Quantitative elemental detection of size-segregated particles using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

In order to simulate coal combustion and develop optimal and stable boiler control systems in real power plants, it is imperative to obtain the detailed information in coal combustion processes as well as to measure species contents in fly ash, which should be controlled and analyzed for enhancing boiler efficiency and reducing environmental pollution. The fly ash consists of oxides (SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, CaO, and so on), unburned carbon, and other minor elements. Recently laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technique has been applied to coal combustion and other industrial fields because of the fast response, high sensitivity, real-time and non-contact features. In these applications it is important to measure controlling factors without any sample preparation to maintain the real-time measurement feature. The relation between particle content and particle diameter is also one of the vital researches, because compositions of particles are dependent on their diameter. In this study, we have detected the contents of size-segregated particles using LIBS. Particles were classified by an Anderson cascade impactor and their contents were measured using the output of 1064 nm YAG laser, a spectrograph and an ICCD camera. The plasma conditions such as plasma temperature are dependent on the size of particles and these effects must be corrected to obtain quantitative information. The plasma temperature was corrected by the emission intensity ratio from the same atom. Using this correction method, the contents of particles can be measured quantitatively in fixed experimental parameters. This method was applied to coal and fly ash from a coal-fired burner to measure unburned carbon and other contents according to the particle diameter. The acquired results demonstrate that the LIBS technique is applicable to measure size-segregated particle contents in real time and this method is useful for the analysis of coal combustion and its control because of its sensitive and fast analysis features. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.