Investigation of Pressed Solid Biofuel Produced from Multi-Crop Biomass

Abstract

The paper presents the preparation and use of pressed solid biofuel of multi-crop plants (fibrous hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), maize (Zea mays L.) and faba bean (Vicia faba L.)) as mono, binary and trinomial crops. The results of the investigation show that three main chemical elements (carbon, oxygen and hydrogen) accounted for 93.1 to 94.9% of the biomass pellet content. The moisture content varied from 3.9 to 8.8%, ash content from 4.5 to 6.8% and calorific value from 16.8 to 17.1 MJ·kg−1. It was found that the density (DM) of all variants of pellets was very similar; the faba bean biomass pellets had the highest density of 1195.8 kg·m−3 DM. The initial ash deformation temperature (DT) of burning biomass pellets was detected, which varied from 976 to 1322 °C. High potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) concentrations were found in all types of biomass ash. The quantities of heavy metals in pellet ash were not large and did not exceed the permissible values according to Lithuanian legislation. These chemical properties of multi-crop biomass ash allow them to be used in agriculture for plant fertilization.

Thermal Energy and Exhaust Emissions of a Gasifier Stove Feeding Pine and Hemp Pellets

“…Burczyk (2015) [78], after Cichy (2013) [79], states that the sulfur content in the dry matter of hemp is 0.08%, and according to Brazdausks et al (2015) [80], in hemp chaff, sulfur constitutes 0.2 ± 0.01%. A similar sulfur content in hemp pellets-at the level of 0.04%, was found by Petlickaite et al (2022) [45]. According to the research by Aleksiejczuk and Teleszewski (2022) [81], the emission of SO 2 from the combustion of wood pellets in a retort furnace for servicing a single-family house was 1.64 kg•year −1 .…”

“…In Poland, the area declared in the RDP 2014-2020 applications is 3109.03 ha [41]. In Poland, the Act of 24 March 2022 [42] amending the Act on counteracting drug addiction [43], enables hemp cultivation for many industries; textile, chemical, cellulose and paper, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, energy, seed and scientific research, in order to breed varieties of hemp, reclamation and remediation land [44], food, veterinary, fodder, beekeeping, fertilizer and insulation, for the production of composite materials, building materials and natural plant protection products [45,46]. Hemp, by improving energy efficiency in industry, can play an important role in achieving Sustainable Development Goals, net zero targets, and carbon neutrality by 2050, which is one of the goals of the European Green Deal.…”

The impact of fuel delivery logistics on the cost of thermal energy on the example of biofuels boilers in Ukraine

“…Although biofuels are considered to be more environmentally friendly because they are considered CO 2 -neutral, their combustion produces emissions of other pollutants and ash. It is obvious that biofuel ash has a different composition and physicochemical properties than coal ash, but all ash dumps from solid fuel combustion have a negative impact on the environment and human health [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44]. Further research should consider the ways and costs of handling pellet ash in the LCOH.…”

A Study of Generation and Regulation of Crop Residue: Bioenergy

“…The need for fuels is increasing, so it is important to find new, locally available, sustainable resources like biomass that may be used to power small-scale appliances in remote areas. Crop biomass has substantial potential to generate bioenergy by using various thermochemical processes (Petlickaitë et al, 2022). Previously, surplus biomass from diverse crop residues such as cotton, sugarcane, soybean, maize, vineyard waste, reed plant, A Study of Generation and Regulation of Crop Residue: Bioenergy switchgrass and others were utilized to produce the biofuel (Al Afif and Pfeifer, 2021) (Mitchell et al, 2020) (Harun et al, 2018) (Petlickaitë et al, 2022) (Senila et al, 2020).…”