Abstract
Abstract This paper focuses on the assessment of the inclination to self-ignition of various types of wood chips according to the methodology of European standard EN 15188. The study also assesses the effect of heating temperatures on the composition and quantity of gaseous products of heating. Gases were analysed using an infrared spectrometer with Fourier transformation. From the measured results it was found that the inclination to self-ignition differs for various samples of wood chips. The paper discusses certain parameters assumed to affect the inclination of biomass to self-ignite. When assessing the effect of temperature on the composition of gaseous products, a sample of forest wood chips heated at temperatures from 50 to 150 °C resulted in the following gaseous products: carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, water and aliphatic hydrocarbons; their concentrations increase with the increasing temperature. Carbon oxides have been proposed as indicators of the state of stored materials self-heating. Observations presented in this paper can be used as data for elaborating safety instructions for storage of fuels based on solid biomass.
Highlights
One of the possible alternatives to fossil fuels is the use of solid biofuels whose combustion causes less damage to the environment
This study focuses on the evaluation of the inclination to self-ignition and the effect of heating temperature on gaseous products for various types of wood chips with the aim to compare their behaviour at increased temperatures, and thereby to obtain objective data for the proposal of suitable measures to prevent self-ignition
Measurement results showed that the inclination to self-ignition is not the same for all types of wood chips
Summary
One of the possible alternatives to fossil fuels is the use of solid biofuels whose combustion causes less damage to the environment. The production process of other types of solid biofuels, such as pellets or briquettes, involves heating and their biological activity is reduced (Alakoski et al, 2016). For this reason, wood chips have higher tendency to spontaneous self-heating than other types of biofuels. Safe storage time is determined by the size of the stored pile, and by the type of biomass, storage, material humidity and homogeneity as well as by other parameters. Conditions for safe storage of solid biofuels are mainly determined based on the results of laboratory tests (Veznikova, 2016). Methods currently used to assess the risk of spontaneous combustion evaluate the solids behaviour under adiabatic, isoperibolic or isothermal conditions (Babrauskas, 2003)
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