Three kinds of pore-forming agents (corn flour, starch, and biochar) were selected to prepare dolomite-based porous ceramic catalyst carriers with good mechanical properties. Pore-forming agents occupy space within preformed agglomerates, such that after the pyrolysis and sintering have been completed there are spaces within the resulting ceramic material. Porous ceramic samples prepared with biochar exhibited high apparent porosity and water absorption. By contrast, the apparent porosity of the porous ceramic samples prepared with starch as the pore-forming agent was low. When the ratio of the dolomite to quartz sand in the ceramic aggregate was changed from 4:6 to 3:7, the change of the apparent porosity of the porous ceramic samples made with starch as a pore-forming agent was very small, with high bulk density and compressive strength. Compared with corn flour and biochar, starch was less suitable as a pore-forming agent for porous ceramics. The apparent porosity and water absorption of the porous ceramics prepared with biochar as a pore-forming agent decreased slightly. But its bulk density and thermal conductivity were increased. This is mainly attributable to the fact that biochar is lighter, but it performs well in terms of mechanical strength and thermal conductivity.

The structure of large biomass circulating fluidized bed (BCFB) boilers is complex, and control schemes for coal-fired boilers cannot be simply applied to biomass boilers. Multivariable coupling and operational disturbances are also common issues. In this study, a state space model of a 130 t/h BCFB boiler was established under different operating conditions. Using the 100% operating point as an example, a model predictive controller was designed and tested under output disturbance and input disturbance conditions. The results show that the predictive control system designed in this study has a fast response speed and good stability.