1. Sources

The present Combustion File is part of the cluster of CFs produced within the literature survey phase of the industrial sponsored research and development project PowerFlam1 and is confidential to the participants registered for that project.

This CF is specifically concerned with the research project:

Hein, K.R.G. and Spliethoff, H. (1995): Co-combustion of coal and biomass in pulverised and fluidised bed systems, which is published within 2nd International Conference. on Combustion and Emissions Control. 4-5 December, London, UK, pp.127-136.

2. Background

·         This combustion file is concerned with the provision of combustion related data to the sponsors.

·         In this html file the source of the data is summarised in section 4 below, in order to give the reader a general overview of the way the data was collected.

·         Fuel and related data, prepared for calculation, are presented in individual Microsoft Excel Worksheets, all contained within a Workbook.

·         Please note that in some cases, the worksheet tabs within a workbook are not all visible without scrolling horizontally.

·         This workbook can be down-loaded by the reader and saved to her/his hard disk.

·         To achieve this click on the “xls” icon on the left hand side of the banner above. The file will be retrieved from the server, and with up-to-date versions of the browser, will appear in a separate window, from which it may be saved to the user’s hard disk.

·         The data in these worksheets are protected – thus the reader cannot change the worksheet without knowledge of the protection password.

·         However the reader can copy and paste the data into his/her own project work book as required – at this point the accuracy and integrity of the data becomes the responsibility of the reader. Included in this workbook are copies of the abstract and synopsis for reference purposes.

·         All credits and sources, and where necessary, instructions/advice for data use, are presented in this html file. These are not necessarily reproduced in the Excel Work Sheets.

3. Abstract

Apart from a more economical use of fossil fuels, the application of renewable energy sources should be advanced in order to reduce CO₂ emissions. One of the alternatives considered to decrease the net emissions of CO₂ are the cultivation and combustion of solid biomass, or the thermal utilisation of sewage sludge. There are different types of biomass which could be used as energy sources in power production: (a) surplus and by-products from agricultural activities within the European Union (EU), e.g. straw, (b) fast growing energy plants from reutilisation of areas which become available by a necessary reduction of agricultural overproduction within Europe, and (c) wood waste from forestry or wood processing. In order to achieve a noticeable CO₂ reduction, as well as fossil fuel substitution, it is desirable to use fairly large quantities of biomass for energy production. However, exclusive biomass utilization would consequently lead to the construction of many decentralized plants, which is time-consuming and would require high financial investments as well as large storage capacities due to the seasonal fuel availability. Co-combustion, in contrast, is considered to be a cheap option for utilizing the existing biomass resources. For these reasons, a EU-project, ‘Combined Combustion of Biomass Sewage Sludge and Coals of High and Low Rank in Different Systems of Semi-industrial and Industrial Scale’ was launched in 1993. Under the coordination of the Institut fur Verfahrenstechnik und Dampfkesselwesen IVD, University of Stuttgart, partners from eight European countries investigated the effects of burning sewage sludge, agricultural residuals, such as straw and manure, as well as especially cultivated energy crops in combination with coals of various ranks and origin. Both the pulverized fuel PF and the fluidised bed FB mode were tested, ranging from laboratory rigs to large-scale utility boilers. This paper provides an overview of the activities of the various partners involved and will, in particular, show the synergetic cooperation towards a common aim. The results of the 2-yr project will be summarized. (Abstract of the article Hein, K.R.G. and Bemtgen, J.M. (1998): EU clean coal technology – co-combustion of coal and biomass. Fuel Processing Technology, 54, pp. 159-169)

Article with the similar content can be found in Sources below.

4. Synopsis