Experimental study of thermal decomposition and combustion of lignocellulosic biomass pellets

The study is aimed at cleaner and more efficient heat energy production through investigation and analysis of the thermal decomposition of lignocellulosic biomass pellets with different elemental composition, the heating values and contents of hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin. The estimation is provided for the influence of biomass composition on the combustion characteristics for softwood, wheat straw and wheat straw lignin pellets. The kinetics of thermal decomposition was studied experimentally, using a pilot device for two-stage processes of thermochemical conversion including gasification and combustion of biomass pellets under varying conditions. The experimental study includes time-dependent measurements of the biomass pellet weight loss during gasification and the correlating variations of the flame temperature, heat production rates, combustion efficiency and composition of the products at different stages of thermochemical conversion. Estimation is also given for the influence of the biomass composition on the combustion characteristics and heat energy production.