Ingwald Obernberger

Concentrations of inorganic elements in biomass fuels and recovery in the different ash fractions

Abstract Inorganic elements and compounds in biomass fuels influence the combustion process and the composition of the ashes produced. Consequently, knowledge about the material fluxes of inorganic elements and compounds during biomass combustion for different kinds of biofuels and their influencing variables is of great importance. The results gained will especially influence the future design and control of biomass furnaces and boilers in order to prevent slagging, fouling and corrosion and to assist in the definition of quality requirements for biofuels as well as the possibilities of a sustainable ash utilization. For this reason, comprehensive test runs were carried out in several biomass combustion plants equipped with different combustion technologies and using various biomass fuels (wood chips, bark, straw and cereals). During continuous observation periods of at least two days, samples of the biomass and the different ash fractions were taken and analysed. Furthermore, the most important operating data of the plants were recorded. The results of the material balances for inorganic elements showed that the concentrations of environmentally relevant heavy metals (especially Cd and Zn) in biomass ashes increase with decreasing precipitation temperature and particle size. This effect is independent of the biofuel used. Consequently, a major requirement for a sustainable ash utilization is a fractionated heavy metal separation, distinguishing between different fly-ash fractions and taking the temperature of fly-ash precipitation into consideration for new furnace technologies. Research has also shown that straw and cereals, as well as their ashes, contain significantly lower amounts of heavy metals than woody biofuels and wood ashes. The same principles pointed out for environmentally relevant heavy metals are also valid for K, Na, Cl and S. The high concentrations of these elements in the filter fly-ash as well as in the boiler fly-ash are of great relevance for reactions that can take place in the boiler section where the flue gas is subjected to a considerable temperature gradient which is accompanied by chemical reactions, phase transitions and precipitation processes that can support or initiate fouling and corrosion. These effects are of special importance for biofuels that are rich in alkali metals and Cl such as straw and cereals.

Pulmonary inflammation and tissue damage in the mouse lung after exposure to PM samples from biomass heating appliances of old and modern technologies

Current levels of ambient air fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)) are associated with mortality and morbidity in urban populations worldwide. In residential areas wood combustion is one of the main sources of PM(2.5) emissions, especially during wintertime. However, the adverse health effects of particulate emissions from the modern heating appliances and fuels are poorly known. In this study, health related toxicological properties of PM(1) emissions from five modern and two old technology appliances were examined. The PM(1) samples were collected by using a Dekati® Gravimetric Impactor (DGI). The collected samples were weighed and extracted with methanol for chemical and toxicological analyses. Healthy C57BL/6J mice were intratracheally exposed to a single dose of 1, 3, 10 or 15 mg/kg of the particulate samples for 4, 18 or 24h. Thereafter, the lungs were lavaged and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was assayed for indicators of inflammation, cytotoxicity and genotoxicity. Lungs of 24h exposed mice were collected for inspection of pulmonary tissue damage. There were substantial differences in the combustion qualities of old and modern technology appliances. Modern technology appliances had the lowest PM(1) (mg/MJ) emissions, but they induced the highest inflammatory, cytotoxic and genotoxic activities. In contrast, old technology appliances had clearly the highest PM(1) (mg/MJ) emissions, but their effect in the mouse lungs were the lowest. Increased inflammatory activity was associated with ash related components of the emissions, whereas high PAH concentrations were correlating with the smallest detected responses, possibly due to their immunosuppressive effect.

Experimental verification of gas spectra calculated for high temperatures using the HITRAN/HITEMP database

The knowledge of absorption coefficients of the gases CO, CO2 and H2O at high temperatures is important for the in situ determination of the concentration of these gases in combustion system. These coefficients can be calculated using molecular data form the HITRAN database. The 1996 edition of this database contains a special high temperature database for CO, CO2 and H2O. Based on these data absorption coefficients and spectra of CO, CO2 and H2O have been calculated for different concentrations and temperatures. Additionally, measurements were carried out using a high temperature calibration gas cell and in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy absorption spectroscopy. A comparison between the spectra calculated and measured showed a good agreement. At temperatures of 1100°C large deviations between these results of theory and experiment could be found for certain spectral regions of CO2. Based on these results the measuring system was used for the quantitative analysis of the combustion gases in a pilot-scale horizontally moving grate furnace as well as in a laboratory scale furnace using wood chips, waste wood and fibreboard as fuels.

Validation of flow simulation and gas combustion sub-models for the CFD-based prediction of NOx formation in biomass grate furnaces

While reasonably accurate in simulating gas phase combustion in biomass grate furnaces, CFD tools based on simple turbulence–chemistry interaction models and global reaction mechanisms have been shown to lack in reliability regarding the prediction of NOx formation. Coupling detailed NOx reaction kinetics with advanced turbulence–chemistry interaction models is a promising alternative, yet computationally inefficient for engineering purposes. In the present work, a model is proposed to overcome these difficulties. The model is based on the Realizable k–ϵ model for turbulence, Eddy Dissipation Concept for turbulence–chemistry interaction and the HK97 reaction mechanism. The assessment of the sub-models in terms of accuracy and computational effort was carried out on three laboratory-scale turbulent jet flames in comparison with the experimental data. Without taking NOx formation into account, the accuracy of turbulence modelling and turbulence–chemistry interaction modelling was systematically examined on Sandia Flame D and Sandia CO/H2/N2 Flame B to support the choice of the associated models. As revealed by the Large Eddy Simulations of the former flame, the shortcomings of turbulence modelling by the Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) approach considerably influence the prediction of the mixing-dominated combustion process. This reduced the sensitivity of the RANS results to the variations of turbulence–chemistry interaction models and combustion kinetics. Issues related to the NOx formation with a focus on fuel bound nitrogen sources were investigated on a NH3-doped syngas flame. The experimentally observed trend in NOx yield from NH3 was correctly reproduced by HK97, whereas the replacement of its combustion subset by that of a detailed reaction scheme led to a more accurate agreement, but at increased computational costs. Moreover, based on results of simulations with HK97, the main features of the local course of the NOx formation processes were identified by a detailed analysis of the interactions between the nitrogen chemistry and the underlying flow field.

Ecological assessment of integrated bioenergy systems using the Sustainable Process Index

Biomass utilisation for energy production presently faces an uphill battle against fossil fuels. The use of biomass must offer additional benefits to compensate for higher prices: on the basis of a life cycle assessment (using BEAM to evaluate a variety of integrated bioenergy systems in connection with the Sustainable Process Index as a highly aggregated environmental pressure index) it is shown that integrated bioenergy systems are superior to fossil fuel systems in terms of environmental compatibility. The implementation of sustainability measures provides additional valuable information that might help in constructing and optimising integrated bioenergy systems. For a set of reference processes, among them fast pyrolysis, atmospheric gasification, integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC), combustion and steam cycle (CS) and conventional hydrolysis, a detailed impact assessment is shown. Sensitivity analyses of the most important ecological parameters are calculated, giving an overview of the impacts of various stages in the total life cycle and showing ‘what really matters’. Much of the ecological impact of integrated bioenergy systems is induced by feedstock production. It is mainly the use of fossil fuels in cultivation, harvesting and transportation as well as the use of fertilisers in short-rotation coppice production that impose considerable ecological pressure. Concerning electricity generation the most problematic pressures are due to gaseous emissions, most notably the release of NOx. Moreover, a rather complicated process (high amount of grey energy) and the use of fossil pilot fuel (co-combustion) leads to a rather weak ecological performance in contrast to other 100% biomass-based systems.

Acute systemic and lung inflammation in C57Bl/6J mice after intratracheal aspiration of particulate matter from small-scale biomass combustion appliances based on old and modern technologies

Inflammation is regarded as an important mechanism behind mortality and morbidity experienced by cardiorespiratory patients exposed to urban air particulate matter (PM). Small-scale biomass combustion is an important source of particulate air pollution. In this study, we investigated association between inflammatory responses and chemical composition of PM1 emissions from seven different small-scale wood combustion appliances representing old and modern technologies. Healthy C57Bl/6J mice were exposed by intratracheal aspiration to single dose (10 mg/kg) of particulate samples. At 4 and 18 h after the exposure, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) as well as serum was collected for subsequent analyses of inflammatory indicators (interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, IL-12, and IL-10; tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α); keratinocyte-derived chemoattractant (KC), and interferon-γ (IFN-γ)) in multiplexing assay. When the responses to the PM1 samples were compared on an equal mass basis, the PM from modern technology appliances increased IL-6, KC, and IL-1β levels significantly in BALF at 4 and 18 h after the exposure. In contrast, these responses were seen only at 4 h time point in serum. Increased cytokine concentrations correlated with metal-rich ash related compounds which were more predominant in the modern technology furnaces emissions. These particles induced both local and systemic inflammation. Instead, polycyclic hydrocarbon (PAH) rich PM1 samples from old technology (OT) evoked only minor inflammatory responses. In conclusion, the combustion technology largely affects the toxicological and chemical characteristics of the emissions. The large mass emissions of old combustion technology should be considered, when evaluating the overall harmfulness between the appliances. However, even the small emissions from modern technologies may pose significant toxic risks.

CFD simulation of ash deposit formation in fixed bed biomass furnaces and boilers

In order to describe and predict the formation of ash deposits in biomass fired combustion plants, a mathematical model is being developed and implemented into the CFD code Fluent® as a post processing tool. At the present state of development the model covers the release of coarse ash particles and ash-forming vapours from the fuel bed, the transport to furnace and boiler surfaces and the deposition of particles and vapours. Changes in the flue gas composition due to chemical reactions are considered by performing thermodynamic equilibrium calculations in order to determine the gas phase composition. The build-up of the deposit layer depending on wall temperature, deposit porosity and chemical composition is also taken into account. First results of modelling deposit formation for the furnace and fire tube of a grate fired combustion unit (boiler capacity 440 kWth) show plausible results but have yet to be validated.

Grundlagen der thermo-chemischen Umwandlung biogener Festbrennstoffe

Die Bereitstellung von End- bzw. Nutzenergie aus biogenen Festbrennstoffen erfolgt entweder direkt durch Verbrennung oder durch eine vorherige Umwandlung in entsprechende Sekundarenergietrager, wobei thermo-chemische, physikalisch-chemische oder bio-chemische Verfahren zum Einsatz kommen konnen. Im Folgenden werden die physikalischen und chemischen Grundlagen der thermo-chemischen Umwandlungsverfahren dargestellt; ihnen liegen letztlich vergleichbare Mechanismen zugrunde. Zuvor werden jedoch die wesentlichen Brennstoffeigenschaften definiert und zusammenfassend dargestellt.

A kinetic study on the potential of a hybrid reaction mechanism for prediction of NOx formation in biomass grate furnaces

This paper presents the verification of a hybrid reaction mechanism (28 species, 104 reactions) by means of a kinetic study with a view to its application for the CFD-based prediction of gas phase combustion and NOx formation in biomass grate furnaces. The mechanism is based on a skeletal kinetic scheme that includes the subsets for H2, CO, NH3 and HCN oxidation derived from the detailed Kilpinen 97 reaction mechanism. To account for the CH4 breakdown two related reactions from the 4-step global mechanism for hydrocarbons oxidation by Jones and Lindstedt were adopted. The hybrid mechanism was compared to the global mechanism and validated against the detailed Kilpinen 97 mechanism. For that purpose plug flow reactor simulations at conditions relevant to biomass combustion (atmospheric pressure, 1200–1600 K) for approximations of the flue gases in a grate furnace at fuel lean and fuel rich conditions were carried out. The hybrid reaction mechanism outperformed the global one at all conditions investigated. The most striking differences obtained in predictions by the hybrid and the detailed mechanism at the residence times prior to ignition were attributed to the simplified description of the CH4 oxidation in the case of the former. The overall agreement regarding both combustion and NOx chemistry between the hybrid and the detailed mechanism was better at fuel lean conditions than at fuel rich conditions. However, also at fuel rich conditions, the agreement was improving with increasing temperature. Moreover, it was shown that an improvement in the prediction of NOx formation by the N-subset of the hybrid reaction mechanism can be achieved by replacing its C–H–O subset with that of the detailed one.

Toxicological characterization of particulate emissions from straw, Miscanthus, and poplar pellet combustion in residential boilers

ABSTRACT Wood pellets have been used in domestic heating appliances for three decades. However, because the share of renewable energy for heating will likely rise over the next several years, alternative biomass fuels, such as short-rotation coppice or energy crops, will be utilized. We tested particulate emissions from the combustion of standard softwood pellets and three alternative pellets (poplar, Miscanthus sp., and wheat straw) for their ability to induce inflammatory, cytotoxic, and genotoxic responses in a mouse macrophage cell line. Our results showed clear differences in the chemical composition of the emissions, which was reflected in the toxicological effects. Standard softwood and straw pellet combustion resulted in the lowest PM1 mass emissions. Miscanthus sp. and poplar combustion emissions were approximately three times higher. Emissions from the herbaceous biomass pellets contained higher amounts of chloride and organic carbon than the emissions from standard softwood pellet combustion. Additionally, the emissions of the poplar pellet combustion contained the highest concentration of metals. The emissions from the biomass alternatives caused significantly higher genotoxicity than the emissions from the standard softwood pellets. Moreover, straw pellet emissions caused higher inflammation than the other samples. Regarding cytotoxicity, the differences between the samples were smaller. Relative toxicity was generally highest for the poplar and Miscanthus sp. samples, as their emission factors were much higher. Thus, in addition to possible technical problems, alternative pellet materials may cause higher emissions and toxicity. The long-term use of alternative fuels in residential-scale appliances will require technological developments in both burners and filtration. Copyright