Ash fusibility characteristcs of some biomass feedstocks and examination of the effects of inorganic additives

The increased consumption of solid biomass for energy production has raised a number of tecnical problems that are mainly related to the variability of the chemical-physical characteristics of feedstocks. The low melting temperature of their inorganic fraction is the main cause of these problems. In this work analysis and comparison of the thermal behaviour of ash from 20 different feedstocks highlighted that biomass materials with the same origin share similar qualitative and quantitative characteristics. A feedstock from a starch group, corn grain, was tested for the effects of four mineral additives (MgO, CaO, Ca-CO3, and SiO2) on ash deformation temperature. MgO and CaO seemed to be the most effective, raising ash melting temperature and enhancing the thermal behaviour of the feedstock. The results of supplementation of the initial corn grain, wheat straw and sunflower cake biomass demonstrated that the amount of additive to be used is a function of biomass type and can depend on its ash content