Chapter 3:
Biomass properties for
thermal conversion
Presented By: Pohaniyar [Link] Mohsini
10/07/2024
Learning Objectives
➢ Describe various properties of biomass important for thermal conversion.
➢ Describe various methods of characterizing the physical and thermal properties of biomass.
➢ Specify the various equipment used for characterizing various biomass properties.
➢ Estimate some biomass properties by empirical equations when data is given.
3
Table of Contents
➢ 3.1 Introduction
➢ 3.2 Physical Properties of Biomass
➢ 3.3 Important Thermal Related Properties
➢ 3.4 Other Standard Methods for Biomass Analysis (Home Study)
3
3.1 Introduction
For the efficient thermal conversion of biomass, it is required to know its properties as
shown in the below figure:
Biomass characterization
❑ Physical Properties ❑ Thermal related ❑ Composition analysis
properties
✓ Particle density ✓ Solids(dissolved, volatile)
✓ Proximate analysis
✓ Heat capacity ✓ Extractive (water, ethanol)
✓ VCM, MC, FC and ASH
✓ Bulk density ✓ Ultimate analysis ✓ Soluble and insoluble
✓ Particle size distribution ✓ C, H, O, N, S and Ash ✓ Cellulose
✓ Thermal conductivity ✓ Heating value ✓ Organic carbon
✓ Angle of repose ✓ Surface area ✓ Nitrogen
✓ Angle of friction ✓ Poor volume ✓ Phosphorus
✓ Electric point analysis 3
3.2 Physical Properties of Biomass
➢ Particle Density
➢ Bulk Density
➢ Particle Size and Particle Distribution
➢ Angle of Repose
➢ Angle of Friction
➢ Heat Capacity of Biomass
➢ Thermal Conductivity of Biomass
3
3.2 Physical Properties of Biomass
➢ Particle Density: is the measure of biomass particle weight per unit volume that the
biomass particle has occupied (kg/m3).
➢ Pycnometer is used for determining particle density.
3
3.2 Physical Properties of Biomass
➢ Bulk Density: The standard method for measuring bulk density of biomass is contained in
American society for testing materials (ASTM)
➢ A 305x305x305mm box is used for determining bulk density.
➢ Biomass is first weighted, and then poured to the box from 610mm height and the box is
dropt five times from a height of 150mm to allow settling.
𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑘 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦(𝑔/〖𝑐𝑚〗^3 )=((𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑜𝑥 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒)−(𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓
𝑏𝑜𝑥))/((𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑜𝑥))
3
3.2 Physical Properties of Biomass
➢ Particle Size and Particle Distribution: shows the
percentage of different particle sizes in a given
grounded biomass sample.
➢ It is measured by using various slandered sieves.
3
3.2 Physical Properties of Biomass
➢ Angle of Repose: is the steepest angle of the slope relative to the horizontal plane when a
biomass is poured on a horizontal surface.
➢ This parameter is important for designing biomass conveying systems such as belt
conveyors.
3
3.2 Physical Properties of Biomass
➢ Angle of Friction: is the angle with which the pile of biomass will slide when raised from
the horizontal plane.
➢ If the surface is smooth, the biomass materials will slide at lower angle of friction then
when the surface is rough.
3
3.2 Physical Properties of Biomass
➢ Heat Capacity of Biomass: is the ratio of the amount of heat energy transferred to the
materials to the resulting increase in temperature of that materials (J/k)
➢ Thermal Conductivity of Biomass: is the ability of materials to transfer heat (W/m.k)
3
3.3 Important Thermal Related Properties
❑ There are two standards test methods for charterization of biomass.
✓ ASTM(American Society for Testing Material) that originated for characterization of wood, coal and coke.
✓ USDOE(National Renewable Energy Laboratory ).
Three sets of standard biomass characterization which relate thermal conversion properties are:
➢ Proximate Analysis
➢ Ultimate Analysis
➢ Heating Value Analysis
3
3.3 Important Thermal Related Properties
Proximate Analysis
Proximate analysis includes the measurement of,
▪ Moister Content (MC)
▪ Volatile Combustible Matter (VCM)
▪ Ash
▪ Fixed Carbon (FC)
❑ Thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA701) is used for proximate analysis
3
3.3 Important Thermal Related Properties
Moister Content (MC):is the weight loss observed, when it is dried under standard condition.
𝑴𝟏 −𝑴𝟐
Moister Content % = x 100
Where, 𝑴𝟏
M1 = initial weight
M2 = the weight after drying under standard condition (at 103°C for 16 hours)
Gravimetric forced convection biomass dryer is used for drying.
3
3.3 Important Thermal Related Properties
Volatile Combustible Matter (VCM): is the weight of biomass lost in form of vapors and gasses,
when heated in the absence of air under prescribed conditions.
➢ To measure the VCM the bone-dry biomass sample is placed in the platinum crucible with a
close-fitting cover and placed in a tube furnace. The temperature setting is 950±20
centigrade.
➢ The material is exposed for about 7min, cooled and reweighted. The loss in Weight is from the
VCM of the biomass. Likewise a similar procedure for coal and coke.
𝒗𝒊 −𝒗𝒇
Volatile Combustible Matter %(VCM%) = x 100
𝒗𝒊
3
Ash and fixed carbon
➢ After the measurement of the VCM, the biomass material is placed in a muffle furnaces for
about an hour, with the cap removed and the temperature set to 600 centigrade.
➢ After an hour, the crucible is placed in a desiccator until the material has cooled. Then, it
is reweighted. Ensure that there are no carbons lefts in the material after it is taken out
of the furnace. Otherwise, one may add other 30 min until the color of the material
become grayish white.
➢ The material left on the crucible is the amount of ash present in the biomass. The
difference between the ash content and the VCM is (FC) fixed carbon.
3
Ash and fixed carbon
➢ Ash: is the inorganic residue (grayish white color) left after biomass is burned under standard condition.
𝒗𝒇 −𝒇𝒇
Ash (ash%) = x 100
𝒗𝒊
➢ Fixed Carbon (FC): in terms of percentage is estimated by subtracting the total percentage of the other
three parameters from 100.
➢ Fixed carbon % = 100 – (%Moister + %Volatile Combustible Matter + %Ash)
ASH% = 100 − VCM% − FC%
3
ASH Labs
3
Cont.
3
Cont.
3
Cont.
3
Cont. Ultimate Analysis
➢ The ultimate analysis basically gives the elemental composition of biomass in weight percent of
carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), sulfur (S) and nitrogen (N).
➢ The individual elements in the ultimate analysis have their individual ASTM standards listed in table 3.4.
3
Cont. Ultimate Analysis
➢ The oxygen content of biomass is the difference between 100% and the sum of C, H, N, S, and ash.
➢ Figure 3.10 shows a photo of one type of an ultimate analyzer (Elementar Analyzer, Exeter
Analytical, North Chelmsford, MA).
➢ Other companies manufacture ultimate analyzers such as the TruSpec Micro Series CHNS/O
Analyzer (Leto Corporation, St. Joseph, MI).
➢ The more expensive units are those that can handle biomass sample at the gram level rather than
the microgram level.
➢ The micro-level ultimate analyzers must have a dedicated microbalance that must be accurate to
the micro-gram level, or lower, in order to provide accurate readings.
➢ A photo of a microbalance is shown in Figure 3.11.
3
Cont. Ultimate Analysis
3
A couple of important parameters that may be calculated from the ultimate analysis
are the atomic carbon-to-hydrogen ratio and the atomic oxygen-to-carbon ratio.
Example 3.2 shows how to calculate the atomic C/H and O/C ratios important to
thermal conversion systems. This will be discussed in later chapters.
3
Cont. Heating Value Analysis
Heating value is mainly the heat released during combustion of a specific amount of biomass.
The heating value of biomass is basically reported in terms of higher heating value (HHV) and lower heating value
(LHV).
❖ HHV is the energy released in combustion, where the water vapor generated in the combustion process is
condensed (the latent heat of vaporization is released).
❖ LHV is the energy released in combustion, where the water vapor generated in the combustion process is
released in the vapor form (the latent heat of vaporization is not released).
3
Cont. Heating Value Analysis
In some disciplines, HHV is reported either as dry bases (exclude moisture) or dry ash free-bases
(exclude moisture and ash).
HHV(dry basis) = (𝐻𝐻𝑉(𝑤𝑒𝑡 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑠))/(1−𝑚𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡(𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛))
HHV(dry ash free basis) = (𝐻𝐻𝑉(𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑠))/(1−𝑎𝑠ℎ 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡(𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛))
3
Example3.3
The heating value of a certain biomass was measured by bomb calorimeter and reported as 17,8 MJ/Kg.
The moisture content of this biomass was12 %. Converted this heating value numbers into its HHV equivalent?
The ash content of the biomass on a dry basis was found to be 13%. Determine the heating value on a dry-ash –
free basis as well?
Lets try!
3
Cont. Heating Value Analysis
The heating values can be determined experimentally as well as
by empirical correlations.
The measurement units of the heating values are Cal/g or kJ/kg.
AC-500 bomb calorimeter is used to determine the HHV of
biomass.
If there was no bomb calorimeter, HHV can be find from
proximate and ultimate analysis data by equations.
3
AC-500 bomb calorimeter is used to determine the
HHV of biomass.
3
Cont. Heating Value Analysis
HHV by Carbon Bases: when C is known from ultimate analysis, the following equation developed by Jenkins and
Ebeling (1985) by testing 62 types of biomass can be used.
HHV(dry) = 2.549+34.9*C ( MJ/Kg, dry basis)
Where : C = dry basis mass fraction (decimal) of carbon in the
Original biomass sample.
Example 3.4 shows how this equation may be use.
3
Cont. Heating Value Analysis
HHV by Ash Bases: when Ash is known from ultimate analysis, the following equation developed by Jenkins (1989)
can be used.
HHV(dry) = 20.067-23.4*A(MJ/Kg, dry basis)
Where A = dry basis mass fraction (decimal) of ash in the
Original biomass sample
Example 3.5 shows how this equation may be use.
3
Cont. Heating Value Analysis
HHV by Ash and VCM Bases: when Ash and VCM are known from proximate analysis, the following equation is used
to find HHV.
HHV(dry) = 26.601-0.304*A-0.082*(VCM)(KJ/Kg)
The Ash and VCM values to use in Equation are percent by weight (dry basis).
Example 3.6 shows how this equation may be use.
3
Cont. Heating Value Analysis
HHV by Boie equation: when C, H, O, N and S are known from ultimate analysis of coal, the following equation can be
used to find HHV.
HHV(KJ/Kg) = 35.160*C+116.225*H-11.090*O+6280*N+10.465*S
Where C, H, O, N and S are the elemental mass fraction in
the coal material.
❖ This equation is sometimes used for biomass other than coal in the absence of an instrument for heating value
measurements.
3
Cont. Heating Value Analysis
HHV by Dulong equation: when C, H, O and S are known from ultimate analysis of coal, the following equation can be
used to find HHV.
HHV(KJ/Kg) = 33.823*C+144.250*(H-O/8)+9419*S
Where C, H, O, N and S are the elemental mass fraction in
the coal material.
Note: Equation does not seem to be a better predictor for heating values of this agricultural residue and of wood-
related materials. The
reason the equation is not a good predictor may be due to the high oxygen content for this type of biomass.
3
Cont. Heating Value Analysis
Determining Lower Heating Value (LHV): For calculating the useful heat of combustion, we can’t use HHV, because
we can’t extract the heat which is lost in the flue gases. Therefore a practical value is LHV.
For determining LHV, Automatic Bomb Calorimeter Instruction Manual, (2011) recommends the following equation.
LHV = HHV – 24.41 Had x 8.936 J/g
Where,
Had = weight percent of hydrogen determined from ultimate analysis.
3
Cont. Stoichiometry of Reaction
▪ Stoichiometry of Reaction: In the analyzing of thermal conversion processes, we should know the complete
reaction formula.
▪ For example, the thermal reaction formula of methane is as follow:
CH4 + 2O2 ----> CO2 +2H2O + Heat
▪ If air is used as oxidant, then keep in mind that it is consist of 21%O2 and 79%N2 and the equation will become
as follow;
▪ CH4 + 2O2 + 2(3.76)N2----> CO2 +2H2O + 7.52N2 + Heat
3
Cont. Eutectic Point Analysis
▪ Eutectic Point Analysis: At high temperatures of the thermal conversion process, the ash
will melt and upon cooling will form heavy slag.
▪ The formed slag sticks to the conveying surfaces and create blockage.
3
Cont. Eutectic Point Analysis
▪ For evaluating this problem, two common indices Slagging Factor (Rs) and Fouling
Factor (Rf) are used.
𝐵𝑎𝑠𝑒
𝑅𝑠 = × 𝑆% 𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑎𝑙
𝐴𝑐𝑖𝑑
𝐵𝑎𝑠𝑒
𝑅𝑓 = × % 𝑁𝑎2 𝑂
𝐴𝑐𝑖𝑑
▪ Where,
▪ Base= Fe2O3 + CaO + MgO + Na2O + K2O
▪ Acid = SiO2 + TiO2 + Al2O3
3
Cont.
3
Please solve all problems of chapter-3
Final date and time for submission
3
Thanks!