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Improvement of Biomass Fuel Properties for Rice Straw Pellets Using Torrefaction and Mixing with Wood Chips

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Abstract

Utilization of rice pellets as biomass fuel has many challenges compared with wood pellets, including low heating value, low bulk density, and high ash content, that cause high logistic costs and clinker formation. To solve these problems, this study focused on upgrading the quality of rice straw pellets to improve logistic efficiency by torrefaction and mixing with wood chips. Torrefaction and mixing with wood chips was effective to improve the energy density, the mechanical durability and the contents of fixed carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and ash, leading to the improvement of both logistic efficiency and combustion behavior. The burning test showed that increases in the fixed carbon content and the mechanical durability contributed to stable increases in the temperature inside the furnace during starting up and reduced the amount of ash in the exhaust gas during stable combustion.

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Acknowledgements

This study was conducted with support from technical research aid, JFE 21st Century Foundation. We are also grateful to Dr. Toshiki Sato of Takeda Tekko-Sho Co., Ltd., for the combustion test.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, N13, W8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-8628, Japan

    Ryosuke Kizuka, Kazuei Ishii, Satoru Ochiai & Masahiro Sato

  2. Forest Products Research Institute, Forest Research Department, Hokkaido Research Organization, Asahikawa, Japan

    Atsushi Yamada & Kouei Nishimiya

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  1. Ryosuke Kizuka
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  2. Kazuei Ishii
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  4. Masahiro Sato
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  6. Kouei Nishimiya
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Correspondence to Kazuei Ishii.

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Kizuka, R., Ishii, K., Ochiai, S. et al. Improvement of Biomass Fuel Properties for Rice Straw Pellets Using Torrefaction and Mixing with Wood Chips. Waste Biomass Valor 12, 3417–3429 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-020-01234-8

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