Ash behaviour and emission formation in a small-scale reciprocating-grate combustion reactor operated with wood chips, reed canary grass and barley straw

Kortelainen, Miika; Jokiniemi, Jorma; Nuutinen, Ilpo; Torvela, Tiina; Lamberg, Heikki; Karhunen, Tommi; Tissari, Jarkko; Sippula, Olli

doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2014.11.006

Cited by 48 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Besides, PM ensuing from the mixing of reed canary grass with a woody material was only 1.3-fold greater than pure wood. This result is supported by the findings of Kortelainen et al [38] and Lamberg et al [39] where aerosol levels from different R-W blends were 1.4 times on average those of wood alone. This indicated that co-combustion of reed canary grass with wood could be an option for small-scale boilers which are capable of operating with fuels comprising moderate quantities of ash [38].…”

Section: Gas and Particulate Emissionssupporting

confidence: 77%

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Effect of Additives and Fuel Blending on Emissions and Ash-Related Problems from Small-Scale Combustion of Reed Canary Grass

et al. 2015

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Agricultural producers are interested in using biomass available on farms to substitute fossil fuels for heat production. However, energy crops like reed canary grass contain high nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), potassium (K) and other ash-forming elements which lead to increased emissions of gases and particulate matter (PM) and ash-related operational problems (e.g., melting) during combustion. To address these problematic behaviors, reed canary grass was blended with wood (50 wt%) and fuel additives (3 wt%) such as aluminum silicates (sewage sludge), calcium (limestone) and sulfur (lignosulfonate) based additives. When burned in a top-feed pellet boiler (29 kW), the four blends resulted in a 17%-29% decrease of PM concentrations compared to pure reed canary grass probably because of a reduction of K release to flue gas. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions varied according to fuel N and S contents. This explains the lower NOx and SO2 levels obtained with wood based products and the higher SO2 generation with the grass/lignosulfonate blend. The proportion of clinkers found in combustion ash was greatly lessened (27%-98%) with the use of additives, except for lignosulfonate. The positive effects of some additives may allow agricultural fuels to become viable alternatives. OPEN ACCESSAgriculture 2015, 5 562

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Section: Gas and Particulate Emissionssupporting

confidence: 77%

“…The positive impact may be based on the diluting effect of the fuel having a lower ash content [18,38,39]. The burning of a blend composed of reed canary grass and wood chips only slightly raised fine particles, NOx and SO2 releases compared to wood alone, while CO and HCl either decreased or remained unchanged [38].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Additives and Fuel Blending on Emissions and Ash-Related Problems from Small-Scale Combustion of Reed Canary Grass

et al. 2015

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“…Previous studies have reported high particulate emissions and increased slagging tendencies of straw pellets, even with improved air staging in domestic appliances ( € Orberg et al 2014;Kortelainen et al 2015), which has limited their use to mainly medium-and large-scale combustion systems (Nordgren et al 2013). When the toxicity of the emissions was evaluated, we found that straw pellet combustion induced the most pronounced inflammatory effects of the pellet fuels, but otherwise the responses were on a similar level to the emissions from the Miscanthus sp.…”

Section: Wheat Straw Pelletsmentioning

confidence: 60%

“…These crops can yield high amounts of biomass per acre of cultivated land in a short time (Brosse et al 2012), but most combustion studies on these fuels have come to similar conclusions: slagging and fouling increase due to the high ash content of the fuels and low ash melting temperatures. Additionally, ash deposits can cause significant corrosion in the burners and boilers Lamberg et al 2013;Kortelainen et al 2015). Another downside to these alternative biomass fuels is that we know very little about the toxicological properties of their emissions and the associated adverse health effects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxicological characterization of particulate emissions from straw,Miscanthus, and poplar pellet combustion in residential boilers

Kasurinen

Jalava

Uski

et al. 2015

Aerosol Science and Technology

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Wood pellets have been used in domestic heating appliances for three decades. However, because the share of renewable energy for heating will likely rise over the next several years, alternative biomass fuels, such as short-rotation coppice or energy crops, will be utilized. We tested particulate emissions from the combustion of standard softwood pellets and three alternative pellets (poplar, Miscanthus sp., and wheat straw) for their ability to induce inflammatory, cytotoxic, and genotoxic responses in a mouse macrophage cell line. Our results showed clear differences in the chemical composition of the emissions, which was reflected in the toxicological effects. Standard softwood and straw pellet combustion resulted in the lowest PM 1 mass emissions. Miscanthus sp. and poplar combustion emissions were approximately three times higher. Emissions from the herbaceous biomass pellets contained higher amounts of chloride and organic carbon than the emissions from standard softwood pellet combustion. Additionally, the emissions of the poplar pellet combustion contained the highest concentration of metals. The emissions from the biomass alternatives caused significantly higher genotoxicity than the emissions from the standard softwood pellets. Moreover, straw pellet emissions caused higher inflammation than the other samples. Regarding cytotoxicity, the differences between the samples were smaller. Relative toxicity was generally highest for the poplar and Miscanthus sp. samples, as their emission factors were much higher. Thus, in addition to possible technical problems, alternative pellet materials may cause higher emissions and toxicity. The long-term use of alternative fuels in residential-scale appliances will require technological developments in both burners and filtration. EDITORTiina Reponen

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“…Tissari et al, 2015;Lamberg et al, 2011b;Hukkanen et al, 2012) and it is also suitable for different emission sources (e.g. Jalava et al, 2010;Kaivosoja et al, 2013;Kortelainen et al, 2015).…”

Section: Emission Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Black carbon and fine particle emissions in Finnish residential wood combustion: Emission projections, reduction measures and the impact of combustion practices

Savolahti

Karvosenoja

Tissari

et al. 2016

Atmospheric Environment

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Ash behaviour and emission formation in a small-scale reciprocating-grate combustion reactor operated with wood chips, reed canary grass and barley straw

Cited by 48 publications

References 50 publications

Effect of Additives and Fuel Blending on Emissions and Ash-Related Problems from Small-Scale Combustion of Reed Canary Grass

Effect of Additives and Fuel Blending on Emissions and Ash-Related Problems from Small-Scale Combustion of Reed Canary Grass

Toxicological characterization of particulate emissions from straw,Miscanthus, and poplar pellet combustion in residential boilers

Black carbon and fine particle emissions in Finnish residential wood combustion: Emission projections, reduction measures and the impact of combustion practices

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