Explosion Characteristics of Torrefied Wheat Straw, Rape Straw, and Vine Shoots Fuels

Torrefaction is a method for upgrading raw biomass to produce solid fuels that exhibit higher energy density relative to that of the raw material. In countries that produce significant amounts of agricultural residues, torrefaction may facilitate the utilization of waste in the energy sector by adding value to the raw fuel and opening pathways for new applications. In typical scenarios for utilization as fuel, both the raw and torrefied materials are stored in granular form. Dependent upon the properties of the granular material, the risk of dust explosion may be significant. Torrefaction changes the physical and chemical properties of the biomass and, therefore, affect explosion risk and severity. This work investigates the dust explosion characteristics of raw and torrefied agricultural wastes typically produced in Central European countries. The objective is to provide a characterization of these fuels in terms of explosion properties and make recommendations on storage design and safety. Three residues were studied: wheat straw, rape straw, and vine shoots. The samples were characterized in terms of their particle size, proximate and ultimate compositions, calorific properties, thermogravimetric behavior, and standard explosion characteristics. Torrefaction increased the explosivity of all three residues. Of the three samples, wheat straw was the least explosive, which is explained by the lowest amount of open cellular pores generated during torrefaction. Scanning electron microscopy imaging and thermogravimetry results suggested that the amount of open pores is the most significant contributor to the increase of explosivity caused by torrefaction, as opposed to increasing brittleness and fragmentation. For plants switching from using raw residues to torrefied fuels, the required area of typical explosion panels increases by 18-21% in the case of wheat and rape straw and by 26-30% in the case of vine shoots.