Emission characteristics of modern and old-type residential boilers fired with wood logs and wood pellets

Abstract

Abstract Emissions from commercial residential boilers fired with wood logs and wood pellets, have been compared. Seven boilers, selected with respect to age, design, connection to heat storage tank, and type of biofuel, were included in the study, which also covers two oil-fired boilers in comparison. The measurements of gaseous emissions comprised carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), oxygen (O2), total organic carbons (TOC), nitrogen oxides (NOx), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and 33 volatile organic compounds (VOC). Particle emissions were characterised by mass concentration, number concentration, and the corresponding particle size distributions. In general, old-type wood boilers caused considerably higher emissions than modern wood and pellet boilers. The mass concentration of particles was 180 times larger in the worst old-type case (a water-cooled wood boiler without heat storage tank) compared to the best modern case (wood pellets). The TOC emission was shown to be correlated to the CO emission, both ranging between very low values and up to 10 000 mg/MJ, depending on design and operation. The highest emissions of unoxidised compounds occurred at the highest excess air ratio, and oxygen was not the limiting parameter for poor combustion. Instead, high excess air can be suspected to cool the combustion chamber, resulting in high CO emissions. VOC was dominated by methane. Especially from an old-type boiler the methane emissions could be high and the effect on climate change then may become larger than that of an oil boiler. However, substitution of an old-type wood boiler with a modern wood boiler attached to a storage tank or with a pellet boiler, would reduce methane emissions by 8 to 9000 times and the efficiency would increase. Most emissions could be considerably lowered by connecting the old-type wood boiler to a heat storage tank, or by charging small (in relation to the combustion chamber) batches of wood.