Evaluation of combustion properties of biomass fuel

Abstract

Carbon and hydrogen are the main burning elements of biomass fuel that affect the calorific value of fuel. Combustion heat of hydrogen significantly exceeds the heat of carbon combustion, so biomass with higher hydrogen content has a relatively higher calorific value. The study found that the carbon content of various grass species (reed canary grass, festulolium, timothy, meadow fescue, and tall fescue) varied from 42.00 % formeadow fescue to48.97 % fortimothy. Hydrogen content in the samples analysed was, however, between 5.48 % (for timothy) and 5.93 % (for reed canary grass). The hydrogen-to-carbon (H/C) ratio for grasses variedfrom 1.45 for timothy to 1.52 for reed canary grass. The calculation of the H/C ratio for grass biomass as well as the effect of the nitrogen fertilizer dose on the hydrogen and carbon content of biomass are described in the present article. A conclusion is drawn that the calorific value of biomass fuel is significantly affected by the carbon content. In contrast, the increased lignin content against cellulose and hemicellulose increases the calorific value of the fuel at the same carbon content. The increase in hydrogen - carbon ratio reduces the gross calorific value.