State-of-the-art of small-scale

biomass combustion in boilers

Prof. Ingwald Obernberger

Inffeldgasse 21b, A-8010 Graz, Austria

TEL.: +43 (316) 481300; FAX: +43 (316) 4813004
E-MAIL: office@bios-bioenergy.at
HOMEPAGE: http://www.bios-bioenergy.at

BIOS BIOENERGIESYSTEME GmbH

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Content

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Classification of different small-scale

biomass combustion systems

Technologies for small-scale biomass boilers

Manually fed boilers for log wood

Automatically fed boilers for wood chips

Automatically fed boilers for wood pellets

Dual-fuel boilers

Automatically fed boilers for non-wood fuels

Emissions from small-scale biomass boilers

CFD based combustion design

Summary and conclusions

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Classification of different
small-scale
biomass combustion system

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Biomass fuels

Non-wood
fuels

Wood fuels

Automatically
fed systems

Manually fed
systems

Tiled stoves

Stoves

Boilers

logwood
briquettes

logwood
briquettes

logwood
briquettes

Tiled stoves

Stoves

pellets

pellets

Boilers
pellets
wood chips

Automatically
fed systems

Dual fuel
boilers

Boilers
straw pellets
corn
miscanthus

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Manually fed boilers

for log wood (1)

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State-of-the-art:

Capacity range:

Usually 15 to 70 kW

Fuels used:

Downdraft boilers
(show a more stable combustion than in over-fire boilers (old technology))

Wood logs with 33 or 50 cm length

Use of wood briquettes possible (not usual)

Features:

Manual fuel loading, automatic operation during combustion batches

Air staging (primary and secondary combustion zone
with separate air feed)
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Manually fed boilers

for log wood (2)

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Microprocessor
controller

Automatic flue gas

suction fan

Suction of smoke
when opening door

Types:

Storage room

Secondary combustion
(cyclone combustion chamber)
Source: [Frling GmbH (A)]

Draught regulation by
combustion air fan
Very low emissions
(improved mixing)
Automatic control
typically with lambda (O2)
sensor

Downdraft boiler
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Manually fed boilers

for log wood (3)

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Efficiency [%]

Performance data: modern log wood boilers achieve efficiencies of

more than 90% (compared to approximately 55% in the early 1980s)

Source: [Wrgetter et al., 2005]

Year

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Automatically fed boilers for

wood chips (1)

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State-of-the-art:

Fully automatic operation (only ash box emptying needed)

Proven automatic fuel feeding (screw conveyors, agitators) with burnback protection

Application in residential heating and micro grids

Typically vertical fire tube boilers with automatic or semi-automatic boiler

cleaning (with a clear tendency towards automatic boiler cleaning
systems)

Flue gas condensation partly applied

Micro-processor controlled
(load and combustion control similar to pellet boilers)

Air staging (primary and secondary combustion zone with separate air
feed)

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Automatically fed boilers for

wood chips (2)

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Automatically underfed wood chip stoker burner (50-100 kWth)

Explanations:
1 storage container
4

2 feeding screw

3 combustion
chamber with
radiation plate
4 heat exchanger
with turbolators
and cleaning
system

5 ash container
5

2
1

Source: [KWB (A)]

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Automatically fed boilers for

wood chips (3)

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Capacity range: >15 up to several 100 kW

Fuels used: wood chips according to EN 14961 Part 4

Types: underfed burners, horizontally fed burners,
moving grate systems
Performance data [Wrgetter et al., 2005]:

Efficiencies of wood chips boilers in the early 1980s: around 70%

Average efficiency of modern wood chips boilers: 91%

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Automatically fed boilers for

wood pellets (1)

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State-of-the-art:

Fully automatic operation (only ash box emptying once or twice a year)

Micro-processor controlled (load and combustion control)

Load control by regulation of the fuel and primary air feed guided by the feed
water temperature

Combustion control by regulation of the secondary air feed usually guided

by the O2 concentration in the flue gas (lambda sensors)

Proven automatic fuel feeding (flexible or inflexible screw conveyors,

pneumatic systems, agitators or combinations) with burn-back protection

Air staging (primary and secondary combustion zone with separate air
feed)

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Automatically fed boilers for

wood pellets (2)

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State-of-the-art (continued):

Typically vertical fire tube boilers with automatic or semi-automatic boiler

cleaning (with a clear tendency towards automatic boiler cleaning
systems)

Pellet boilers with flue gas condensation units already available

Capacity range: 6 to 300 kW (usual capacities in Austria)

Fuels used: wood pellets according to EN14961-2

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Automatically fed boilers for

wood pellets (3)

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Types of pellet burners depending on the fuel feeding system:

1) underfed burners
Underfed
burners

2) horizontally
fed
Horizontally
fed burners
burners

overfed burners
Overfed3)burners
Source: [Van Loo et al., 2002]

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Retort furnaces
(only in combination with
underfed burners)

Automatically fed boilers for wood

pellets (4) - basic designs

Grate furnaces
(only in combination with
horizontally or overfed
burners)

Source: [KWB Kraft und Wrme aus Biomasse GmbH,

Austria]
Source: [Windhager Zentralheizung GmbH, Austria]

Fixed grate

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Automatically fed boilers for wood

pellets (5) - basic designs

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Step grate
Hinged grate

Source: [GUNTAMATIC Heiztechnik GmbH, Austria]

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Automatically fed boilers

for wood pellets (6)
overfed pellet boiler

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Explanations:

1 . fuel container
2 . stoker screw
3 . primary combustion chamber
with primary air addition

4 .... secondary air addition

1
2
5
4

5 . secondary combustion
chamber
6 . heat exchanger with cleaning
device
7 . bottom ash container

8 . fly ash container

3
8

Source: [Fischer Guntamatic (A)]

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Automatically fed boilers

for wood pellets with
integrated flue gas condensation

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feed water

First pellet boiler with

integrated flue gas
condensation

Market introduction: 2004

Efficiency: up to 103%
(according to type test by BLT
Wieselburg)
depends on return
temperature and excess O2

Nominal capacities:
8, 10, 15 and 20 kW

return

flue gas path

Source: [koFEN, Austria, 2004]

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Boiler efficiency as a function of flue

gas temperature and O2 concentration
in the flue gas

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105

O2 content = 6%
O2 content = 8%
O2 content = 10%
O2 content = 12%

Boiler efficiency [%]

100

95

90

Calculated for wood pellets as fuel

(moisture content: 8 wt% w.b.,
H content: 5.7 wt.% d.b.)

85

80
20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Flue gas temperature [C]

Source:

[BIOS BIOENERGIESYSTEME GmbH, Austria, 2002]

160

180

200
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Fine particulate emissions and

efficiencies of pellet boilers
with and without flue gas condensation

O M AS

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16

106

14

104

12

102

Efficiency [%]

Fine particulates
[mg/MJ]

Fine particulate emissions and efficiencies of pellet boilers

with and without flue gas condensation

10
8
6
4

100
98
96
94

92

90

With flue gas

condensation

Without flue gas

condensation

With flue gas

condensation

Without flue gas

condensation

Source: [Obernberger et al., 2006]

Explanations: operating conditions for furnace with flue gas condensation: load 20 kW; flue gas temperature 33.7C; return
temperature 22.4C; O2 concentration in the flue gas 8.3 vol.% dry flue gas; box plots based on 9 measurements;
operating conditions for furnace without flue gas condensation: load 18.2 kW, flue gas temperature 144 C, return
59.8 C, O2 concentration in the flue gas 8.6 vol.% dry flue gas, box plots based on 5 measurements

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Dual-fuel boilers (1)

H A L T

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Proven concepts are already available on the market

Wood pellets / wood chips combinations

(automatic operation for both fuels)

Wood pellets / firewood combinations

(different levels of automation depending on the type):

Simple boiler concepts have to be adjusted and operated manually

in case of operation with firewood

Sophisticated boilers identify the fuel automatically

For both boiler types several applications are available

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Dual-fuel boilers (2) - Boiler for

wood pellets / wood chips operation

Nominal thermal capacity:

15 - 300 kW

Innovative rotary grate furnace

(robust, calm bed of embers,
optimised gasification conditions)

Innovative cyclone combustion

chamber (optimised by CFD
simulations, efficient fly ash
separation, flue gas recirculation)

Fuels: wood chips (up to w50)

and wood pellets

Automatic operation for all fuels

Source: [KWB Kraft und Wrme aus Biomasse GmbH, Austria]

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Dual-fuel boilers (3) - Boiler for

wood pellets / firewood operation

Nominal thermal capacity:

15 40 kW
Fuels: wood pellets and
firewood
Automatic fuel
identification
No manual adaptations
needed

Automatic operation for

all fuels
(ignition of firewood with
the pellets burner)
Source: [Frling Heizkessel- und Behlterbau Ges.m.b.H, Austria]

Explanations:
1 process control system
2 fan

3 chamotte
4 combustion chamber
for firewood
5 pellet burner
6 isolation
7 secondary combustion
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chamber

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Automatically fed boilers

for non-wood fuels (1)

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State-of-the-art:

Guntamatic Powercorn: for corn and pellets,

nominal thermal capacity: 30, 50 and 75 kW [Guntamatic, Austria, 2011]

Hargassner Agrofire: for corn, straw pellets, miscanthus, wood chips

and pellets, nominal thermal capacity: 25 and 40 kW [Hargassner,
Austria, 2011]

kotherm Compactanlage: for corn, straw pellets, miscanthus,

rapeseed cake and wood chips, nominal thermal capacity:
30 800 kW [kotherm, Germany, 2011]

Heizomat RHK-AK: for miscanthus, corn, rape straw, maize cobs,

pellets and wood chips, nominal thermal capacity: 30 1,000 kW
[Heizomat, Germany, 2011]

The potential for further development is rather high due to the

novelty of these technologies

The gaseous as well as particulate emissions are considerably

higher in comparison to wood fuels

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Automatically fed boilers

for non-wood fuels (2)

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Guntamatic POWERCORN

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.

Source: [Guntamatic Heiztechnik GmbH (A)]

Furnace doors
Step grate primary air
Combustion chamber
Fill level indicator
Spiral jet secondary air
Reaction pipe
Cleaning cover
Vibrating mechanism
Tube bundle heat exchanger
Induced draught fan
Cleaning of heat exchanger
Smoke pipe
Lambda probe
Flue gas sensor
Cleaning/ grate drive
Ash auger
Removable ash container
Menu-guided control

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Automatically fed boilers

for non-wood fuels (3)

Hargassner AgroFire:
fan

heat exchanger
with automatic
cleaning system
secondary combustion
chamber

moving grate
(step grate)
automatic ash
removal system
Source: [Hargassner GesmbH (A)]

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Emissions - overview

Mg

200

Emission factor [mg/MJ (NCV)]

H A L T

ERGIE

Source: [Spitzer et al, 1998;

BLT Wieselburg, 2006]

(500)

180
163

160
140
120
100

87
73

80
60
40

24

29

22

20

0
CO

TOC

test stand measurements

NOx (NO2)
field measurements

dust
limiting value

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CO emissions comparison between

old and new pellet furnaces

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300

250

CO [mg/MJ]

H A L T

ERGIE

Source: [Jungmeier et al, 1999;

BLT Wieselburg, 2006;
results from test stand
measurements]

200

150

100

50

0
1996 - 1998

1999 - 2001

2002 - 2004

2005

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Dust emissions comparison between

old and new pellet furnaces

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60

50

Dust [mg/MJ]

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ERGIE

Source: [Jungmeier et al, 1999;

BLT Wieselburg, 2006;
results from test stand
measurements]

40

30

20

10

0
1996 - 1998

1999 - 2001

2002 - 2004

2005

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NOx emissions and N conversion

versus N content in the fuel

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[mg/Nm, dry flue gas, 11 vol% O 2]

NOX emission

700

80%

600

70%

wood

wt% of fuel-N converted to

N in NOX emission

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500
400
300
200
100
0
0,01

0,10

1,00

Fuel N [wt% (d.b.)]

10,00

SRC

60%

waste wood

50%

kernels
straw

40%

whole crops

30%

energy grasses

20%
10%
0%
0,01

0,10

1,00

10,00

Fuel N [wt% (d.b.)]

Fuel selection relevant

Primary measures especially relevant

Combination of primary and secondary measures if needed

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NOx emissions versus air ratio in the

primary combustion chamber

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Fuel: wood chips (spruce)

N content: 3.7 wt% (d.b.)

N content: 0.09 wt% (d.b.)

180

700

160

NOx emissions

600
500
400
300
200
100
0
0.3

[mg/Nm (dry flue gas, 13% O2)]

800

140
120
100
80

[mg/Nm (dry flue gas, 13% O 2)]

Fuel: chipboard

NOx emissions

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ERGIE

60
40
20

0.5

0.7

0.9

1.1

1.3

air ratio in the primary combustion chamber

1.5

0
0.3

0.5

0.7

0.9

1.1

1.3

1.5

air ratio in the primary combustion chamber

Explanations: Source: [Hesch et.al., 2011, Hesch et.al., 2011 (submitted)], measurements performed
in a moving grate furnace (nominal boiler capacity: 150 kWth), air staging and flue gas recirculation
29
above grate applied, temperature in the primary combustion chamber for all tests: 1,000 C

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Influence of the fuel used

on the mass of aerosols formed

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1.000

particles <1 m (ae.d.) [mg/Nm]

H A L T

ERGIE

softwood
hardwood
bark
waste wood
straw
100

appropriate fuel selection relevant

10
100

1.000
10.000
100.000
concentration of aerosol forming elements in the fuel (K+Na+Zn+Pb)
[mg/kg (d.b.)]

Emissions at boiler outlet

Particle emissions related to dry flue gas and 13 vol% O2
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Average chemical compositions of

aerosols from small-scale biomass
boilers and stoves

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alkalimetal sulfate

alkalimetal chloride

alkalimetal carbonate

oxides

non-carbonate carbon

100%

wt% (d.b.)

80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
full load

50%
load

modern pellet boilers

full load

50%
load

modern wood chip boilers

full load

50%
load

modern logwood
boilers

Primary measures of great relevance

(complete combustion, optimisation of partload operation,
reduction of the release of ash vapours)

full load

full load

old
stoves

modern
stoves

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Factors influencing aerosol formation

burnout quality

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T S C H A

1,000
R2 = 0.85
PM1 [mg/MJ]

H A L T

ERGIE

100

10
statistic significance: p<0.05

10

100

1,000

10,000

100,000

CO [mg/MJ]
Explanations: mean values from test runs performed with different old and modern
residential heating systems (modern pellet boiler, modern wood chip boiler, modern
logwood boiler, old logwood boiler, modern stove, old stove, modern tiled stove)
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CFD based combustion design (1) modelling of a biomass fired underfeed

stoker grate furnace (20 kW)

O M AS

H A L T

ERGIE

chimney duct

Secondary
combustion zone

Heat exchanger
tubes

Picture of the grate

Secondary air nozzles
Primary combustion
zone
Fuel bed
Grate

Fuel inlet

Primary air
inlets

Fuel feed
Scheme of the grate used for simulations

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CFD based combustion design (2) particle and flue gas temperatures [C]

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T [C]

Flue gas temperatures

T [C]

Particle temperatures

Visual observation

Explanations: Biomass fuel: softwood pellets;

Moisture content= 8.12 wt.% (wet base); total= 1.58; prim= 0. 64, no flue gas recirculation
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CFD based combustion design (3) particle tracks coloured

by release rates [mg/s]

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H2O

CO

Volatiles

CO2

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CFD based combustion design (4) contours of release rates [mg/s]

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H2 O

volatiles

CO

CO2

Contours of release rates at a vertical cross section through the grate axis; x= 5cm
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Summary and conclusions (1)

H A L T

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T S C H A

The following market-proven small-scale boiler technologies are

available for wood fuels

Manually fed boilers for log wood

Automatically fed boilers for wood chips

Automatically fed boilers for wood pellets

Dual-fuel boilers (wood pellets / wood chips and wood pellets / firewood)

For non-wood fuels only a few manufacturers offer solutions but they
are available on the market. Emissions and ash related problems are
generally higher for non-wood fuels

Flue gas condensation units offer a potential to increase efficiency.

Over 100% (related to the NCV of the fuel) compared to approx. 90% for
conventional technology. Flue gas condensation is especially
interesting for wet fuels and / or requires low return temperature
(30 40 C) to work efficiently
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Summary and conclusions (2)

H A L T

ERGIE

T S C H A

Small-scale boiler technologies have considerably improved in the last

two decades regarding CO, TOC and dust emission reduction

Further improvements are possible regarding the reduction of NOx and

PM1 emissions

Regarding primary measures an efficient air staging strategy

is very important

The influence of the fuel itself (N, ash and alkali metal contents vary) is
of great relevance the technologies have to be adapted to the fuels
used

Regarding partial load operation, load changes and the process

control system a considerable potential for improvements still exists

CFD simulations show increasing importance as an efficient design

tool for small-scale combustion systems
38

Thank you for your attention

Inffeldgasse 21b, A-8010 Graz, Austria

TEL.: +43 (316) 481300; FAX: +43 (316) 4813004
E-MAIL: office@bios-bioenergy.at
HOMEPAGE: http://www.bios-bioenergy.at

BIOS BIOENERGIESYSTEME GmbH

I N A
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