The direct firing of coal produces particulate matter that has to be removed for environmental and process reasons. In order to increase the current advanced coal combustion processes, under the U.S. Department of Energy's auspices, Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation (SWPC) has developed ceramic candle filters that can operate at high temperatures. The Coal Research Center of Southern Illinois University (SIUC), in collaboration with SWPC, developed a program for long-term filter testing at the SIUC Steam Plant followed by experiments using a single-filter reactor unit. The objectives of this program funded by the U.S. Department of Energy were to identify and demonstrate the stability of porous candle filter elements for use in high temperature atmospheric fluidized-bed combustion (AFBC) process applications. These verifications were accomplished through extended time slipstream testing of a candle filter array under AFBC conditions using SIUC's existing AFBC boiler. Temperature, mass flow rate, and differential pressure across the filter array were monitored for a duration of 45 days. After test exposure at SIUC, the filter elements were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy and BET surface area analyses. In addition, a single-filter reactor was built and utilized to study long term filter operation, the permeability exhibited by a filtermore » element before and after the slipstream test, and the thermal shock resilience of a used filter by observing differential pressure changes upon rapid heating and cooling of the filter. The data acquired during the slipstream test and the post-test evaluations demonstrated the suitability of filter elements in advanced power generation applications.« less