Torrefaction of Pine, Willow, and Arundo to Improve Fuel Characteristics

Torrefaction is a thermal pretreatment technology that serves as an important step in the utilization of biomass as a fuel source during thermochemical processing techniques, such as combustion, co-combustion, and gasification. The product from torrefaction has improved fuel properties in terms of increased mass energy density, possesses hydrophobic nature, and is more uniform, in comparison with unprocessed biomass. Also, the grindability characteristics of the torrefied biomass are greatly improved and are comparable with coal and petroleum coke. This allows for effective utilization of torrefied biomass in coal fired power plants using the existing burners with minor modifications