Halogen Salt Sacrificial Probe for Flue Gas Sulfation Measurement

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Solution Overview

Problem

Measuring sulfation performance in flue gas is challenging due to the competition between sulfur trioxide and sulfur dioxide production, making it difficult to evaluate sulfur trioxide production and dosing approaches effectively.

Innovation Solution

A probe with a sacrificial layer containing a halogen salt is attached to a boiler wall, which undergoes chemical transformation when exposed to flue gas, allowing for the determination of sulfation performance by measuring changes in the sacrificial material, specifically converting halogen salts into sulfates indicative of sulfur trioxide activity.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If sulfur trioxide is added to flue gas to prevent corrosion, then corrosion protection is improved, but measurement of sulfation performance becomes difficult

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecorrosion protectionVSAvoidsulfation performance measurement
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a probe with sacrificial material as an intermediary substance that reacts with sulfur trioxide in the flue gas. This mediator allows indirect measurement of sulfation performance through chemical transformation of the sacrificial material, solving the measurement difficulty while maintaining corrosion protection benefits

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The probe uses sacrificial material that is deliberately designed to be consumable and replaceable. The sacrificial layer is applied to the probe surface and undergoes controlled degradation through reaction with flue gas components, allowing repeated use and easy replacement without requiring complex measurement systems

Inventive Principle:
Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

2Reliability

If sulfur trioxide production is increased to enhance sulfation capacity, then corrosion prevention is improved, but competition with sulfur dioxide production increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecorrosion preventionVSAvoidsulfur trioxide production efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The probe provides feedback information about the actual sulfation capacity of the flue gas by measuring the degree of chemical transformation of the sacrificial material. This feedback mechanism allows optimization of sulfur trioxide dosing to achieve effective corrosion protection without excessive production costs

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Measurement precision

If a probe with sacrificial layer is introduced to measure sulfation performance, then measurement capability is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesulfation performance measurementVSAvoidprobe structure
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The measurement system is segmented into a simple probe component with sacrificial material and a separate evaluation system. The probe itself remains structurally simple while the measurement function is distributed to external analysis equipment, reducing overall system complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The probe creates a simplified copy or model of the corrosion environment through the sacrificial layer, which undergoes analogous chemical transformations. This copying approach allows measurement of sulfation performance without requiring direct measurement of the complex flue gas composition

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The probe effectively measures sulfation performance by quantifying the conversion of halogen salts into sulfates, providing insights into sulfur trioxide levels and corrosion prevention, enabling better evaluation and optimization of sulfur trioxide production.

Implementation Method 1

the sacrificial layer... conveniently contains a sacrificial material made of a halogen salt... a conversion of a halogen salt into a sulfate can occur

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectChemical reaction: Chemical Bonding

Data Source

PatentEP4049023B1Method for determining a sulfation output in flue gas
Publication Date: 2024.11.27 CHEMIN
  • EP4049023B1 patent drawingFigure 1~3
  • EP4049023B1 patent drawingFigure 4
  • EP4049023B1 patent drawingFigure 5~7

AI summary

The invention relates to a probe (10) for determining a sulfation output in flue gas, the probe comprising a carrier medium (20) and a sacrificial layer (40) made of a halogen-salt sacrificial material. The invention allows a sulfation output in flue gas to be simply and reliably determined. The invention further relates to an associated boiler arrangement (1) and to an associated method.