An experimental study of combustion and emissions of biomass pellets in a prototype pellet furnace

This study presents combustion and emission results obtained using a prototype pellet furnace with 7–32 kW capacity (designed for burning high ash content pellet fuels) for four biomass pellets: one grass pellet and three wood pellets. Fuel property, gas emissions and furnace efficiency are compared. In regard to fuel properties, proximate analysis, ultimate analysis and heating values are determined and emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) are measured and compared. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used for ash analysis. No ash agglomeration was observed and ash discharge was in the form of powder instead of lumped particles, which are usually observed for high ash biomass fuel. The results suggest that grass pellets can successfully be combusted with similar performance and emissions to that of other wood pellets if burned in appropriate combustion installations.