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:

Spliethoff, H., Hein, K.R.G., Hendriksen, N., Skrifvars, B. and Dugwell, D. (1999): Operational Problems, Trace Emissions and By-Product Management for Industrial Biomass Co-Combustion, which is published within 4^th International Conference on Technologies and Combustion for a Clean Environment, 5-9 July, Lisboa, Portugal.

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 experiment was carried out.

·         The research project in which this CF is based, does not present fuel and related data, therefore, they are not presented in individual Microsoft Excel Worksheets.

·         All credits and sources, and where necessary, instructions/advice for data use, are presented in this html file.

3. Abstract

In comparison to other renewable energy sources, thermal utilisation of biomass or waste is a cheap and technically feasible option to contribute to reducing the net CO₂ emissions. Co-combustion of biomass or waste together with coal in existing large-scale firing systems offers several advantages, e.g. the possibility to utilise a large quantity of biomass or lower investment costs compared with systems exclusively fired with biomass. Utilisation of biomass or wastes, however, may have consequences on combustion behaviour, emissions, corrosion, and residual matter.

Based on the experience of the APAS programme, the objective of this project was to concentrate the research effort on the problem areas like slagging, fouling, corrosion, ash utilisation and trace emissions for different co-combustion systems and carefully investigate technical options to avoid these negative effects. The solution of these technical problems is essential for a technically and economically feasible and environmentally advantageous co-combustion and will promote a widespread utilisation of existing biomass resources.

Based on the work of the different partners, the final goal was to compare the different methods of co-combustion (PF, FB, pre-treatment) with regard to technical, economical, and environmental issues.

The objectives of the project have been in detail:

–          to find out the optimum co-combustion technique with regard to operation, by-product management and trace emissions,

–          to point out measures for eliminating operational problems and reducing environmental impacts or to show the restrictions of co-combustion in dependence on the biomass fuel,

–          to promote utilisation of by-products from co-combustion¨,

–          to evaluate the effect of co-combustion on trace emissions,

–          to demonstrate the technical and economical feasibility of biomass co-combustion,

–          to techno-economically compare direct co-combustion and pre-treatment by pyrolysis and gasification.

The article is also available in German language, see Source.

4. Synopsis