Investigation of Buckwheat Hulls as Additives in the Production of Solid Biomass Fuel from Straw

Abstract

The aim of this study was to further increase the amount of straw that can be used to produce solid biofuels, as currently only about 130–140 thousand of the 3 million tonnes of straw collected annually in Lithuania are used for solid biofuel production. Therefore, the use of buckwheat hulls as an additive in solid biofuel production was investigated. Mixtures of wheat straw and buckwheat hulls were used for this research, with an increase in buckwheat hulls from 25% to 75% of the total weight of the mixture. Results of the analysis of the chemical composition, moisture, ash, and volatile matter content of the mixtures, as well as their ash properties, were compared with the corresponding results obtained with pure buckwheat hulls, wheat straw, and wood chips. It is observed an increase in all ash melting temperatures by increasing the portion of buckwheat hulls in the mixture. Additionally, the ash shrinkage starting temperature was shown to increase as the total content of buckwheat hulls also increased in the mixture. This increase ranged from 90 °C to 210 °C. Furthermore, the Cl concentration in fuel mixtures and the corrosion risk of equipment are accordingly reduced by using buckwheat hulls, as an addition that does not contain Cl.