Study of chemical composition of agricultural residues from various agro-mass types

Abstract

Agricultural residues from various agro-mass types were investigated for use as fuel. The use of this type of fuel in thermal conversion processes is becoming increasingly relevant because the resources of such fuel are sufficiently large and poorly investigated. Such fuel usage is limited due to the negative impact on combustion processes. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the properties of these fuels to be able to use such fuels in energy production efficiently. Ten types of low-quality grains and seeds, 12 types of harvest residues and 5 types of grain processing residues were selected for this investigation. The main properties of the selected samples were determined by proximate and ultimate analyses. Experimental investigations were performed by determining the concentrations of Al, As, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Ti, Zn and Si. Primary attention was focused on the ash melting behaviours and elemental concentrations of agro-mass types. Analysis of the correlation between fusion temperatures (shrinkage starting (SST), deformation (DT), hemisphere (HT) and flow (FT) temperatures) and agro-mass composition was also carried out. However, no significant relationship changes were observed between agro-mass ash fusion stages and individual inorganic element concentrations. It was determined that there is a weak or moderate correlation between SST and certain inorganic elements. The molar index representing the ratio of basic and acidic components in agro-mass was used, and some of the lowest ash SST, DT, HT and FT values were observed when the index was close to 1.