Potentials of biomass co-combustion in coal-fired boilers

Abstract

The present work provides a survey on the potentials of co-combustion of biomass and biogenic wastes in large-scale coal-fired power plants. This allows an energetic utilization at a high level of efficiency which is not obtainable in small-scale dedicated biomass combustors. Co-firing at low percentages of the thermal power (typically below 5-10 %) avoids the characteristic operating problems of biomass combustion, i.e. ash sintering and fouling of heat transfer surfaces. Co-firing of biogenic wastes is already widely practiced in Germany, non-waste biomass like forest residues are for subsidy reasons combusted in small dedicated mono-combustion plants. A future increase of co-combustion may be associated with the upgrading of biogenic wastes with high water content to biofuels by drying. Such biofuels could substitute more expensive coal and save on CO2 emission certificates. In the more distant future biomass co-combustion may help in the CO2 scrubbing process by lowering the target level of CO2 absorption efficiency.