Comparison of different miscanthus genotypes for ash melting behaviour at different locations

Abstract

In recent times, miscanthus has emerged as a very promising energy crop in Europe mainly because of high biomass yield potential through efficient use of resources. Miscanthus biomass can be used as solid fuel, liquid fuel and biogas production. However, presently in the EU, miscanthus is mainly being used for direct combustion. The major problem for combustion of miscanthus is low ash fusion temperature, which is directly linked with biomass composition. For example, high K and Cl contents lead to deposition and corrosion problems. Therefore, for improved ash melting behaviour, biomass composition needs to be optimised. The focus of this study is on evaluating the ash melting behaviour of different miscanthus genotypes along with building a relationship between ash melting behaviour and biomass composition. As a part of EU funded project OPTIMISC, the field trials with 15 miscanthus genotypes have been established to evaluate the yield potential and biomass quality. The results of this study reveal that the effect of location was significant on biomass composition as well as ash melting behaviour. The correlation coefficients show that the K and Cl contents in biomass have significant effect on ash sintering as well as on ash melting behaviour.