Characterization of the ozone effect on a scraped off fouling sample

Fouling deposition on combustion system elements is a problem of interest to the industry. This experimental work analyzes the degradation of fouling using ozone as oxidizing agent. Two independent test benches were used for the experiments, a fouling test bench and an ozone test bench. The fouling generation tests are performed under controlled conditions to obtain characterized fouling. The ozone tests performed are divided into three groups: pre-tests, A-tests and B-tests. The pre-tests were used to determine the effect of different variables affecting the oxidation process. The A, B-tests were performed to characterize the oxidation process under different scenarios. During the ozone treatment tests, flow rate, ozone concentration, temperature and duration of the test were controlled to obtain the fouling mass loss measurement. Finally, an analytical expression was obtained that characterizes the sample mass variation as a function of the input variables, maximizing the reaction between the fouling and ozone. [Display omitted] •This study explores ozone treatment as a novel technique for fouling mitigation.•The most important parameters involved were identified and evaluated.•Total Ozone Mass Normalized (TOMN) was employed to analyse test results.•It was observed that there is a direct relationship between TOMN and mass loss.•The high oxidizing power of ozone was demonstrated for the removal of fouling.