Carbon combustion efficiencies

The combustion tests were performed using different coal mass fraction; 0, 50 and 100%, corresponding to heat input of 10kW under optimum excess air conditions. Figure 2 shows the effect of different mixtures of rice husk and palm kernel shell with coal on carbon com­bustion efficiency with the same heat input. Generally, Carbon combustion efficiency for single biomass (rice husk and palm kernel shell) but increases with increasing coal addition and experimental runs. The following carbon combustion efficiencies, from Eqn. (1), range between 67-75% for burning 100% rice husk and 80-83% for burning 100% palm kernel shell, 83-88%, and 86-92% for 50% of coal addition to rice husk and palm kernel shell, respectively. The improved carbon combustion efficiency by co-combustion of rice husk with coal can be attributed to an increase in bed temperature, Figure 3, which is caused by the addition of fixed carbon content in the mixture. This fixed carbon, from coal, burns in the bed while the volatile gas burns in the freeboard region. Thus, there is more chance for fuel conversion carbon to carbon dioxide as the coal fraction increases and less volatile and tend to escape combustion, because of the reduced biomass concentration [16].

In addition, increasing the fluidizing velocity increases the turbulence in the bed leading to better solid mixing and gas-solid contacting and so as the amount of carbon in the bed is burnt at higher rate. Consequently, higher carbon burn out obtained leads to higher carbon

combustion efficiency. However, when the combustion is stabilized, increasing fluidizing velocity contributed to a greater particle elutriation rate than the carbon to CO conversion rate and hence increased the unburned carbon [5]. However, when the combustion is stabi­lized, increasing the fluidizing velocity contributes to a greater particle elutriation rate than carbon to carbon monoxide conversion rate and increases the amount of unburned carbon.

This phenomenon can be seen in Figure 2 where the carbon combustion efficiency is lower than expected for 50% rice husk mixtures when the fluidizing velocity increases beyond the optimum value. Apart from solid mixing, increasing the fluidizing velocity also influences the fuel particle settling time during the combustion process in the FBC. Increasing fluidiz­ing velocity drives the lighter fuel particles upwards and into the freeboard region, which is indicated by higher freeboard temperatures. Thus, the settling time for the biomass to reach the bed will be greater and a significant portion of the combustion will be completed before the particles return to the bed is reached, although this is dependent upon fuel particle size and density. This settling time depends on the fuel particle size and particle density. The greater settling time the higher the freeboard temperature due to greater volatile combus­tion contributing to higher combustion efficiency providing the bed temperature is main­tained within the range of 800-900oC.