Abstract
Within a national funded Brazilian-German cooperation project ASHES, the thermal utilization of bagasse and other residuals from the sugar processing industry was examined. The characterization of the ashes was also performed but it is not in the focus of this paper. To determine the relevant combustion parameters, tests were carried out in a laboratory-scale, fixed bed reactor (KLEAA) at KIT-ITC. Subsequently, Fraunhofer UMSICHT carried out tests in continuously operated combustion plants with different plant sizes of 30 kW, 100 kW, and 440 kW. All relevant compositions were analyzed by CUTEC. The primary objective was to gain knowledge regarding the combustion and emission behavior of the fuels. These findings were used to identify optimization potentials at various points and elaborate concepts for their improvement. In the next steps of the project, optimization of these concepts will be the focus. In cooperation with the Brazilian project partners, several of them should be implemented into practice after the project.
Highlights
Brazil holds a 25 % share in the global sugar production, which makes it the world’s largest sugar producer; its 50 % share in exports makes it the world’s largest exporter
The lower mass conversion rates (MCR I and II) of sugarcane straw and bagasse compared to wood chips indicate that, for “classical” grate furnace operations, the lower mass conversion would result in the need of an increase of the necessary grate length
The heating rate (HR) on the grate is much lower for bagasse and sugarcane straw than for wood chips (Figure 7)
Summary
Brazil holds a 25 % share in the global sugar production, which makes it the world’s largest sugar producer; its 50 % share in exports makes it the world’s largest exporter. In Brazil, 16 % of the energy demand is satisfied by ethanol and electricity generated from sugarcane, which makes this plant the most important renewable energy resource of the country [1, 2]. In the 2013/2014 season, Brazil processed 653.5 million Mg of sugarcane into 37.7 million Mg of sugar and 27.5 million m3 of ethanol in nearly 400 sugar factories [3, 4]. In Brazil, almost 180 million Mg (w = 50 %) of bagasse are used for incineration in simple furnaces with a low energy yield. These furnaces represent no longer the state of the art [4, 5]
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