A Review of Biomass Thermal Analysis, Kinetics and Product Distribution for Combustion Modeling: From the Micro to Macro Perspective

Abstract

Driven by its accessibility, extensive availability, and growing environmental consciousness, solid biomass has emerged as a viable alternative to enhance the diversity of renewable energy sources for electricity generation. To understand the phenomena involved in solid biomass conversion, it is necessary not only to understand the stages of the biomass combustion process but also to understand specifically the kinetics of the reaction and the release of the volatiles. The present work presents an overview of the existing literature on several topics related to the biomass combustion process, its characterization, as well as strategies to develop simple and effective models to describe biomass conversion with a view to the future development of numerical simulation models. Since the focus of most of the investigations is the development of a numerical model, a summary and identification of the different model assumptions and problems involved in thermal analysis experiments are presented. This literature review establishes the significance and credibility of the research, providing the main concepts and assumptions with a critique on their validity. Hence, this work provides specific contributions from a multi-scale perspective which can further be extended to provide insights into the design and optimization of biomass combustion technologies, such as boilers and furnaces.

Characterization of Indonesian Sugar Palm Bunch (Arenga longipes Mogea) Properties for Various Utilization Purposes

“…Therefore, SPB of A. longipes had potential as raw material for the production of surfactant. The thermal properties were identified using TGA, which was a powerful instrument for studying the devolatilization rate throughout the biomass combustion process and obtaining critical information for characterizing and understanding its behavior [56]. According to the results, SPB of A. longipes experienced gradual degradation up to a temperature of 350 °C, showing it had good thermal values.…”

The Experimental Analysis of Biochar Combustion in a Traveling Grate Furnace

“…The combustion process of the char pellets began with heating, followed by the drying and releasing of volatile species (which, due to the low content, were irrelevant), and then the char combustion was initiated [25,37]. Typically, this phase began between 200 and 250 s after the introduction of the batch, with the peak temperature being reached approximately between 350 and 450 s.…”

“…During the literature review conducted in this study, relevant works in biomass combustion in fluidized beds, specifically charcoal [22][23][24][25], were identified, along with several works developed in chemical kinetics [26][27][28][29]. However, the investigation of charcoal burning in other combustion systems, such as the traveling bed system, is still limited and requires additional analysis.…”