Citation

Salour, D., Vafaei, M., Jenkins, B. M. and M. Kayhanian, Combustion of rice straw and straw/wood fuel blends in a fluidized bed reactor. American Society of Agricultural Engineers, paper no. 89-6574, pp. 1-43, 1989.

Abstract

Rice straw and blends of rice straw with wood were combusted in a pilot scale fluidized bed reactor. Mass and energy balances were calculated, and the fuel ash and spent bed materials were analyzed to investigate agglomerating characteristics.

Bed agglomeration was observed to be a serious problem when operating on rice straw alone. Time to agglomeration increased as the straw was blended with increasing concentrations of an urban wood waste fuel. Successful long term operation was maintained only with straw concentrations of 50% or lower in the blend.

The agglomerating characteristics of the fuel blends were determined to be primarily related to the compositional changes in the fuel ash as the concentration of straw was varied, and to the extent that local reaction temperature could be controlled. Rice straw had an ash content six times that of the urban wood waste. The rice straw ash also had a much lower initial deformation temperature. Bed agglomeration problems were related to the high volume and low fusion temperature of the ash in the blends containing more than 50% concentration of straw. Blending increased time to agglomeration, or prevented bed agglomeration altogether, by reducing the total amount of fuel ash, by increasing concentrations of aluminum in the ash, and diluting the effects of alkali metals which promote fluxing of the fuel ash. Further investigations are required to fully elucidate the principal mechanisms causing the agglomeration of the bed.

Country, State, District, etc.

United States, California

Language

English

Material

rice straw, wood

Use category

energy production