Co-Firing Combustion Characteristics of Woodchips and Spent Mushroom Substrates in a 400 kWth Stoker-Type Boiler

Hyun-Hee Lee, Sae-Byul Kang (), Jae-Joon Choi, Young-Jik Youn, Kyu-Won Kim, Man-Soo Jeong and Jae-Kyung Byeon
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Hyun-Hee Lee: Korean Institute of Energy Research, Daejon 34129, Republic of Korea
Sae-Byul Kang: Korean Institute of Energy Research, Daejon 34129, Republic of Korea
Jae-Joon Choi: Korean Institute of Energy Research, Daejon 34129, Republic of Korea
Young-Jik Youn: Korean Institute of Energy Research, Daejon 34129, Republic of Korea
Kyu-Won Kim: Kyuwontech, Gyeongsan 38572, Republic of Korea
Man-Soo Jeong: Kyuwontech, Gyeongsan 38572, Republic of Korea
Jae-Kyung Byeon: Kyuwontech, Gyeongsan 38572, Republic of Korea

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 23, 1-11

Abstract: The simultaneous firing characteristics of woodchips and spent mushroom substrates (SMS) were studied in a stoker-type industrial boiler. The type of spent substrate intended for combustion consisted of oyster mushrooms. SMS from mushroom farms generally have a high water content. Dryers are therefore used for combustion. The moisture content of SMS was reduced to achieve low moisture to combust sufficiently at about 20%. First, the basic characteristics of the boiler were confirmed by conducting a woodchip combustion test under various operating loads of 30, 50, 70, and 100%. Thereafter, a simultaneous combustion test of woodchips and SMS was performed. During the experiment, exhaust gas concentrations in the boiler combustion chamber were measured, such as the temperature of oxygen (O 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen oxides (NOx). In addition, industrial and basic analyses were performed on woodchips and SMS. The main differences in the fuel analysis results between woodchips and SMS were ash, nitrogen, sulfur content and net calorific value. According to the analysis, the nitrogen content of SMS was 2.6%, which was 8.7 times higher than that of woodchips, and the ash content was also 14.8%, which was 18.5 times that of woodchips. As a result of the combustion experiment, the woodchip experiment revealed that the values of O 2 and CO decreased and the combustion chamber temperature increased as the amount of fuel increased. Due to higher combustion temperature, thermal NOx also increased. When comparing this combustion test with the co-firing test, there was no significant difference in O 2 , CO, and combustion chamber temperature. However, with regard to the NOx value, the results showed a sharp increase from 64 ppm to 135 ppm. Although the NOx value increased, SMS had enough heat to be burned as fuel. Therefore, the utility of various agricultural byproducts as fuel has prospects for achieving an effective approach to energy cost reduction.

Keywords: woodchips; spent mushroom substrate; boiler; combustion; co-firing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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