Abstract
This paper presents comparative research on the combustion of coal, wheat, corn straw (CS), beet residues after extracting sugar (BR), and their blends, coal–corn straw blends (CCSBs), coal–wheat blends (CWBs), and coal–beet residue blends (CBRBs), using thermogravimetric (TG) analysis under 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 °C/min. The test results indicate that CS and wheat show better combustion properties than BR, which are recommended to be used in biomass combustion. Under the heating rate of 20 °C/min, the coal has the longest thermal reaction time when compared with 10 and 30 °C/min. Adding coal to the biomass can improve the burnout level of biomass materials (BM), reduce the burning speed, and make the reaction more thorough. The authors employed the Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO) method and the Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS) method to calculate kinetics parameters. It was proven that overall, the FWO method is better than the KAS method for coal, BM, and coal–biomass blends (CBBs), as it provides higher correlations in this study. It is shown that adding coal to wheat and BR decreases the activation energy and makes conversion more stable under particular α. The authors selected a wider range of biomass raw materials, made more kinds of CBB, and conducted more studies on different heating rates. This research can provide useful insights into how to choose agricultural residuals and how to use them.
Highlights
It can be observed that corn straw (CS) and wheat have 0% nitrogen and sulfur contents, the lowest level of ash, the highest level of volatile content, and a high value of higher heating value (HHV) and lower heating value (LHV). This is an indication that CS and wheat are good options in biomass materials (BM) combustion
When comparing BMs with coal, it can be inferred that all C, N, and S contents in BMs are lower than that in coal, which means all BMs are better than coal
beet residue (BR) has lower values of volatile matter, HHV, and LHV, and a higher value of moisture, compared with CS and wheat, which shows that BR is a lower-grade biomass fuel, compared with CS
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Biomass is a sustainable energy source that is suitable for human needs. Biomass is an appropriate replacement option to decrease the CO2 emissions from nonrenewable fossil fuels in favor of sustainable and renewable energy sources [1]. Biomass can reduce CO2 in the course of lignocellulosic in the process of photosynthesis [1]. The CO2 discharged from the burning process of biomass materials (BMs) makes no net contribution to the greenhouse effect. Biomass is a prospective material in the near future to replace coal and other fossil fuels, e.g., by blending it with coal
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