Fuel Processing Technology 88 (2007) 1035 – 1043

www.elsevier.com/locate/fuproc

A comprehensive slagging and fouling prediction tool for coal-fired

boilers and its validation/application
Zhanhua Ma a,⁎, Felicia Iman a , Pisi Lu a , Rod Sears a , Lingbu Kong b , A.S. Rokanuzzaman b ,
Donald P. McCollor b , Steven A. Benson b
a
RMT, Inc., 744 Heartland Trail, Madison, WI 53717, United States
b
Energy and Environmental Research Center, The University of North Dakota, 15 North 23rd Street, Grand Forks, ND 58202, United States

Abstract

RMT, Inc., a subsidiary company of Alliant Energy Corporation, and the University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research
Center (EERC) have developed an ash behavior prediction tool, called AshProSM, to assess slagging and fouling in coal-fired boilers. This tool
integrates boiler computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations with ash behavior models including ash formation, transport and deposition, as
well as deposit growth and strength development. AshProSM was applied to a 512-MW tangentially-fired boiler at Wisconsin Power & Light's
Columbia Energy Center to evaluate the localized slagging on furnace walls and fouling in convective pass. The predicted boiler ash deposition
pattern is reasonably consistent with that observed on the furnace walls and super heater division panels. The prediction of slag state transition
(solid/liquid) through deposit viscosity was verified by the observation in the plant.
© 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Slagging; Fouling; Coal-fired boiler

1. Introduction [2] have been developed. However, no integration of these

programs with boiler models to predict the deposit formation
The ash from coal combustion has been a long-standing and growth in local areas in the boiler and its impact on heat
problem for the power generation industry, causing reductions transfer has occurred.
in thermal efficiency and unit availability and increases in In the past few years, with funding from Alliant Energy,
operating and maintenance costs for coal-fired boilers. Histor- RMT SmartBurn® and the University of North Dakota Energy
ically, power plant engineers and operators had limited tools
available to respond to changes in coal quality in order to
minimize ash-related problems.
The ash deposition problem is dependent on fuel composi-
tion, boiler design, and operating conditions. In general many of
the chemical and physical processes involved in ash formation
and deposition are understood and this understanding has
assisted many utilities in minimizing ash deposition problems in
utility boilers. Many of these processes have been formulated
into computer codes. For example, computer codes to predict
the particle-size and composition distribution (PSCD) of the ash
produced upon combustion [1] and simplified transport, depo-
sition, and growth programs for specific locations in the boiler

⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 608 662 5126.

E-mail address: zhanhua.ma@rmtinc.com (Z. Ma). Fig. 1. CFD model geometry of a tangentially-fired boiler.

0378-3820/$ - see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.fuproc.2007.06.025
1036 Z. Ma et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 88 (2007) 1035–1043

Fig. 2. Deposit thickness (mm) on furnace rear wall close to corner 3 SOFA and furnace wall picture at a similar location.

and Environmental Research Center (EERC) have developed an
ash behavior prediction tool to assess slagging and fouling in
coal-fired boilers called AshProSM. The development of this
tool combines EERC's coal ash behavior expertise and RMT
SmartBurn®'s expertise in combustion, CFD modeling and
boiler operation. AshProSM integrates ash behavior models
including ash formation, transport, deposition, and growth with
boiler CFD simulations [3]. A unique advantage of AshProSM is
that it can be used to evaluate the localized slagging and fouling
problems that are related to actual operating conditions. There-
fore, it can be used to identify the major causes of ash deposition
so that measures to reduce the problem can be implemented.
2. Ash behavior models and the integration with CFD
simulations
The inorganic coal components undergo complex physical
and chemical transformations during combustion to produce
vapors, liquids, and solid phases in the flame. The abundance
and chemical characteristics of these phases depend on how
the inorganic species are associated in the fuel and on
combustion conditions. The partitioning of the inorganic
components into the various phases during combustion and
gas cooling involves a continuum of complex interrelated
chemical reactions and physical transformations. The

Fig. 3. Ash impaction (kg/m2–s), deposit thickness (mm), temperature (K), deposit strength (Pa) on the furnace walls.
 Z. Ma et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 88 (2007) 1035–1043 1037

Fig. 4. Deposit thickness (mm) on super heater division panel and plant picture at a similar location.

processes have been described in detail in previous reports formation due to low melting point minerals, mineral-mineral
and include vaporization/gas phase reactions along with reactions, and mineral-organically associated element reac-
condensation, nucleation and agglomeration; liquid particle tions; and solid particle formation, which involves mineral

Fig. 5. Heat flux comparison between prediction and sensor readings (E2 and E3).
1038 Z. Ma et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 88 (2007) 1035–1043

Fig. 6. Deposit growth and removal at different location of furnace wall.

grains having high melting points and solidification of liquid
particles during gas cooling.
Combustion conditions in the boiler also influence the phy-
sical transformation of the inorganic constituents. As a result of
these interacting mechanisms, the ash size distribution is mul-
timode with a sub-micron fraction, intermediate fraction (1 to
5 μm), and a larger super-micron fraction at about 10 to 15 μm.
The sub-micron fraction mostly generated from the homoge-
neous condensation of flame-vaporized inorganic elements and
very small mineral grains. The intermediate size fraction is
derived from organically associated elements such as calcium
and magnesium and is typical of low rank coals. The larger ash
fraction stems from the discrete mineral grains. The types of
phases that are responsible for the liquid-phase components are
dependent upon the initial components present in the coal and
the operating condition of the plant. The abundance and sta-
bility of the phases are dependent upon temperature and oxygen
environment. The types of phases include oxides, sulfides,
silicates and sulfates. Higher-temperature deposits contain high
levels of silicate phases that bond the deposit together. High
temperature and low oxygen levels can result in the formation of
reduced oxides, metals, and sulfide based deposits. Lower-
temperature deposits that form in the convective passes of utility
boilers have high levels of sulfate phases that bond the particles
together. The deposit heterogeneity changes with temperature
and location in the boiler.
The EERC developed an ash transformation (ATRAN) com-
puter model, which is a sub-module of AshProSM, to predict the
PSCD of ash produced during the combustion of coal [4–6].
This technique uses advanced analytical characterization data,
boiler parameters, and a detailed knowledge of the chemical and
physical transformations of inorganic components during com-
bustion to predict the PSCD of the resulting ash. The PSCD of
the ash directly impacts deposit growth, deposit strength de-
velopment, and ash collectability.
The transport of intermediate ash species (i.e., inorganic
vapors, liquids, and solids) is a function of the state and size of
the ash species and system conditions such as gas flow patterns,

Fig. 7. Deposit composition at location E2 and E3.

 Z. Ma et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 88 (2007) 1035–1043 1039

gas velocity, and temperature. The primary mode of particle
transport to heat-transfer surfaces is inertial impaction. The
PSCD of ash predicted by ATRAN sub-module of AshProSM is
incorporated with a boiler CFD model to simulate ash particle
transport behavior and to estimate ash impaction rates on boiler
heat transfer surfaces.
The combination of the CFD and ATRAN models provide
predictions of ash impacting on the furnace walls, the particle
temperature and velocity, and PSCD. Upon impaction on the
heat-transfer surfaces, ash particles may be captured or rebound
depending on the overall effective stickiness, which is a function
of impacting particle stickiness and existing deposit surface
stickiness. The stickiness of ash particles upon impaction on a
heat-transfer surface, defined as the probability of the retention
of the particle on a surface, is a function of several variables such
as surface tension, kinetic energy, and viscosity. The overall
sticking efficiency, which decides whether an impacting particle
is captured or not, is also related to the stickiness of the surface,
which is coupled with the deposit surface properties. Once the
overall sticking efficiency and ash impaction rate are obtained,
the deposition rate is estimated by AshSlagging sub-module of
AshProSM to predict deposit growth and heat transfer through
the deposit. In addition, deposit strength development and
deposit removability are also estimated using AshSlagging sub-
module of AshProSM.
In the current CFD model, tube banks in the convective pass
are modeled as porous media that allow prediction of gas flow
resistance, gas temperature, and heat flux because of the

Fig. 8. a: Impact of soot-blowing frequency on deposit thickness (mm). b: Impact of soot-blowing frequency on furnace wall heat flux (kW/m2).
1040 Z. Ma et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 88 (2007) 1035–1043

complex geometry. Therefore, it does not provide detailed
information about ash particle trajectories in the convective pass
of the boiler. To predict fouling deposit formation in this region,
the CFD model is used to obtain the spatial distribution of ash
particles in a plane at the boiler nose. This information, along
with gas velocity and temperature, is used by the FOULER sub-
module of AshProSM to predict high-and low-temperature foul-
ing. FOULER is a mechanistic model developed by the EERC
to predict the fouling that occurs in the convective pass of a
coal-fired utility boiler.
AshProSM results in localized ash deposition prediction,
which is used to guide changes in boiler operations to take
corrective action with various coal feeds to maximize unit
availability, by minimizing ash-related forced outages, and op-
timize soot-blowing effectiveness in the boiler to minimize
operating cost.
3. Results and discussion
A CFD model was developed for Wisconsin Power & Light's
Columbia Unit 1 [7,8], a tangentially-fired (T-fired) 1975-vin-
tage 512 MW boiler. Columbia Unit 1 was one of the first-
generation T-fired units designed to burn Powder River Basin
(PRB) coal and therefore has a small firebox with a high heat
release. The geometry of the boiler CFD model is illustrated in
Fig. 1. The results from the CFD model provide the basic
information used in the ash behavior model.
Fig. 2 shows the deposit thickness prediction from Ash-
Slagging sub-module of AshProSM on the furnace rear wall and
a picture of deposit at a similar location taken from the boiler.
The deposit pattern is reasonably consistent, particularly in the
near separated over-fired air (SOFA) region. This indicates that
the model is providing the right prediction although the

Fig. 9. Side view of ash impaction (kg/m2–s) on the furnace rear wall from individual and all corners.
 Z. Ma et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 88 (2007) 1035–1043
Fig. 10. Fire ball rotation in the furnace (top view).
accuracy could be improved as the fine tuning of the ash
behavior models and better integration between CFD simulation
and the ash behavior models are conducted.
Fig. 3 shows the ash impaction, deposit thickness, tempe-
rature, and deposit strength predictions on the rear and right
furnace walls for 6 h of operation without soot-blowing. It is
evident that the ash impaction has significant impacts on the
deposit formation and growth. However, the deposit thickness is
not exactly the same as the ash impaction pattern because the
deposit formation and growth is also affected by furnace wall
and/or deposit surface temperature. The deposit thickness im-
pacts the furnace wall heat transfer property. As the deposit
grows, the thermal resistance increases. Deposit strength is
determined by the overall effect of deposit temperature, chemi-
Fig. 11. Fouling deposit on tubes in convective pass.
1041
cal composition, and deposit thickness. In some region of the
furnace wall, the deposit strength is relatively high while the
deposit is not thick.
The deposit thickness prediction from the AshSlagging sub-
module of AshProSM on super-heater (SH) division panels and
a boiler picture in a similar location are shown in Fig. 4. The
deposit pattern predicted on the bottom section of SH division
panels is consistent with plant picture. This is a good qua-
litative verification of the slagging model, and also gives
justification that the deposits on the bottom SH division panels
are mainly caused by slagging instead of high temperature
fouling.
Fig. 5 shows heat flux changes at 1.65 hour soot-blowing
cycle at the E2 and E3 heat flux sensors location on the furnace
wall. The prediction and the heat flux reading have similar
patterns. The maximum value of heat flux from prediction is
slightly lower than the measurement at the E2 sensor location.
The difference may be caused by different heat input in the
modeling and actual operation. It may also mean that the deposit
thermal resistance evaluation needs to be further fine-tuned to
improve the prediction.
Comparison of deposit thickness and viscosity trends at E2
and E3 sensors location on the furnace wall are shown in Fig. 6.
Ash deposit at E3 grows faster than at E2 mainly due to higher
ash impaction rate. As the deposit grows, the deposit surface
temperature increases and the viscosity decreases. At about
13 mm after 1.5 h, the deposit changes into liquid phase, starts
to flow and stops growth. It also becomes difficult to remove by
sootblowing.
The major and minor chemical compounds of the deposit at
E2 and E3 sensors location are shown in Fig. 7. The initial
layers of the deposits are more enriched in calcium in both
locations. This is consistent with characteristics of deposits
produced in power plants. The initial layers are composed of
smaller particles that are transported to the heat transfer surface
by diffusion and thermophoresis. As the deposit grows, more of
1042 Z. Ma et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 88 (2007) 1035–1043

Fig. 12. Fouling evaluation with input from CFD results on SH Platen pendants.

the larger aluminum-and silicon-rich particles are deposited, the first and second corner upstream to the specific wall (corner
and the deposit will approach the bulk composition of the ash. 4 and corner 3). High ash impaction from corner 4 has signi-
This is the reason that the deposit composition becomes stable ficant contribution to the deposit formation near corner 3 upper
although the deposit is continuing to grow and the deposit SOFA port. This demonstrates that the AshSlagging sub-
temperature is changing. The deposit composition changes module of AshProSM could be used to identify the causes to the
slightly when soot-blowing occurs. There is also some dif- slagging problem in the specific region of the furnace wall so
ference of composition between the deposit at the two locations. that measures to reduce the problem can be implemented.
The fraction of magnesium and aluminum in the deposit at E2 With the input information of ash particle spatial distribution,
location is lower than at E3 location while the fraction of flue gas velocity, and flue gas temperature from CFD
sodium and silicon in the deposit at E2 location is higher than at
E3 location. These difference may be attributed to the different
particle size and composition of the incoming ash particles and
will impact the viscosity of the deposit.
Fig. 8a and b demonstrates soot-blowing impact on deposit
thickness and heat flux on rear and right furnace walls after 6 h
of operation. Soot-blowing effectiveness at a 3-hour cycle is
worse compared to a 2-hour cycle, and results in less heat being
transferred to the wall. Optimized soot-blowing scenarios can
be implemented at the plant to ensure higher frequency cleaning
in the region of high ash impaction and less frequency cleaning
in the lower ash impaction region. This strategy helps the plant
to optimize soot-blowing usage to improve heat transfer to the
furnace walls, while maintaining the same cost and avoiding
over soot-blowing.
The contribution of ash particles from each individual corner
to deposit formation and growth on a specific furnace wall is
evaluated and shown in Fig. 9. The fire ball rotation is counter
clockwise: from corner 1 to corner 4, corner 3, and corner 2, as
illustrated in Fig. 10. The ash impaction on the lower furnace
walls (burner region) are mostly contributed by ash particles
from the first corner upstream to the furnace wall (corner 3). On
the upper furnace walls, most of the ash impaction comes from Fig. 13. Impact of soot-blowing cycle on fouling deposit removal.
 Z. Ma et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 88 (2007) 1035–1043
simulations, the FOULER sub-module of AshProSM was used
to predict high-and low-temperature fouling at some specific
locations of convective pass pendants. Fig. 11 depicts the
typical mechanism of upstream and downstream ash deposit on
convective pass pendants as compared to the plant picture of the
deposit.
Fig. 12 indicates that the flue gas temperature at the top and
middle sections of SH platen bank are much lower than the
bottom section, which falls to low temperature fouling category.
The high calcium content in the PRB coal used in this unit has
significant impact on this low temperature fouling. As the
temperature increases, the fouling deposit is much easier to
remove due to the decomposition of the sulfate-based deposit.
The downstream deposit is less compared to the upstream
deposit. The lower flue gas velocity in the middle bank section
causes less downstream deposit as compared to the top and
bottom bank section due to a weaker eddy effect.
The impact of the soot-blowing cycle on the fouling deposit
removal in the middle section of SH platen is shown in Fig. 13.
As the cleaning frequency decreases (longer soot-blowing
period), the permanent deposit remaining on the tubes increases
and the soot-blowing effectiveness is deteriorated.
4. Conclusion
The integration of CFD simulations with ash behavior mo-
dels enables AshProSM to provide a qualitative and quantitative
description of the fireside slag formation and deposition pro-
cesses within the coal fired boiler. As a result, the prediction tool
can be used to determine the deposit thickness, chemical com-
position, physical properties and heat transfer properties in a
specific region of the furnace wall and convective pass. It
provides the engineer or researcher a powerful tool to assess the
combined impact of ash formation and deposition phenomena
on power plant performance and can be used to assess the
impact of fuel quality, ash properties, fouling, slagging, etc. in
the operation of coal-fired power plants for design and opera-
tional purposes. Further efforts are making in improving the
1043
accuracy of the prediction from this tool through fine-tuning of
the ash behavior models and better integration of CFD simu-
lations and the ash behavior models.
Acknowledgements
The Authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from
Alliant Energy Corporation and the information provided by the
plant engineers at Columbia Energy Center.
References
[1] S.A. Benson, E.N. Steadman, C.J. Zygarlicke, T.A. Erickson, Ash for-
mation, deposition, corrosion, and erosion in conventional boilers, in: L.
Baxter, R. DeSollar (Eds.), Applications of Advanced Technology to Ash-
Related Problems in Boilers, Plenum Press, New York, 1996, pp. 1–15.
[2] S.A. Benson, E.A. Sondreal, Impact of low-rank coal properties on ad-
vanced power systems, Ash Chemistry: Phase Relationships in Ashes,
Special Issue of Fuel Process. Technol., 56 (1-2), 1998, pp. 129–142.
[3] E. Vásquez, Z. Ma, S.A. Benson, Advanced Prediction Tools for Ash
Formation and Deposition in Coal-Fired Boilers, Clearwater, April 18-22
2004, The Clearwater Coal Conference, Florida, USA.
[4] E.N. Steadman, C.J. Zygarlicke, S.A. Benson, M.L. Jones, A Micro
analytical Approach to the Characterization of Coal, Ash, and Deposits,
Seminar on Fireside Fouling Problems; ASME Research Comm. on Cor-
rosion and Deposits from Combustion Gases: Washington, DC, 1990.
[5] Zygarlicke, C.J. Predicting Ash Behavior in Conventional and Advanced
Power Systems: Putting Models to Work. In Impact of Mineral Impurities in
Solid Fuel Combustion; Gupta, R. Ed.; Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publish-
ers: New York, 1999; pp 709–722.
[6] L. Yan, R.R. Jensen, J.D. Laumb, S.A. Benson, Predicting ash particle size
and composition distribution from coal biomass cofiring, Proceedings of
Engineering Foundation Conference, Production in the 21st Century:
Impacts of Fuel Quality and Operations, Snowbird, Utah, October 28
November 2 2001.
[7] E. Vásquez, R. Sears, Combustion control techniques achieve 0.15 lbs/
MMBtu NOx levels without SCR, Power Engineering, vol. 107 (1), January
2003, pp. 39–42.
[8] E. Vásquez, F. Mara, D.J. Maas, Z. Ma, K. McQuistan, H. Gadalla, F. Iman,
Application of SmartBurnSM Technology for NOx Control in Tangentially
Fired Coal Boilers, PowerGen International, December 9-11 2003, Power
Gen International Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada USA.