curve was applied to compensate for the significant absorption effect caused by atomic alkalis in outer seeded flame, which significantly improved the calibration reliability especially at high concentrations. Hence quantitative release of sodium and potassium during the three phases of combustion, namely devolatilization, char and ash cooking, were obtained. The concentration of total sodium in the plume released from combustion of pine wood pellets during the devolatilization reached up to 15 ppm indicating significant sodium was released in various forms. The strongest concentrations of total sodium and potassium released during char phase of both coal and wood reaching up to 21.3 and 2.4 ppm, 15.5 and 26.3 ppm, respectively. Limit of Detection (LOD) of sodium and potassium with LIBS in the present setup were estimated to be 0.029 and 0.072 ppm, respectively.