MEng/PG Dip in Energy Technology 2011

ME5026 Bio-Energy

SECTION 6

BIOMASS COMBUSTION

AGT Sugathapala
Thermo-Fluids & Energy Group
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Moratuwa

December 2011
 INTRODUCTION
• Fuels
– The Fuel is any material that can be used to generate
energy.
– The processes used to convert fuel into energy
include chemical reactions, such as combustion, and
nuclear reactions, such as nuclear fission or nuclear
fusion.
– The various types of fuels are available for firing in
boilers, furnaces and other combustion equipments.
– Hydrocarbons are by far the most common source of
fuel in current use, but many other substances can
be used as well.
 INTRODUCTION
• Fuels
– Main Classification is by physical form as liquid, solid
and gaseous fuels:
• Solid: Wood, Coal, Wood and Agro Residues, MSW
• Liquid: Diesel, Petrol, Furnace Oil, Kerosene, Biofuels
• Gas: Natural Gas, Petroleum Gas, Biogas, Hydrogen

– Selection of right type of fuel depends on various

factors such as availability, storage, handling,
pollution and cost of fuel.
 INTRODUCTION
• Fuels
– Energy contents
Hydrogen
Methane
LNG
Gas
Natural Gas
Petroleum Gas
Biogas
Kerosene
Liquid
Ethanol
Coal
Charcoal
Solid
Hard Wood
Paddy Husk

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Calorific Value (MJ/kg)
 INTRODUCTION
• Fuels
– Main Elements
• Carbon, Hydrogen: Main Elements (Hydro Carbons)
• Sulfur, Nitrogen: Small amounts
• Oxygen
• Ash

Fuel C H O N S Ash
Paddy Straw 39.2 5.1 35.8 0.6 0.1 19.2
Bagasse 46.4 5.4 42.6 0.7 - -
Wood 50.8 6.4 41.8 0.4 - 0.9
Lignite 64.0 4.2 19.2 0.9 1.3 10.4
Anthracite Coal 78.8 2.3 2.5 0.9 0.5 15
Natural Gas 72.0 23.8 1.1 3.1 - -
 INTRODUCTION
• Chemical Compositions of Gaseous Fuels
– Natural Gas: Methane – 70-90%;
Ethane, Propane, Butane – up to 20% .
– Biogas: Methane – about 60%
– Petroleum Gas: Propane and Butane

Methane - CH4
Ethane - C2H6
Propane - C3H8
Butane - C4H10

Fossil hydrocarbon gases

CnH2n+2 , n < 5
 INTRODUCTION
• Chemical Compositions of Liquid Fuels
 Petrol: C7H16 - C11H24; Mainly Octane - C8H18
 Diesel: C12H26 -C20H42; Mainly Dedocane-C10H22
 Furnace Oil: C20H42 – C40H82

Fossil hydrocarbon Liquids

CnH2n+2 , 4 < n < 20
 INTRODUTION
• Chemical Compositions of Solid Fuels
 Coal: Very Complex composition (C100H85O21N1S0.3)
 INTRODUTION
• Chemical Compositions of Solid Fuels
 Wood: Very complex long-chain molecular structure
- Comprised of Cellulose, Hemicelluloses & Lignin
- Cellulose: (C6H10O5)n, n = 5000 - 10000
Dry Wood
CHyOx – with y=1.44, x=0.66

Cellulose
 COMBUSTION
• Fuels and Combustion
Heat Energy
Air and Combustion
Fuel Unit Combustion
Products
Light
Convective Heat
to Surrounding Hot Flue Gas

Flame
Front
Radiation
to
Surroundin
Volatile
g
Matter
Radiation
Wood to Wood
Entrained
Air
Conduction to Burning
Wood Char
Ash
 COMBUSTION
• Combustion
 Generation of heat through rapid chemical reactions
of fuels is known as combustion

• Products of Combustion
- CO2
- H2O
Complete Combustion
- NO2
- SO2
- CO, Incomplete
- HCs, Combustion
- NOX, SOX, ….
 COMBUSTION
• Combustion
 Main factors of proper combustion
- Temperature: To initiate and sustain combustion
- Turbulence: For proper mixing of fuel and air
- Time: Sufficient for complete combustion
3T’s : Temperature, Turbulence, Time
 COMBUSTION
• Combustion
 Flame of different fuels
 BASICS OF COMBUSTION
• Combustion Reactions
 During combustion, molecules undergo chemical
reactions.
 The reactant atoms are rearranged to form new
combinations (oxidized).
 The chemical reaction can be presented by reaction
equations.
 However, reaction equations represent initial and
final results and do not indicate the actual path of the
reaction, which may involve many intermediate steps
and intermediate species.
 This approach is similar to thermodynamics system
analysis, where only end states and not path
mechanism are used.
 BASICS OF COMBUSTION
• Combustion Reactions

 Types of combustion reactions:

- Exothermic: Heat is released
- Endothermic: Heat is absorbed
 BASICS OF COMBUSTION
• Combustion Reactions

Exothermic
Endothermic
 BASICS OF COMBUSTION
• Combustion Reactions
 Some fundamental reactions of combustion:
 C + O2  CO2 + 33.8 MJ/kg-C
 2H2 + O2  2H2O + 121.0 MJ/kg-H
 S + O2  SO2 + 9.3 MJ/kg-S
 2C + O2  2CO + 10.2 MJ/kg-C
 Note: Above equations are in accordance with
conservation of mass. For example consider the first
reaction:
- 1 kmol C + 1 kmol O2  1 kmol CO2, or
- 12 kg C + 32 kg O2  44 kg CO2, or
- 0 vol. C + 1 vol. O2  1 vol. CO2.
 BASICS OF COMBUSTION
• Combustion Reactions
 In fuels, the combustion reactions are more complex
than above:
 In general, air is used in combustion than pure oxygen
 Fuels consists of many elements such as C, H, N, S, O
 In addition to complete combustions, fuels undergo incomplete
combustions too.
 Heat generation during combustion:
- Combustion reactions together with enthalpies of
components could be used to predict the net heat
generation.
- This needs identification of all the combustion products.
 COMBUSTION
• Composition of Air
 On a molar (or volume) basis, dry air is composed of:
– 20.9% oxygen O2
– 78.1% nitrogen N2
– 0.9% CO2, Ar, He, Ne, H2, and others
 A good approximation of this by molar or volume is:
21% oxygen, 79% nitrogen
 Thus, each mole of oxygen is accompanied 0.79/0.21
= 3.76 moles of nitrogen
 COMBUSTION
• Composition of Air
 At ordinary combustion temperatures, N2 is inert, but
nonetheless greatly affects the combustion process
because its abundance, and hence its enthalpy
change, plays a large part in determining the reaction
temperatures.
- This, in turn, affects the combustion chemistry.
- Also, at higher temperatures, N2 does react, forming
species such as oxides of nitrogen (NOx), which are a
significant pollutant.
 COMBUSTION
• Stoichiometry and Air/Fuel Ratios
 Oxidation all the elements or components in a fuel is
known as complete combustion or “Stoichiometric
Combustion”.
 Minimum amount of air (or oxygen) required to have a
complete combustion is represented by
Stoichiometric Ratio:

 Rquivalent, and widely used, terms to the AFR are the

fuel/air ratio FAR, the equivalence ratio, φ, and the
‘lambda’ ratio λ:
 COMBUSTION
• Stoichiometry and Air/Fuel Ratios
 Oxidation all the elements or components in a fuel is
known as complete combustion or “Stoichiometric
Combustion”.
 The amounts of fuel and air taking part in a
combustion process are often expressed as the ‘air
to fuel’ ratio:

 Minimum amount of air (or oxygen) required to have a

complete combustion is represented by
Stoichiometric Ratio FARstoich.
 COMBUSTION
• Stoichiometry and Air/Fuel Ratios
 Eg: Combustion of Methane
CH4 + 2(O2 + 79/21N2 )  CO2 + 2H2O + 158/21N2
Therefore, AFRStoich = (232 + 22879/21)/(12 + 41) = 17.16
Fuel Phase AFRStoich
Very light fuel oil liquid 14.27
Light fuel oil liquid 14.06
Medium heavy fuel oil liquid 13.79
Heavy fuel oil liquid 13.46
Generic Biomass solid 5.88
Coal A solid 6.97
LPG (90 P : 10 B) gas 15.55
Carbon solid 11.44
 COMBUSTION
• Stoichiometry and Air/Fuel Ratios
 In order to obtain complete combustion, supply of
excess amount of air (or oxygen) is required in
practice.
 The amount of excess air required depends on the
properties of the fuel and the technology of the
combustion device.
 Amount of excess air is usually represented by the
equivalence ratio, φ, or the ‘lambda’ ratio λ:
 COMBUSTION
• Stoichiometry and Air/Fuel Ratios
 Eg:
 COMBUSTION
• Combustion Reactions of Fuels
 Complete combustion of hydrocarbons:

 Incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons :

 COMBUSTION
• Combustion Reactions of Fuels
 Complete combustion of biomass:
 COMBUSTION
• Estimation of Heating Values
 Eg: Methane:
CH4 + 2(O2 + 79/21N2 )  CO2 + 2H2O + 158/21N2
Enthalpies
CH4 : -4.667 MJ/kg; O2 : 0.0; N2 : 0.0
CO2 : -8.942 MJ/kg; H2O : -13.423 MJ/kg (Gas) / -15.866 MJ/kg (Liquid)

(i) Net Calorafic Value

NCV = - (Hproducts – Hreactants)/mass of CH4
= - [{-8.94244 + -13.423218} – {-4.66716}]/16 = 50.125 MJ/kg

(ii) Gross Calorafic Value

GCV = - (Hproducts – Hreactants)/mass of CH4
= - [{-8.94244 + -15.866218} – {-4.66716}]/16 = 55.622 MJ/kg
Note: NCV = GCV – (Mwater/Mmethane)hfg