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BiomassBurnCharacteristics

BiomassBurnCharacteristics

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TableofContents
1. Introduction
2. WhatisBiomass?
3. EnergyContentofBiomass
4. Moisture
5. BiomassComposition
6. PropertiesofBiomass
7. ProcessestoReduceAsh,ChlorideandOtherElements
8. Summary
9. AdditionalResources
10. References
11. Acknowledgements

Introduction
Solidbiomasscanbegrownforuseasfuelonfarmsandforsale.ThisFactsheetoutlinesthephysicaland
chemicalcharacteristicsofsolidbiomassfuels,explainstheirsignificanceandincludesatablecontaining
detailedinformationonthepropertiesof22commonbiomassfuelsinOntario.

WhatisBiomass?
Biomassreferstoanyorganicmaterialderivedfromplantsthatusesunlighttogrow.Whenburned,the
energystoredinbiomassisreleasedtoproduceheatorelectricity.Commonformsofsolidbiomassinclude
agriculturalcrops,cropresiduesandforestryproducts.Switchgrass(Figure1)isanexample.
Usingbiomassforenergyofferspotentialadvantages:
Biomassisanabundantandrenewablesourceofenergy.
Usingbiomassforenergywoulddiversifytheenergysupplyandreducedependencyonfossilfuels.
BiomassproductionmaycreatenewjobsforthelocaleconomyinOntario.

EnergyContentofBiomass
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TheheatingvalueofafuelindicatestheenergyavailableinthefuelperunitmassMJ/kg(BTU/lb).Thenet
heatingvalueistheactualenergyavailableforheattransfer.Thedifferenceinavailableenergyisexplainedby
thefuel'schemicalcomposition,moistureandashcontent.Forcomparison,theenergycontentoffuelsis
reportedonadrybasis.Forexample,mostagriculturalresidueshaveheatingvaluesthatfallintherangeof
1419MJ/kg(6,0408,200BTU/lb)coalrangesfrom1730MJ/kg(7,3001,3000BTU/lb).

Moisture
Moisturecontentisthekeyfactordeterminingthenetenergycontentofbiomassmaterial.Drybiomasshasa
greaterheatingvalue(ornetenergypotential),asituseslittleofitsenergytoevaporateanymoisture.Figure
2showsthisrelationshipandillustratesthecorrelationbetweenenergyandmoisturecontents.Increased
moisturemeanslessenergyavailablefortheboiler.

Textequivalent

BiomassType

Table1.UltimateanalysisforavarietyofbiomassfuelsinOntario
(allvaluesreportedonadrymatterbasis)
MJ/kg BTU/lb TypicalValues1
Ash Carbon Hydrogen Nitrogen Sulphur Oxygen Total
% %
%
%
%
%2
Chlorine
(g/g)3

Offspec(nonfood)grains
Beans

19

7,996

4.7 45.7

6.3

4.3

0.7

38.8

193

Corn

17

7,350

1.5 42.1

6.5

1.2

0.1

48.9

472

Canola

28

12,220 4.5 60.8

8.3

4.5

0.5

21.4

163

9,450

4.9 50.4

6.7

4.7

0.7

32.6

1,367

Drieddistillersgrain 22
Grass/forages
Bigbluestem

19

8,020

6.1 44.4

6.1

0.8

0.1

42.6

1,880

Miscanthus

19

8,250

2.7 47.9

5.8

0.5

0.1

43.0

1,048

Sorghum

17

7,240

6.6 45.8

5.3

1.0

0.1

42.3

760

Switchgrass

18

7,929

5.7 45.5

6.1

0.9

0.1

41.7

1,980

Alfalfa

17

7,435

9.1 45.9

5.2

2.5

0.2

39.5

3,129

Barleystraw

17

7,480

5.9 46.9

5.3

0.7

0.1

41.0

1,040

Corncobs

18

7,927

1.5 48.1

6.0

0.4

0.1

44.0

2,907

Cornstover

19

7,960

5.1 43.7

6.1

0.5

0.1

44.6

1,380

Flaxstraw

18

7,810

3.7 48.2

5.6

0.9

0.1

41.6

2,594

Wheatstraw

18

7,710

7.7 43.4

6.0

0.8

0.1

44.5

525

Straw/residue

Processingbyproduct
Oathulls

19

7,960

5.1 46.7

6.1

0.9

0.1

41.1

1,065

Soybeanhulls

18

7,720

4.3 43.2

6.2

1.8

0.2

44.3

266

Sunflowerhulls

20

8,530

4.0 47.5

6.2

1.0

0.2

41.2

3,034

19

8,432

1.5 47.8

5.9

0.4

0.1

45.4

257

Wood
Bark

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Willow

19

8,550

2.1 50.1

5.8

0.5

0.1

41.4

134

Hardwood

19

8,300

0.4 48.3

6.0

0.2

0.0

45.1

472

Lowsulphursubbit 25
coalPRB4

10,520 6.0 55.0

3.7

0.9

0.4

11.5

35

Lignite

9,350

4.2

0.9

0.5

13.6

25

Coal

22

22.0 58.8

Thecontentlevelofash,chlorineandotherelementscanbeloweredthroughcropselectivity,growing
conditions,plantfractionation,harvesttimeandharvestmethod.
2

Calculatedbydifference.Percentbydifferencereferstothedifferencebetweentwonumbersasapercentof
oneofthem.Forexample,thepercentagedifferencefrom5to3is:2/5=0.4=40%.
3

Amicrogram(g)isaunitofmassequalto1/1,000,000ofagram(1x106),or1/1,000ofamilligram.It
isoneofthesmallestunitsofmasscommonlyused.
4

PRBPowerRiverBasin

DatacompiledfromAURI,2005BIOBIBPreto,2010.
Generally,themoisturecontentofasolidisexpressedasthequantityofwaterperunitmass.Moisture
contentisusuallyreportedonan"asis"orwetbasis(w.b.)inwhichthewatercontentisgivenasafractionof
thetotalweight.Allbiomassmaterialscontainsomemoisture,fromaslowas8%fordriedstrawtoover50%
forfreshcutwood.
Ahighmoisturecontentadverselyaffectsthecollection,storage,preprocessing,handlingandtransportation
ofbiomass.Inaddition,transportingwetmaterialcostsmore.
Themoisturecontentofrawbiomasscanbereducedby:
leavingbiomassinthefieldtodryforseveralweeks
storingbiomass,shelteredfromprecipitation
commercialdrying

BiomassComposition
Thecompositionofbiomassvariessignificantlyamongbiomasstypes.Fuelperformanceisrelatedtothe
compositionofthebiomaterial.Importantfactorsincludeash,carbon,hydrogen,nitrogen,sulphur,oxygen
andchloridecontent.TheelementalcompositionofvariousfuelsinOntarioisindicatedinTable1.Allvalues
arereportedonadrybasis.

Ash
Thenoncombustiblecontentofbiomassisreferredtoasash.Highashcontentleadstofoulingproblems,
especiallyiftheashishighinmetalhalides(e.g.,potassium).Unfortunately,biomassfuels,especially
agriculturalcrops/residuestendtohaveahighashwithhighpotassiumcontent.Asaresult,theashmeltsat
lowertemperatures,resultingin"clinkers"thatcanjamfurnaceelements(Figure3).Alternately,slaggingand
foulingoccurwhenashisvapourizedandcondensedintheboiler,resultingintheproductionofhard
formationsontheheattransfersurfaces(Figure4).
Wood(core,nobark)haslessthan1%ash.Barkcanhaveupto3%ash.Agriculturalcropshavehigherash
content,from3%andhigher(Figure5).Someboilers/stovescannothandlefuelswithhighashcontent.More
ashmeansmoremaintenance.

Carbon
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Thecarboncontentofbiomassisaround45%,whilecoalcontains60%orgreater(Demirbas,2007).Ahigher
carboncontentleadstoahigherheatingvalue.

Hydrogen
Thehydrogencontentofbiomassisaround6%(Jenkins,1998).Ahigherhydrogencontentleadstoahigher
heatingvalue.

Nitrogen
Thenitrogencontentofbiomassvariesfrom0.2%tomorethan1%(Jenkins,1998).Fuelboundnitrogenis
responsibleformostnitrogenoxide(NOx)emissionsproducedfrombiomasscombustion.Lowernitrogen
contentinthefuelshouldleadtolowerNOxemissions.

Sulphur
Mostbiomassfuelshaveasulphurcontentbelow0.2%,withafewexceptionsashighas0.5%0.7%.Coals
rangefrom0.5%7.5%(Demirbas2007).Sulphuroxides(SOx)areformedduringcombustionandcontribute
significantlytoparticulatematter(PM)pollutionandacidrain.Sincebiomasshasnegligiblesulphurcontent,
itscombustiondoesnotcontributesignificantlytosulphuremissions.

Chloride
Combustionofbiomasswithhighchlorideconcentrations(over1,000g/g)canleadtoincreasedashfouling.
Highchloridecontentleadstotheformationofhydrochloricacidintheboilertubes,resultingincorrosionthat
canleadtotubefailureandwaterleaksintheboiler.Fuelswherethishasbeenobservedincludecornstover
andcorncobs.

Figure5.Typicalashcontentforselectedbiomassonadrybasis.Source:AURI,2005Preto,2010.
Textequivalent

PropertiesofBiomass
TheultimateanalysesforavarietyofbiomassmaterialsarepresentedinTable1.Allresultsaredisplayedon
adrymatterbasisforcomparison.Usethecompileddataonlyasageneralcomparativeguide.
Itisimportanttonotethatbiomassmaterialsnaturallycontainvariability,whichdependson:
geographicallocation
variety
climateconditions
harvestmethods
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ProcessestoReduceAsh,ChlorideandOtherElements
Variousmanagementstrategiesexisttoreducetheashandprimaryelementsthatinterferewiththe
combustionprocess,includingcropselection,growingconditions,plantfractions,harvestingtimeand
minimizingsoilcontamination.

CropSelection
Ashisfoundinlowerlevelsinwarmseasongrasses,suchasbigbluestem,switchgrassandannualssuchas
corn,comparedtocoolseasongrasses,suchasorchardgrass,fescuesandperennialryegrass(Mehdi&
Samson1998).

GrowingConditions
Soiltypehighlyinfluencestheashlevelsofbiomass.Higherashlevelsarefoundincropsproducedonclay
soilsthanincropsproducedonsandysoils.

PlantFractions
Themajorcomponentsofasharesilicaandpotassium.Thedistributionandcompositionofashvariesamong
differentplantfractions.Ashlevelsarelowestingrassstemsandhighestinleaves(Samsonetal.1999b).
Harvestingbiomasswithhigherstemcontentwillreducetheplant'sashconcentration,thusimprovingthe
biomassqualityforcombustion.SeeTable2.

HarvestTimingtoAllowforLeaching
Ash,chlorideandpotassiumcontentareminimizedbyleavingthecutbiomassinthefieldtooverwinter.
Overwinteringswitchgrassinthefieldreducesashlevelstoaslowas3.5%,duetoleachingandlossofplant
componentsthatarehigherinash(i.e.,leaves).However,harvestinginthespringcomesatacost,with
biomasslossesofbetween20%and50%.
Component

SwitchgrassAshContents(%)

Leaves

7.0

Leafsheaths

3.0

Stems

1.0

Seedheads

2.4

MinimizingSoilContamination
Itisimportanttominimizesoilcontaminationofthecropresidue,sincesoilparticlesgreatlyincreasetheash
concentrationofthebiomass.Selectmechanicalharvestingtechniquesthatavoiddiggingupthesoil(e.g.,cut
thebiomasswithahigherstubbleheight).

Summary
Biomassmaterialsareverydiverse,rangingfromwood,bark,strawandotheragriculturalresidues,grasses
andforages,andoffspecgrains,etc.Despitethisdiversity,thecompositionofmostbiomassmaterialsis
relativelyuniform,especiallyaftermoistureisremoved.Theenergycontent(onamassbasis)ofmostdry
biomassfuelsisinthe1719MJ/kg(7,3008,000BTU/lb)range.Differencesinenergycontentaredueto
differencesindensityandmoisturecontent.
Formostbiomassfuels,nitrogenandsulphurlevelsarequitelow,resultinginrelativelylowSOxandNOx
emissions.Biomassoutsidethenormalrangeofthesecategoriesismostlyintheoffspec,nonfoodgrain
category.
Themajordifferenceinthecompositionofbiomassfuelsisashcontent.Wood,thetraditionalbiomassfuel,
generallycontainslessthan0.5%ash.Withbark,thisincreasesto2%3%andjumpstoabove5%formost
grassesandagriculturalresidues.Theincreasedashcontentcancausesignificantfouling,clinkeringand
handlingissues.
Takecarewhenusingthesefuels.Designconversionsystemsspecificallyforthetargetfuels.Systems
designedforwood(orcoal)maynotbesuitableforotherbiomassfuels.
Conversion:
From

to

Multiplyby

MJ/kg

BTU/lb

430

BTU/lb

GJ/ton

0.00233

AdditionalResources
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AmosNationalRenewableEnergyLaboratory.Propertiesofbiomassrelevanttogasification.
BIOBIB,TechnicalUniversityofVienna,Austria.Databaseofbiomassproperties.
CanmetENERGY.Biomasssystems.
InternationalEnergyAgency(IEA).Biomasscombustionandcofiringproperties.
OntarioMinistryofAgriculture,FoodandRuralAffairs.
Phyllis.Databaseonthepropertiesofbiomassandwaste.
TheCommonwealthScientificandIndustrialResearchOrganisation,Australia.Biomassfueldatabase.
USDOE.Feedstockcompositionandpropertydatabase.

References
AURI.(2005).Agriculturalrenewablesolidfuelsdata.RetrievedfromAgriculturalUtilizationResearch
InstituteFuelsInitiativewebsite.
Amos,W.A.,&Bain,R.L.(2003).Highlightsofbiopowertechnicalassessment:Stateoftheindustry
andtechnology.Golden,CO:NationalRenewableEnergyLaboratory.NREL/TP51033502.
Baxter,L.L.,etal.(1998).Combustionpropertiesofbiomass.FuelProcessingTechnology,54(1):17
46.
Cherney,J.H.personalcommunication&(2008).Productionofgrassinthenortheast.GrassEnergy
Symposium,Shelburne,VT.
Ciolkosz,D.(2010).Renewableandalternativeenergyfactsheet.PennsylvaniaStateUniversity,PA,
USA.
Demirbas,A.(2004).Combustioncharacteristicsofbiomassfuels.ProgressEnergyCombustion
Science,30:219230.
Mehdi,B.,&Samson,R.(1998).Strategiestoreducetheashcontentinperennialgrasses.Resource
efficientAgriculturalProductionCanada.Ste.AnnedeBellevue,Quebec.
Pahkala,K.,Mela,T.,Hakkola,H.,Jarvi,A.,&Virkajari,P.(1996).Productionanduseofagrofibrein
Findland.Part1:Productionofagrofibrecrops:Agronomyvarieties.AgriculturalRes.Centreof
Finland,Jokioinen,Finland.
Preto,F.(2010).Propertiesofthe13commonbiomassfuelsinOntario.NaturalResource
Canada(NRCan),Ottawa,ON.
Samson,R.,Girouard,P.,&Mehdi,B.(1999b).Establishementofcommercialswitchgrassplantations.
ResourceefficientAgriculturalProductionCanada.Ste.AnnedeBellevue,Quebec.
Scurlock,J.(2008).Bioenergyfeedstockdevelopmentprograms.OakRidgeNationalLaboratory.Oak
Ridge,TN,USA.

Acknowledgements
SpecialthankstoChantalQuesnelandBenjaminBronsonfortheircontributionsandconscientiousreviewand
toShalinKhosla,GreenhouseSpecialist,OMAFRA,Harrow,forhisconsiderableassistanceinevaluating
alternatefuels.
Formoreinformation:
TollFree:18774241300
Email:ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca

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