Development of a comprehensive model for evaluating slagging characteristics in the Co-combustion of coal and biomass

Slagging during the co-combustion of coal and biomass poses significant challenges to boiler safety and efficiency. Existing research lacks a comprehensive and systematic slagging prediction approach to accurately assess the slagging risks associated with different coal and biomass combinations. To address this gap, this study investigates the slagging behavior of anthracite (AN) and three types of crop residues through ash fusion temperature (AFT) tests, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. In addition, an E-PLS slagging evaluation model was established using the entropy weight (EW) method and partial least squares regression (PLSR). The ash fusion temperature (AFT) results show that the slagging tendency of the three biomass is moderate, while anthracite has a low slagging tendency. With the addition of biomass, the slagging tendency of the samples increases. XRD analysis confirms that the addition of biomass promotes the reaction between quartz and potassium, sodium, and calcium compounds, enhancing the diffraction intensity of calcium feldspar, potassium feldspar, and sodium feldspar. The E-PLS evaluation results indicate that the slagging tendency of the three biomass is moderate, and anthracite has a low slagging tendency, which is consistent with the experimental results, demonstrating the accuracy of this method. The findings provide a useful reference for predicting slagging tendencies during the co-combustion of biomass and coal.