Effect of wood fly ash and compost on nitrification and denitrification in agricultural soil

Wood ash from biofuel combustion plants and compost from source-separated household waste are commonly spread on forest, agricultural and horticultural soils as a valuable source of plant nutrients. However, due to anthropogenic activities, wood ash may contain high concentrations of heavy metals. Heavy metals are toxic to microorganisms and therefore, soil microbial response to wood ash should be considered when soil is amended with ash. Compost is known to improve soil structure and may also act as a bioremediating agent, mitigating any toxic effects of wood ash on soil microorganisms. In the present study, the aim was to investigate whether wood ash has any toxic effect on soil microbial activity and, if this is the case, whether compost could mitigate these effects. The effect of wood fly ash on potential ammonium oxidation rate (PAO) and potential denitrification rate (PDA) in arable soil was investigated in one dose–response assay and in two pot experiments with or without plants, respectively. The treatments were amendment with wood fly ash, compost or a combination of wood fly ash and compost. PAO and PDA were assessed immediately or after 7 and 90 days in the different experiments. Wood fly ash decreased PDA to 16–56% compared to the control, while PAO varied between 82% and 205%. Sole compost addition stimulated both processes. This positive effect was also observed in the combined wood fly ash–compost treatment. In conclusion, wood ash had a toxic effect on PDA, both on an immediate, short-term and long-term basis. Amendment of compost clearly mitigated this toxic effect. The observed toxicity could be an effect of the metal content of ash.     

Study on prediction models of biomass ash softening temperature based on ash composition

As a characterization constant of fuel's ash fusibility, ash melting point of fuel plays an important role in the performance of boiler burning. The properties of the ash melting point of fuel have been proved to have close relationships with the contents of oxides in the ash. This paper focuses on finding out general laws to predict the ash melting point of biomass based on the classification of biomass and the analysis of oxides contents. The results of testing and verifying have shown that, the method of biomass ash melting point prediction is effective.     

Element budgets of forest biomass combustion and ash fertilisation - A Danish case-study

Harvest of forest biomass for energy production may lead to a significant export of nutrients from the forest. Ash spreading and recycling of nutrients from wood chip combustion to the forest has come into focus as a means for counteracting the nutrient export. This study was carried out to examine the retention of various elements in the different ash fractions and utilise the nutrient recovery to evaluate the fertiliser quality of the examined ash. The mass and element flux of wood chips, bottom ash, cyclone fly ash and condensation sludge at Ebeltoft central heating plant was studied over a four day period in spring 2005. On average, 19 ton wood chips (dry weight) were combusted each day. The combustion of the wood chips produced 0.70% ash and sludge (dry weight). The ash and sludge dry matter was distributed as 81% fly ash, 16% bottom and residual grate ash and 3% sludge solid phase. Substantial amounts of nutrients were retained in the fly ash (P, Ca, Mg, Mn and Cu have a recovery higher than 60% and K, S and Fe have a recovery higher than 30%). The recovery of elements in the bottom ash was smaller. The added recovery of the usable fractions of ashes (both fly ash and bottom ash) exceeded 75% for the nutrients P, Ca, Mn and Mg. Both these ash fractions should be considered for fertilisation.     

Ash-forming elements in four Scandinavian wood species part 3: Combustion of five spruce samples

Forest residue is the remaining fraction after the outtake of timber, which comprises the tree tops and branches. It may as fuel cause damage to the combustion device through ash slagging and fouling. The objective of this work was to model the ash composition from well-specified samples of a spruce tree: wood, bark, twigs, needles, and shoots. Their ash at 1000 °C was modelled using global chemical equilibrium calculations, and laboratory-made ash of the five samples was analyzed by XRD and SEM-EDXA. According to the results, the risk of slagging arises from the spruce foliage: molten alkali silicates from spruce needles and probably molten alkali phosphates from spruce shoots may cause problems in the furnace. Fouling caused by condensing alkali vapours can be produced by all five samples. The amount of alkali vapours in the flue gas was in the same order of magnitude for all five samples, in spite of large differences in their original alkali contents.     

The effect of bark content on quality parameters of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) pellets

Increased use of pellets has resulted in a shortage of the traditional raw materials required for pellet making, including saw dust, shavings and cuttings from saw mills. Therefore, the pellets industry has started to look for alternative raw materials. Limited consumption of pulpwood from Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Norway has made it a potential raw material for the pellets industry.A study on how bark content affects the quality of pellets is reported in this paper. Pellets from pinewood containing zero, five, 10, 30 and 100 percent bark were produced, and their quality parameters were evaluated. Combustion tests were also performed on the produced pellets.Pellets made from pure bark had the best mechanical properties compared with pellets made of wood containing various concentrations of bark. The differences were not substantial and the durability for all chosen assortments was in the same quality class in the CEN standard. A positive effect off the amount of steam added was found. The bulk densities of the blend pellets were higher than those of pure wood and bark. The ash content increased with the amount of bark in the pellets. There were no problems with sintering when the bark content was low (five and 10 percent). For pure bark pellets some sintering was registered.     

Wood ash dilemma-reduced quality due to poor combustion performance

Recycling of wood ash is based on the presumption that moderate concentrations of environmentally harmful elements are a part of the nutrient cycle and do not increase in net concentrations in the forest soil. It is assumed that the same quantities of harmful elements are harvested from the forest and recycled back. This principle does not apply to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) since these pollutants are formed during the combustion process, especially when the combustion performance is poor. Additionally, industrial combustors are adjusted in order to reduce NO_x-emissions, indirectly causing formation of PAHs. This study examined fly ash from combustion of pulverized wood for its elemental and PAH concentrations during a period of 9 weeks. The 16 EPA-PAH concentrations range between 40 and 300 mg kg⁻¹. Re-burning of the ash reduces the PAH concentrations to 0.24 mg kg⁻¹ and organic carbon concentration from 40% to 5%, enhancing its composition significantly. It is important to determine the amount and fate of PAHs spread on forest soils with wood ash to ensure the improvement of the health of the forest ecosystem. Maximized energy efficiency of industrial boilers is the key to reducing anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and enabling a sustainable nutrient recycling system.     

Low-temperature pyrolysis of wood waste containing urea–formaldehyde resin

A study of the first phase of a thermal two-step process of valorisation for waste containing urea–formaldehyde (UF resins) such as particle boards is presented. The first step of the process known as “purification” is a low-temperature pyrolysis (250–300 °C) achieved for the selective desorption of the additives and their recovery. The second step is a reduction/gasification of the carbonaceous residue by thermochemical attack in CO₂ or in water vapour, to obtain CO/H₂ gases. First experiments have been carried out on a thermobalance to check the feasibility of the selective desorption of UF resin from wood. It appears that the temperature ranges linked to the degradation of wood are different from those obtained for the degradation of urea–formaldehyde resin. Thus, these results enable a selective pyrolysis. Particle board pyrolysis is also studied on an analysis device allowing a semi-continuous analysis by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry of pyrolysis products such as CO, CO₂, CH₄, NH₃ and HNCO. Elementary analysis and studies in calorimetric bomb enable the characterisation of residues after treatment. It appears that the nitrogen quantity eliminated is not influenced by the treatment temperature: the quality of the process does not depend on the temperature of the treatment. However, we also observe an acceleration of the carbon, oxygen and hydrogen elimination, which implies a loss of energy. These results are validated by the study of residues in calorimetric bomb, which leads to an energy loss of approximately 10% for a treatment temperature between 250 and 300 °C.     

A review of the interference of carbon containing fly ash with air entrainment in concrete

Industrial utilization of fly ash from pulverized coal combustion plays an important role in environmentally clean and cost effective power generation. Today, the primary market for fly ash utilization is as pozzolanic additive in the production of concrete. However, the residual carbon in fly ash may interfere with air entraining admixtures (AEAs) added to enhance air entrainment in concrete in order to increase its workability and resistance toward freezing and thawing conditions. The problem has increased with implementation of low-_NOx${\mathrm{NO}}_x$ combustion technologies.     

Natural drying treatments during seasonal storage of wood for bioenergy in different European locations

Research into the methods of producing high quality wood chips for a rapidly growing energy sector is becoming increasingly important. For example, small wood chip heating plants require high quality wood chips to ensure efficient operation, thereby minimizing maintenance costs. Moisture content is considered to be an important quality parameter regarding wood based fuels. The objective of this study is to investigate methods to promote the natural drying of wood for bioenergy purposes. The effects on the drying process through covering the wood piles and partial debarking of stems were tested in order to identify methods to reduce the moisture content of the woody material in the storage. Drying trials were established in Finland, Italy and Scotland, utilizing tree species typically used for energy purposes in each area. The results show that natural drying is a viable and effective method to enhance the energy efficiency of wood based fuel products in all the regions studied. Furthermore, by adapting current harvesting methods and storage procedures even better results can be achieved. In addition, the results also indicate that broadleaved trees dry more effectively, if some partial debarking is carried out and that covering of piles is of utmost importance in Scotland and Finland.     

The costs and profitability of using granulated wood ash as a forest fertilizer in drained peatland forests

Increasing and more intensive energy wood harvesting from forests necessitate efforts to ensure that adequate amounts of nutrients are recycled back onto the site. Recycling nutrients back to the forest in the form of wood ash is a natural means to correct the nutrient imbalance and acidity of forest soils that can occur from intensive management, as well as to solve the problem of disposing of wood combustion wastes. Methods of refining and spreading have been developed to improve the logistics and cost competitiveness of recycling wood ash back into the forest as fertilizer. In this study, the costs of spreading granulated wood ash in the forest were calculated under Finnish conditions. The profitability of recycling wood ash to drained peatland forests as a fertilizer was also analyzed, from the forest owner’s point of view. For this analysis, wood ash was compared with chemical fertilizer in terms of effect, cost and profitability. Wood ash fertilization using the ground-based forwarder system was two to three times cheaper than using the aerial helicopter-loader system. From the forest owner’s point of view, the fertilization of peatland forest with wood ash proved to be a very profitable silvicultural investment (IRR 3-12 percent). To improve the economics of wood ash recycling to forests, ground-based spreading of granulated ash should be emphasized. Furthermore, in order to create large enough operational units for the cost-efficient spreading of ash, there needs to be comprehensive planning of spreading sites.     

前后墙对冲燃烧锅炉降低飞灰含碳量的燃烧调整试验

分析了浙江浙能长兴发电有限公司3号锅炉飞灰含碳量升高的原因,指出磨煤机研磨能力下降、煤粉过粗、煤粉浓度分配不均匀以及局部缺氧燃烧等是主要原因;介绍了针对巴威DRB-XCL旋流燃烧器的特点,通过采取调整燃烧器调风盘、内、外二次风叶片角度以及提高炉膛氧量等措施,从而降低锅炉飞灰含碳量2%~3%,解决了3号炉飞灰含碳量高的问题,提高了机组运行的经济性。     

MMT对煤燃烧飞灰含碳量和NOx排放的影响

在一维沉降炉上对神混l号煤样添加MMT后燃烧的飞灰含碳量和NOx排放特性进行了试验研究,并对其燃尽率进行了分析.试验结果表明:所用沉降炉设计合理,添加MMT后,煤燃烧的飞灰含碳量和NOx排放同时降低.与原煤相比,最大降低量分别为18.39％和14.29％.原因是MMT的含锰燃烧产物能够促进C的氧化,同时还能作为催化剂促...     

基于改良BP神经网络的生物质锅炉飞灰含碳量预测模型研究

针对生物质锅炉飞灰含碳量较高的问题,文章提出了基于主成分分析法(PCA)或Garson算法与普通LM-BP神经网络相结合的两种生物质锅炉飞灰含碳量预测模型。这两种模型通过对负荷、燃烧室烟气温度、烟气含氧量等17个原始输入变量进行降维得到新输入变量,再进行训练建模,提高了模型精度。利用我国某生物质电厂飞灰含碳量的实测数据对模型进行检验,检验结果表明,LM-Garson-BP神经网络的MAPE为2.09%,MSE为0.11,MAE为0.25,泛化能力最强,稳定性最好。     

Effect of Ash in Coal on the Performance of Coal Fired Thermal Power Plants. Part II: Capacity and Secondary Energy Effects

This article reports the secondary energy effects (wear/erosion/abrasion, slagging, and fouling) of ash in coal on the energy performance of coal fired thermal power plants of capacity range 30–500 MW. It also gives the extent of capacity reduction in equipment due to firing of coals with higher ash contents.

At an ash content of 75% in coal, the effects on the system (without fuel oil support) follow: (a) decrease in Hardgrove index from 80 to 44; (b) 20% of the specific energy consumption (SEC) of induced draft (ID) fans, 10%–12% of that of forced draft (FD) and primary air (PA) fans, 17% of that of drum mills, and 12%–13% of that of ball-race mills and bowl mills, are accounted for by wear/erosion/abrasion effects; (c) decrease of fan efficiencies by 5%–6% points due to wear/erosion/abrasion effects; (d) capacity loss originating from wear/erosion/abrasion effects alone is 8% due to ID fans, 1% due to PA fans, and 6% due to mills; (e) fouling effects are high fouling factor, decrease in boiler efficiency by 3%, and capacity reduction of 2%; and (f) CFs based on overall unit performance are 31% for units below 210 MW, 26% for 210 MW units, and 40% for 500 MW. Considering the capacity restrictions due to individual equipment, CF at an ash content of 57% is 85% due to the boiler fans, 84% due to Raymond bowl mills and drum type ball mills, 71% due to slow speed large ball and race mills, and 88% due to ash slurry pumps. When the coal exceeds 70% and tends toward 76%, the heating value of coal tends toward zero. The effects of slagging (independent of ash content in coal) area 20% decrease in boiler water wall loading, a 3.5% points decrease in boiler efficiency, and capacity reduction of 14%.     

Experimental study on low temperature thermal treatment of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans(PCDD/Fs) in fly ash

The effects of temperature and time on polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) distribution in fly ash of a municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) were studied in a tubular oven under nitrogen atmosphere. The PCDD/Fs in the gas phase and solid phase were detected by high-resolution gas chromatography coupled with low resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/LRMS) separately. The experimental results showed that the major congener was octa-chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (OCDD) in the gas phase and the low chlorinated congeners were the major products in the solid phase. There were high levels of OCDD in the gas phase in several experimental conditions although the PCDD/Fs in the solid phase could be decomposed. The optimum condition for PCDD/Fs decomposition in fly ash was a heating time of 60 min at 400 °C under nitrogen atmosphere. Translated from Proceedings of the CSEE, 2005, 25(23): 95–99 [译自:中国电机工程学报]     

600MW电站锅炉烟气含氧体积分数优化策略研究

以某600Mw燃煤机组为例,在调节烟气含氧体积分数的基础上,增加一次风配比、二次风配比和燃尽风风门开度调整试验,分析了烟气含氧体积分数对锅炉经济性的影响,并对烟气含氧体积分数进行优化,提出了有关优化策略．结果表明：在400Mw、500Mw和600Mw3种负荷下,最佳运行烟气含氧体积分数分别为3．8％、3．2％和2．3％,可以有效降低发电成本和风机电耗,提高锅炉整体热经济参数及降低NOx排放质量浓度,为锅炉安全运行和节能减排提供依据．     

具有高抗水、抗硫性的CeO2/TiO2-ZrO2催化剂脱硝性能研究

采用浸渍法制备了CeO2/TiO2-ZrO2催化剂,用于NH3选择性催化还原NO.研究了CeO2负载量、氧浓度、空速值、氨氮比以及SO2浓度和水蒸气存在的情况对催化剂活性的影响,并运用BET和XRD对催化剂进行了微观表征.结果表明:催化剂中ZrO2的存在有利于增大催化剂比表面积,增强CeO2在催化剂上的分散度,提高了催化剂活性;CeO2/TiO2-ZrO2催化剂表现出高效性和稳定性,当CeO2负载量超过10%、空速值为30000 h-1、反应温度为250～450℃时,脱硝率稳定在94.27%～99.63%;当高浓度SO2和水蒸气同时存在时,随着反应温度的升高,NO的脱除率逐渐提高,当反应温度高于400℃时,脱硝率仍可达到92%以上,表明CeO2/TiO2-ZrO2催化剂具有很强的抗硫性和抗水中毒性.     

高铝煤混燃飞灰电除尘特性的试验研究

我国部分地区的煤燃烧后飞灰的铝含量高达45%以上,严重影响了飞灰的电除尘性能,实际测定其飞灰比电阻达到了1012Ω.cm以上,使电除尘器效率明显下降。采用高铝煤与其它煤种按不同比例混配后在高温炉中燃烧,并测定燃烧后飞灰的粒径、比电阻等特性;对电除尘效率进行建模计算,在保证对锅炉燃烧热效率影响不大的情况下,找出最佳混配比例,使混燃后高铝煤灰的物化特性得到改善,从而提高电除尘效率。图3表4参8     

无机高效传热技术在原油处理设备中的应用

无机传热元件具有启动迅速、导热系数高及均温性好等优良的传热特性。本文首次将无机传热元件应用于油气田高效加热炉,使设计热效率达到92％,钢耗量由平均13t／MW下降到6-8t／MW,设备造价降低15％,并首次将无机高效传热元件应用于原油处理设备,较好地解决了传统设备由于采用火筒直接加热油井产物所导致的结焦、爆管问题,提高了设备的使用寿命和安全可靠性,并使热负荷减少50％以上,燃气量减少50％以上。利用该技术开发出的两种无机传热高效原油处理设备,对油田地面工程建设及生产运行中的节能降耗具有参考意义。