Abstract
Biomass materials have been increasingly used due to their renewable nature. The problems occurring during the storage of fresh woody materials include gas emissions and dry matter losses as a result of degradation. The objective of this study was to investigate and quantify the effect of moisture content on gas emissions from stored wood chips. Experiments were conducted under non-aerobic and aerobic conditions using fresh Western Red Cedar (WRC) chips with different initial moisture contents over a range of temperatures. The peak CO2 emission factor of 2.9 g/kg dry matter (DM) was observed from high moisture chips at 20 °C under non-aerobic conditions after two-month storage, which was an order of magnitude greater than that from low moisture chips. In the case of volatile organic compounds, a range of compounds were detected from all tests. The concentration of VOCs was found to be positively correlated with moisture content. Gas emissions from the aerobic reactors exhibited similar trends as non-aerobic reactors with respect to the effect of moisture content, although higher values were observed under aerobic conditions. Slight reduction of dry mass from all tests at the end of storage indicated the decay-resistance characteristics of WRC.
Highlights
There is a growing demand for bioenergy in today’s world
The objective of this paper is to investigate the gas emission from stored Western Red Cedar (WRC) chips with chips with different moisture contents and its effect on dry matter loss under different storage different moisture contents and its effect on dry matter loss under different storage conditions
This study concerns the measurements of gas emissions and dry matter loss from WRC chips during the storage process
Summary
Biomass as a renewable resource form is becoming an important element of sustainability and more attractive to the public due to its abundance and reduced air pollution in terms of criteria air pollutants and greenhouse gases as compared to most types of fossil fuels [1]. A large amount of woody biomass (forest residues) can be harvested annually in North America to produce heat and power as well as a rather broad range of products that include biofuels, pulp and paper, panels, chemicals and other energy feedstocks [2]. The immediate use of woody biomass after harvest is generally infeasible. Depending on the production cycles, the biomass is stored in the field for some time before transportation and processing. It is necessary to store the biomass materials for an extended time period during the winter months in order to ensure their uninterrupted supply and delivery to the conversion facilities
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