Study on the Similarity of the Parameters of Biomass and Solid Waste Fuel Combustion for the Needs of Thermal Power Engineering

Abstract

The topic raised in this paper concerns an important aspect regarding the possibilities of the combustion and co-combustion of biomass substrates (energetic willow/sewage sludge), in light of the renewable energy source (RES) regulations, with fuel from waste defined here as RDF. Particular interest in these fuels and their mixtures results from a search by the thermal power engineering sector for fuels whose combustion will be associated with benefits, e.g., the acquisition of energy origin licenses, availability and lower cost of obtaining fuel (RDF), as well as moderate investment contributions using the existing base of coal grate boilers. This article indicates the possible variants of the combustion and co-combustion of the abovementioned fuels, referring to the use of technical and technological capabilities of coal grate furnaces. It was possible by comparing the mechanical and thermal load of grates, as well as so-called indicators for the quantitative assessment of combustion (i.e., ignition rate and mass loss rate). The result of the combustion of the fuel as above in a laboratory-scale furnace (samples weighing up to 1 kg), as well as their thermogravimetric analysis, indicates a great similarity of the mass loss curve, temperature profiles and combustion phases, as well as indicators of a quantitative assessment in the process of biomass and RDF oxidation. The obtained results of the mechanical and thermal load capacity of the grates constitute the basis for further analyses of fuel conversion, without the risk of thermal and/or mechanical grate overload. Relying on the research of the indicators for the quantitative assessment of combustion, it was found that the combustion process of the tested fuels could be carried out while maintaining the quality of burning the fuel layer. Based on the conducted research, it can be assumed that it is possible to replace coal fuels with biomass, RDF fuel, sewage sludge using coal furnaces for their combustion, which means a hybrid nature of the furnace due to the type of fuel.

Comparison of Pyrolysis and Combustion Processes of Vinyl Floor Panels Using Thermogravimetric Analysis (TG-FTIR) in Terms of the Circular Economy

“…The goal of the analysis was to determine specific fuel properties and elemental composition [33]. The primary tests were conducted with the application of the following standards: PN-EN 15934:2013-02.…”

“…Testing via TG-MS/FTIR was carried out using the STA 409 PG Luxx thermogravimetric analyzer from Netzsch (NETZSCH-Gerätebau GmbH, Selb, Germany) on a TG carrier coupled with a quadrupole mass spectrometer QMS Aeolos (NETZSCH-Gerätebau GmbH, Selb, Germany) and a medium infrared spectrometer (FTIR) Tensor 27 from Bruker (Billerica, MA, USA). The tests were carried out in two ways, analyzing the processes of both pyrolysis and combustion [25,33].…”

“…The VP1 sample was ground in a cryogenic mill to a grain size below 0.2 mm to ensure its homogeneity and proper contact with the bottom of the crucible. In order to eliminate traces of oxygen in the thermal mixer, the OTS (Oxygen Trap System) system was used [33]. The corrections were applied three times to the measurements to compensate for the uncertainty.…”

Synergetic Co-Production of Beer Colouring Agent and Solid Fuel from Brewers’ Spent Grain in the Circular Economy Perspective

“…Such loss of hydroxyl groups could potentially contribute to the hydrophobic character of torrefied products [111,[117][118][119]. [42,61,97,111,115,120]).…”

“…Figure 7. Torrefied BSG on Van Krevelens' diagram (locations of different solid fuels adapted from[42,61,97,111,115,120]). …”