The market for solid biofuels will grow rapidly during the coming years, and there will be a great demand for raw materials. This will force the existing fuel base to also cover wooden materials of lower qualities as well as agricultural raw materials and residues, which often show unfavorable ash-melting temperatures. This may lead to combustion-related problems. Thus, for the utilization of lower quality fuels, it is important to be able to predict potential fuel ash-related problems such as slagging. In light of this, the first objective of the present paper was to evaluate the applicability of previously defined indices for slagging of biomass fuels (phosphorus-poor) in fixed bed combustion. The evaluation showed that none of the previously suggested indices in the literature are suitable for qualitative (nor quantitative) prediction of slagging during fixed bed combustion of P-poor biomass fuels. Hence, a second objective was to develop improved novel fuel indices that can be applied to estimate the slagging of phosphorus-poor biomass in fixed bed combustion. The novel fuel indices give a qualitative prediction of the slagging tendency in biomass fixed bed combustion but still needs additional work to further extend the compositional range as well as to fine tune the indices’ boundaries.

This paper is the first in a series of two describing the use of waste gypsum boards as an additive during combustion of biomass. This paper focuses on experiments performed in a bench-scale bubbling fluidized-bed reactor (5 kW). Three biomass fuels were used, i.e., wheat straw (WS), reed canary grass (RC), and spruce bark (SB), with and without addition of shredded waste gypsum board (SWGB). The objective of this work was to determine the effect of SWGB addition on biomass ash transformation reactions during fluidized bed combustion. The combustion was carried out in a bed of quartz sand at 800 or 700°C for 8 h. After the combustion stage, a controlled fluidized−bed agglomeration test was carried out to determine the defluidization temperature. During combustion experiments, outlet gas composition was continuously measured by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. At the same place in the flue gas channel, particulate matter was collected with a 13-stage Dekati low-pressure impactor. Bottom and cyclone fly ash samples were collected after the combustion tests. In addition, during the combustion tests a 6-h deposit sample was collected with an air-cooled (430°C) probe. All ash samples were analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry for elemental composition and with X-ray powder diffraction for the detection of crystalline phases. Decomposition of CaSO 4 originating from SWGB was mainly observed during combustion of reed canary grass at 800°C. The decomposition was observed as doubled SO 2 emissions. No significant increase of SO 2 during combustion of SB and WS was observed. However, the interaction of SWGB particles with WS and SB ash forming matter, mainly potassium containing compounds, led to the formation of K 2 Ca 2 (SO 4 ) 3 .

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The demand for increased overall efficiency, improved fuel flexibility, and more stringent environmental legislations promotes the development of new fuel- and technology-related concepts for the bioenergy sector. Previous research has shown that careful consideration of the fuel ash composition and the adjustment of the same via various routes, i.e., fuel design, have the potential to alter the ash transformation reactions, leading to, e.g., a reduction of the formation of slag or entrained inorganic ash particles. The objective of the present work was, therefore, to demonstrate the use of fuel design as a primary measure to reduce the emission of PM1 during combustion of woody biomass in medium-scale grate-fired boilers while keeping the slag formation at a manageable level. This was achieved by designing fuel blends of woody biomass with carefully selected Scandinavian peats rich in Si, Ca, and S. The work includes results from three experimental campaigns, performed in three separate grate-fired boilers of different sizes, specifically 0.2 MWth, 2 MWth, and 4 MWth. In one of the campaigns, softwood-based stemwood pellets were copelletized with different additions of peat (5 and 15 wt %) before combustion. In the other campaigns, peat was added in a separate fuel feed to Salix chips (15 wt % peat) and softwood-based stemwood pellets (10 and 20 wt % peat). Particulate matter and bottom ashes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy for morphology and elemental composition as well as by powder X-ray diffraction for crystalline phase composition. The results show that the fuel design approach provided PM1 reduction for all fuel blends between 30 and 50%. The PM1 reduction could be achieved without causing operational problems due to slagging for any of the three commercial boilers used, although an expected increased slagging tendency was observed. Overall, this paper illustrates that fuel design can be implemented on an industrial scale by achieving the desired ash transformation reactions, in this case, leading to a reduction of fine particulate emissions by up to 50% without any operational disturbances due to slag formation on the grate.

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