Monitoring of Ammonia in Biomass Combustion Flue Gas Using a Zeolite-Based Capacitive Sensor

The emissions from biomass combustion systems have recently been the subject of increased attention. In addition to elevated concentrations of particulate matter and hydrocarbons (HCs) in the flue gas, significant levels of NOx emissions occur depending on the used fuel, such as biogenic residues. In response to legal requirements, owners of medium-sized plants (≈100 kW) are now also forced to minimize these emissions by means of selective catalytic reduction systems (SCR). The implementation of a selective sensor is essential for the efficient dosing of the reducing agent, which is converted to ammonia (NH3) in the flue gas. Preliminary laboratory investigations on a capacitive NH3 sensor based on a zeolite functional film have demonstrated a high sensitivity to ammonia with minimal cross-influences from H2O and NOx. Further investigations concern the application of this sensor in the real flue gas of an ordinary wood-burning stove and of combustion plants for biogenic residues with an ammonia dosage. The findings demonstrate a high degree of agreement between the NH3 concentration measured by the sensor and an FTIR spectrometer. Furthermore, the investigation of the long-term stability of the sensor and the poisoning effects of SO2 and HCl are of particular relevance to the laboratory measurements in this study, which show promising results.