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Experimental Investigation on NO x Reduction by Primary Measures in Biomass Combustion: Straw, Peat, Sewage Sludge, Forest Residues and Wood Pellets

Author

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  • Ehsan Houshfar

    (Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Kolbjørn Hejes Vei 1B, Trondheim NO-7491, Norway)

  • Terese Løvås

    (Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Kolbjørn Hejes Vei 1B, Trondheim NO-7491, Norway)

  • Øyvind Skreiberg

    (SINTEF Energy Research, Trondheim NO-7465, Norway)

Abstract

An experimental investigation was carried out to study the NO x formation and reduction by primary measures for five types of biomass (straw, peat, sewage sludge, forest residues/Grot, and wood pellets) and their mixtures. To minimize the NO x level in biomass-fired boilers, combustion experiments were performed in a laboratory scale multifuel fixed grate reactor using staged air combustion. Flue gas was extracted to measure final levels of CO, CO 2 , C x H y , O 2 , NO, NO 2 , N 2 O, and other species. The fuel gas compositions between the first and second stage were also monitored. The experiments showed good combustion quality with very low concentrations of unburnt species in the flue gas. Under optimum conditions, a NO x reduction of 50–80% was achieved, where the highest reduction represents the case with the highest fuel-N content. The NO x emission levels were very sensitive to the primary excess air ratio and an optimum value for primary excess air ratio was seen at about 0.9. Conversion of fuel nitrogen to NO x showed great dependency on the initial fuel-N content, where the blend with the highest nitrogen content had lowest conversion rate. Between 1–25% of the fuel-N content is converted to NO x depending on the fuel blend and excess air ratio. Sewage sludge is suggested as a favorable fuel to be blended with straw. It resulted in a higher NO x reduction and low fuel-N conversion to NO x . Tops and branches did not show desirable NO x reduction and made the combustion also more unstable. N 2 O emissions were very low, typically below 5 ppm at 11% O 2 in the dry flue gas, except for mixtures with high nitrogen content, where values up to 20 ppm were observed. The presented results are part of a larger study on problematic fuels, also considering ash content and corrosive compounds which have been discussed elsewhere.

Suggested Citation

  • Ehsan Houshfar & Terese Løvås & Øyvind Skreiberg, 2012. "Experimental Investigation on NO x Reduction by Primary Measures in Biomass Combustion: Straw, Peat, Sewage Sludge, Forest Residues and Wood Pellets," Energies, MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-21, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:5:y:2012:i:2:p:270-290:d:16019
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    1. Andrzej Greinert & Maria Mrówczyńska & Radosław Grech & Wojciech Szefner, 2020. "The Use of Plant Biomass Pellets for Energy Production by Combustion in Dedicated Furnaces," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-17, January.
    2. Zadravec, Tomas & Rajh, Boštjan & Kokalj, Filip & Samec, Niko, 2021. "Influence of air staging strategies on flue gas sensible heat losses and gaseous emissions of a wood pellet boiler: An experimental study," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 532-548.
    3. Adolfas Jančauskas & Kęstutis Buinevičius, 2021. "Combination of Primary Measures on Flue Gas Emissions in Grate-Firing Biofuel Boiler," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-16, February.
    4. Andrzej Greinert & Maria Mrówczyńska & Wojciech Szefner, 2019. "The Use of Waste Biomass from the Wood Industry and Municipal Sources for Energy Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-19, May.
    5. Małgorzata Wzorek, 2020. "Evaluating the Potential for Combustion of Biofuels in Grate Furnaces," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-15, April.
    6. Artur Kraszkiewicz & Artur Przywara & Stanisław Parafiniuk, 2022. "Emission of Nitric Oxide during the Combustion of Various Forms of Solid Biofuels in a Low-Power Heating Device," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-19, August.
    7. Tianyou Chen & Honglei Jia & Shengwei Zhang & Xumin Sun & Yuqiu Song & Hongfang Yuan, 2020. "Optimization of Cold Pressing Process Parameters of Chopped Corn Straws for Fuel," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-21, February.
    8. Shim, Sung Hoon & Jeong, Sang Hyun & Lee, Sang-Sup, 2014. "Reduction in nitrogen oxides emissions by MILD combustion of dried sludge," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 29-35.
    9. Ozgen, S. & Cernuschi, S. & Caserini, S., 2021. "An overview of nitrogen oxides emissions from biomass combustion for domestic heat production," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    10. Luigi F. Polonini & Domenico Petrocelli & Simone P. Parmigiani & Adriano M. Lezzi, 2019. "Influence on CO and PM Emissions of an Innovative Burner Pot for Pellet Stoves: An Experimental Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-13, February.
    11. Patience Afi Seglah & Yajing Wang & Hongyan Wang & Yuyun Bi, 2019. "Estimation and Efficient Utilization of Straw Resources in Ghana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-25, August.
    12. Pegoretti Leite de Souza, Hector Jesus & Muñoz, Fernando & Mendonça, Regis Teixeira & Sáez, Katia & Olave, Rodrigo & Segura, Cristina & de Souza, Daniel P.L. & de Paula Protásio, Thiago & Rodríguez-So, 2021. "Influence of lignin distribution, physicochemical characteristics and microstructure on the quality of biofuel pellets made from four different types of biomass," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 1802-1816.
    13. Xiaorui Liu & Zhongyang Luo & Chunjiang Yu & Bitao Jin & Hanchao Tu, 2018. "Release Mechanism of Fuel-N into NO x and N 2 O Precursors during Pyrolysis of Rice Straw," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-13, February.
    14. Rodolfo Picchio & Raffaello Spina & Alessandro Sirna & Angela Lo Monaco & Vincenzo Civitarese & Angelo Del Giudice & Alessandro Suardi & Luigi Pari, 2012. "Characterization of Woodchips for Energy from Forestry and Agroforestry Production," Energies, MDPI, vol. 5(10), pages 1-14, September.
    15. Andrzej Greinert & Maria Mrówczyńska & Wojciech Szefner, 2019. "Study on the Possibilities of Natural Use of Ash Granulate Obtained from the Combustion of Pellets from Plant Biomass," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-19, July.
    16. Díaz-Ramírez, Maryori & Sebastián, Fernando & Royo, Javier & Rezeau, Adeline, 2014. "Influencing factors on NOX emission level during grate conversion of three pelletized energy crops," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 360-373.
    17. María E. Arce & Ángeles Saavedra & José L. Míguez & Enrique Granada & Antón Cacabelos, 2013. "Biomass Fuel and Combustion Conditions Selection in a Fixed Bed Combustor," Energies, MDPI, vol. 6(11), pages 1-17, November.
    18. Zhang, Li-hui & Chyang, Chien-Song & Duan, Feng & Li, Pin-Wei & Chen, Sing-Yu, 2016. "Comparison of the thermal behaviors and pollutant emissions of pelletized bamboo combustion in a fluidized bed combustor at different secondary gas injection modes," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 116(P1), pages 306-316.
    19. Yarima Torreiro & Leticia Pérez & Gonzalo Piñeiro & Francisco Pedras & Angela Rodríguez-Abalde, 2020. "The Role of Energy Valuation of Agroforestry Biomass on the Circular Economy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-13, May.
    20. Javier Royo & Paula Canalís & Sebastián Zapata & Maider Gómez & Carmen Bartolomé, 2022. "Ash Behaviour during Combustion of Agropellets Produced by an Agro-Industry—Part 2: Chemical Characterization of Sintering and Deposition," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-20, February.

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