Study of alkali resistance of refractory materials used in boilers operating on wood fuel

Abstract

Using the ASTM C 454–83 method alkali resistance is studied for various refractories (chamotte brick, traditional and medium-cement chamotte concrete) used most often in power generation boilers operating on wood fuel. Resistance to alkali of medium-cement concrete developed by the authors with a filler prepared from sinter grade Gorkal-50 (produced by the Gorka Plant, Poland) is also studied. It is established that use of milled quartz sand additive improves resistance of the test cement significantly towards the action of alkaline salt (K2CO3 is used in the work) at 1100°C. It is shown that the test additive during action of alkali facilitates formation of a protective layer that prevents penetration of K2CO3 decomposition products into the material structure.