The influence of fuel type on particle emissions in combustion of biomass pellets

Three different biomass fuels (bark pellets, wood pellets and granulates made from hydrolysis residues) were burned under identical conditions to determine the effect of biomass type on the amount and composition of the combustion-generated particles under fixed-bed conditions. Significant differences in emissions of dust, submicron particles, and the shape of the particle number and mass size distributions were found between the different biomass fuels. For the particles that were dominated by ash elements, the particle emissions were correlated to the ash concentration in the unburned fuel. However, if the combustion condition allowed for organic particles, the "sooting" tendency of the fuel was found to become more important than the amount of ash in the fuel. Furthermore, the fuel type affects the particle emissions more than changes in reactor operating parameters.