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Combustion and emission of pelletized empty fruit bunch and oil palm shell in a swirling fluidized bed combustor

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Abstract

Climate change and its associated impact have been one of the biggest challenges to mankind today. Alternative fuels are therefore sought to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emission which was believed to be the main reason for global warming. In Malaysia, biomass is available in abundance, thus making it as the preferred renewable energy in comparison with other sources. In the present work, an innovative combustion technique for biomass is proposed, designated as the swirling fluidized bed combustor (SFBC). The SFBC augments the biomass-air mixing through secondary motion created inside the bed. This was achieved by using annular blade distributor which allows inclined injection of air at the bottom of the bed, simultaneously creating fluidization and swirling. The experimental study was carried out using two types of biomass from the palm oil industry, namely the pelletized empty fruit bunch (PEFB) and oil palm shell (OPS). Ultimate and proximate analyses were done to characterize both of the biomass prior to combustion experiments. The effect of excess air on combustion efficiency and emission was studied for four different percentages: 16.55%, 20.07%, 27.91%, and 35.82% at a constant biomass feed rate of 54.26 kg/h for PEFB and 48.91 kg/h for OPS. Emissionmeasured during combustion indicates that the SFBC system is capable of reducing the CO and NOx for all excess air provided while the increase of CO2 emission shows that improved conversion of biomass has taken place in the SFBC. Average combustion efficiency of 98.4% was obtained for PEFB and 99.5% for OPS, showing the potential to utilize SFBC in commercial scale in Malaysia.

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Data availability

All data were obtained via a series of experiments carried out from the developed experimental setup. Some data were cited from available literature (as listed in the References).

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Funding

The research was funded by Research Management Center, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia via contract grant (vot no. U525).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Energy and Industrial Environment Studies (CEIES), Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, 86400 Parit Raja, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia

    Mohd Faizal Mohideen Batcha, Muhammad Fazli Othaman, Sulastri Sabudin, Akmal Nizam Mohammed, Mohammad Kamil Abdullah & Mas Fawzi Mohd Ali

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  1. Mohd Faizal Mohideen Batcha
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  2. Muhammad Fazli Othaman
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  3. Sulastri Sabudin
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  4. Akmal Nizam Mohammed
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  5. Mohammad Kamil Abdullah
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  6. Mas Fawzi Mohd Ali
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Correspondence to Mohd Faizal Mohideen Batcha.

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Batcha, M.F.M., Othaman, M.F., Sabudin, S. et al. Combustion and emission of pelletized empty fruit bunch and oil palm shell in a swirling fluidized bed combustor. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 10, 755–763 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-020-00903-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-020-00903-x

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