Spontaneous Combustion Tendency in Bagasse Stockpiles: Biotic and Abiotic Responses Relation

Review on Self-Heating of Biomass Materials: Understanding and Description

“…A large number of large-scale experiments or trials have been conducted to investigate the self-heating process and characteristics of the storage of biomass materials, ,,,,,,− aimed mainly at managing storage to suppress self-heating and to prevent spontaneous ignition. The experiments simulate industrial scale storage or are conducted just on practical piles. ,,,, Despite the lack of flexibility to manipulate operative conditions and material properties, large-scale experiments allow direct observation of the thermal dynamics and accompanying evolution of the moisture content, off-gassing, and microbial communities.…”

“…A large number of large-scale experiments or trials have been conducted to investigate the self-heating process and characteristics of the storage of biomass materials, ,,,,,,− aimed mainly at managing storage to suppress self-heating and to prevent spontaneous ignition. The experiments simulate industrial scale storage or are conducted just on practical piles. ,,,, Despite the lack of flexibility to manipulate operative conditions and material properties, large-scale experiments allow direct observation of the thermal dynamics and accompanying evolution of the moisture content, off-gassing, and microbial communities. Although spontaneous ignition seldom occurred in the tests, the results served for understanding the characteristics of the self-heating, the precursors of self-ignition, during storage and served as experimental validation for developing a mathematical model to evaluate the propensity for spontaneous ignition or to predict safe storage conditions for a material. , Furthermore, numerous experiments have recently been performed aimed at developing low-cost storage methods that reduce dry matter losses and preserve fuel quality and environmentally efficient storage strategies that minimize health risks related to off-gassing as well as biological emissions and greenhouse gas emissions.…”

“…The materials involved in large-scale experiments are mostly woody biomass including wood chips from forest residues ,,,− and short rotation forestry systems, − barks, ,,,− and wood pellets, , some herbaceous biomass including cereal straws, , sugar cane bagasse, ,, and miscanthus chips, and organic wastes such as sewage sludge. , The materials are mostly moist with the moisture contents sufficiently high for intensive microbial activity, while only a few are dried biomass, for example, wood pellets with intake moisture content of 5–10% , and dried sewage sludge. , The storage size ranges from small piles of tens of cubic meters or tonnes or individual bales of several cubic meters to large piles of tens of thousands of cubic meters or tonnes. The experimental duration ranges from around a month to more than a year.…”

“…The experimental duration ranges from around a month to more than a year. The experimental factors or variables include biomass species, ,− fresh or aged materials, moisture content, particle size, ,,− ,,, storage height, ,, pile form, density, and volume, storage strategy (indoor vs outdoor; covering or not), ,,,, storage time and duration, ,, additives for preservation, , etc. In the experiments, a pile or piles were specifically designed and constructed.…”

“…The experiments simulate industrial scale storage or are conducted just on practical piles. 29,70,78,101,102 Despite the lack of flexibility to manipulate operative conditions and material properties, large-scale experiments allow direct observation of the thermal dynamics and accompanying evolution of the moisture content, off-gassing, and microbial communities. Although spontaneous ignition seldom occurred in the tests, the results served for understanding the characteristics of the self-heating, the precursors of self-ignition, during storage and served as experimental validation for developing a mathematical model to evaluate the propensity for spontaneous ignition or to predict safe storage conditions for a material.…”