Image Processing Technique for Enhanced Combustion Efficiency of Wood Pellets

Thomas Gasperini, Andrea Pizzi, Lucia Olivi, Giuseppe Toscano, Alessio Ilari () and Daniele Duca ()
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Thomas Gasperini: Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Andrea Pizzi: Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Lucia Olivi: Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Giuseppe Toscano: Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Alessio Ilari: Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Daniele Duca: Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 23, 1-13

Abstract: The combustion efficiency of wood pellets is partly affected by their average length. The ISO 17829 standard defines the methodology for assessing the average length of sample pellets, but the method does not always lead to representative data. Furthermore, a standard analysis is time-consuming as it requires manual measurement of the pellets using a caliper. This paper, whilst evaluating the effect of pellet length on combustion efficiency, proposes a pending-patented dimensional image processing method (DIP) for assessing pellet length. DIP allows the dimensional data of grouped and stacked pellets to be obtained by exploiting the shadows produced by pellets when exposed to a light source, assuming that different-sized pellets produce different shadows. Thus, the proposed method allows for the extraction of dimensional information from non-distinct objects, overcoming the reliance of classical image processing methods on object distance for effective segmentation. Combustion tests, carried out using pellets varying only in length, confirmed the influence of length on combustion efficiency. Shorter pellets, compared to longer ones, significantly reduced CO emissions by up to 94% (mg/MJ). However, they exhibited a higher fuel mass consumption rate (kg/h), with an increase of up to 22.8% compared to the longest sample. In addition, longer pellets produced fewer but larger shadows than shorter ones. Further studies are needed to correlate the number and size of shadows with samples’ average length so that DIP could be implemented in stoves and programmed to communicate with the control unit and automatically optimize the setting in order to improve combustion efficiency.

Keywords: solid biofuel; stove emissions; low-cost sensor; image processing; binarization; pellet length; precision bioenergy (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: 2024
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