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Combustion characteristics of pelletized-biomass fuels: a thermogravimetric analysis and combustion study in a fluidized-bed combustor

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Abstract

This work aimed to investigate the combustion characteristics of rubberwood sawdust pellet (RSP), teak sawdust pellet (TSP), eucalyptus bark pellet (EBP), cassava rhizomes pellet (CRP), and their corresponding raw biomass. The experiments were performed in a thermogravimetric (TG) analyzer and a fluidized-bed combustor (FBC). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was conducted in the temperature range of 30–1000 °C at a heating rate of 10 °C/min in a dry air atmosphere. The combustion experiments were conducted in a twin-cyclone FBC at 120 kilowatts (kWth) heat input with three values of excess air (EA): 40, 50, and 60%. The combustion reactivity of the pellets was lower than raw biomasses, as indicated by higher values of peak, ignition, and burnout temperatures, as well as a lower comprehensive performance index value. The activation energies of the biomass pellets were greater than the as-received biomasses, indicating that the biomass pellets required higher energy and temperature and a longer time for complete combustion. The pellet fuels had a higher residence time and better mixing of the fuel and bed particles, leading to higher combustion intensity in a fluidized bed. Carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbon (CxHy), and nitric oxide (NO) emissions of the combustor when firing the pellets were lower compared to the burning of as-received biomasses. When firing the pellets at optimal EA (about 40%), the combustor operated at high combustion efficiency of 99.0–99.8%. This study indicated that the biomass pellets have desirable combustion characteristics that could be used as alternative fuels for sustainable energy production.

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Abbreviations

A:

Ash content in fuel (wt.%)

A :

Pre-exponential factor

C:

Carbon content in fuel (wt.%)

Cfa :

Unburned carbon content in fly ash (wt.%)

CO:

Carbon monoxide (ppm)

CR:

Cassava rhizomes

CRP:

Cassava rhizomes pellet

CxHy :

Hydrocarbon (ppm)

DTG:

Differential thermogravimetric

DTGmax :

Maximum burning rate (%/min)

DTGmean :

Average weight loss rate (%/min)

E a :

Activation energy (kJ/mol)

EA:

Excess air (%)

EB:

Eucalyptus bark

EBP:

Eucalyptus bark pellet

FBC:

Fluidized-bed combustor

FC:

Fixed carbon content in fuel (wt.%)

H:

Hydrogen content in fuel (wt.%)

LHV:

Lower heating value, kJ/kg

m τ :

Actual mass (at time τ) of the sample (kg)

m 0 :

Initial mass of the sample (kg)

m f :

Final mass of the sample (kg)

n :

Reaction order

N:

Nitrogen content in fuel (wt.%)

NO:

Nitric oxide, ppm

O:

Oxygen content in fuel (wt.%)

q ic :

Heat loss due to incomplete combustion (%)

q uc :

Heat loss due to unburned carbon (%)

r :

Correlation coefficient

RS:

Rubberwood sawdust

RSP:

Rubberwood sawdust pellet

S:

Sulfur content in fuel (wt.%)

S i :

Comprehensive performance index (%2/min2·°C3)

T :

Absolute temperature (°C)

T b :

Burnout temperature (°C)

TG:

Thermogravimetric

TGA:

Thermogravimetric analysis

T ig :

Ignition temperature (°C)

T p :

Peak temperature (°C)

TS:

Teak sawdust

TSP:

Teak sawdust pellet

u :

Superficial air velocity at the air distributor exit (m/s)

u mff :

Minimum velocity of full fluidization (m/s)

V dg@6% O2 :

Volume of flue gas per 1 kg fuel on a dry basis and at 6% O2 (m3/kg)

VM:

Volatile matter in fuel, wt.%, on as received basis

W:

Moisture content in fuel, wt.%, on as received basis

Z :

Level along the combustor height above the air distributor, m

α :

Mass conversion ratio

β :

Heating rate (ºC/min)

η c :

Combustion efficiency (%)

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to sincerely acknowledge the financial support received from Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI), Phetchaburi Rajabhat University, and the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Technology, Silpakorn University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Advanced Combustion Technology and Energy Systems (LACTES), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Technology, Silpakorn University, Nakhon Pathom, 73000, Thailand

    Porametr Arromdee

  2. Division of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Technology, Phetchaburi Rajabhat University, Phetchaburi, 76000, Thailand

    Pichet Ninduangdee

Authors
  1. Porametr Arromdee
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  2. Pichet Ninduangdee
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Contributions

PA: Designed and performed experiments, and undertook systematic review, statistical analysis, original drafting, and revision writing. PN: Undertook conceptualization, performed experiments, undertook data curation interpretation, writing, reviewing, revision writing and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pichet Ninduangdee.

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The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Appendix A: Models for determining combustion-related heat losses and combustion efficiency

Appendix A: Models for determining combustion-related heat losses and combustion efficiency

The heat-loss method (Basu et al., 2000) was used to quantify combustion efficiency of the twin-cyclone FBC when firing the proposed biomass.

The heat loss owing to unburned carbon, quc (%LHV) was predicted by using the measured fraction of unburned carbon in fly ash carried over from the combustor (Cfa, wt%) determined using a "Perkin Elmer PE2400 Series II" CHNS/O elemental analyzer, the fuel-ash content (A, wt%, on as-received basis), and the fuel lower heating value (LHV, kJ/kg, on an as-received basis) as:

$$q_{{{\text{uc}}}} = \frac{32,866}{{{\text{LHV}}}}\left( {\frac{{{\text{C}}_{{{\text{fa}}}} }}{{100 - {\text{C}}_{{{\text{fa}}}} }}} \right){\text{A}}$$
(A1)

The heat loss owing to incomplete combustion, qic (%LHV), was quantified using the above-calculated quc and CO and CxHy (as CH4) emissions (in ppm, on a dry gas basis and at 6% O2) as:

$$q_{{{\text{ic}}}} = (126.4\;{\text{CO}} + { 358}{\text{.2 CH}}_{{4}} {)}_{{@6\% {\text{O}}_{2} }} 10^{ - 4} V_{{{\text{dg}}@6\% {\text{O}}_{2} }} \frac{{(100 - q_{{{\text{uc}}}} )}}{{{\text{LHV}}}}$$
(A2)

where Vdg@6% O2 is calculated according to Kuprianov and Arromdee (2013) using the fuel composition on “as-received” basis. The combustion efficiency of the fluidized-bed combustors, \(\eta_{{\text{c}}}\) (%LHV), was then determined as:

$$\eta_{{\text{c}}} = 100 - (q_{{{\text{uc}}}} + q_{{{\text{ic}}}} )$$
(A3)

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Arromdee, P., Ninduangdee, P. Combustion characteristics of pelletized-biomass fuels: a thermogravimetric analysis and combustion study in a fluidized-bed combustor. Energ. Ecol. Environ. 8, 69–88 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40974-022-00263-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40974-022-00263-4

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