Selected Parameters of Oat Straw as an Alternative Energy Raw Material

Straw is treated as agricultural waste, and it is available in almost every region of Poland. A total of 30 million tons of straw is produced per year, of which there is a surplus of approximately 13.5 million tons of undeveloped straw. For energy purposes, straw from cereals or rapeseed is most often used. When analyzing scientific publications, it was noticed that, in Poland, large amounts of oat straw are produced, and there is no alternative use for it. Hence, we conducted research to determine the energy value of oat straw. Raw material was obtained from an individual farm from 2018 to 2020. Selected energy parameters for straw burned alone (100%) or co-fired with coal were analyzed in the following weight proportions: 70/30, 80/20, and 90/10 coal/oat straw. It was shown that changing weather conditions, in particular years, had a modifying effect on some of the energy parameters of straw. The calorific value of straw was lower than that of coal, but its impact on environmental pollution turned out to be significantly lower. The difference in combustion heat between coal and straw was 11.74 MJ·kg−1. Investigations into pollutant concentrations were performed for cubes of compressed straw and hard coal. Mixtures of these fuels were not studied in this part of the work. The combustion of straw resulted in a reduction of harmful NO, NOX, and SO2 pollutants and an increase in CO compared to coal combustion. As for hydrogen content—it was the highest in carbon and the lowest in straw. In the case of analytical moisture, an inverse relationship was observed. In the case of both coal and straw, the ash content varied throughout the years of research. As the boiler power increased from 5 to 25 kW, the consumption of burned raw material increased significantly. The results indicate that the surplus of oat straw can be rationally used to obtain thermal energy, including co-combustion with coal. This will allow one to avoid burning straw in the fields, which causes great harm to the natural environment.

Investigation Techniques of Arson Fire in Low-Temperature Warehouses Using ED-XRF

Investigation techniques for fire prevention in low-temperature warehouses were studied using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF). In the first experiment, a sample (galvanized steel sheet plus urethane foam plus sandwich panel) was burned with 500 mL of a flammable liquid (gasoline, thinner, kerosene, and light oil)/ Then, the component change of the sample was measured. In the combustion experiment, there was a difference in the heat of combustion depending on the type of flammable liquid; however, as a result of measuring the component change of the sample with ED-XRF after combustion, the largest component change was measured in the combustion experiment with gasoline. The change was in the order of thinner, kerosene, and diesel. Using ED-XRF, it was possible to distinguish the flammable liquid used in the experiment by measuring the component change of the sample resulting from the difference in the combustion heat of the flammable liquid. A second experiment was conducted under the same conditions as the first experiment, assuming a fire brigade fire suppression condition, and the combustion time of the flammable liquid was limited to 600 s. A combustion characteristic of flammable liquids is that the temperature and heat flux reach the maximum value within 300 s after the start of combustion regardless of the type of liquid. Because the change of composition was confirmed in the order of light oil, it was possible to distinguish the flammable liquid used at the fire site using the ED-XRF measurement result.

Assessment of Interchangeability of Fuels Used in the Process of Heat Production and Comparison of Their Selected Characteristics: A Case Study

Exchangeability means the possibility of the fuel changing, with conservation of the required energy and environmental criteria. The assessment of fuel exchangeability should be realized by a suitable method, which must reliably present the possibility of the exchangeability of fuels, or reject it. In the presented paper, research on the exchangeability of solid fuels in the field of heating production is surveyed by the case study. Based on the available published knowledge from previous studies on fuel exchangeability, the statistical method was chosen for evaluation. The application of this method is useful. For example, by evaluating the exchangeability of natural gas, the manuscript will describe its application for the field of solid fuels in heat production. The research evaluated and analyzed the sample of 12 fuels. For each fuel sample, 35 gas attributes were measured, which were classified into separate flue gas attribute groups: ash content, combustion heat, heating capacity, sulfur content, combustible content, water content, emission factor, carbon content, hydrogen content, and oxygen content. Attributes of flues were evaluated and grouped according to the fuel properties—ash content and combustion heat, sulphur content, water content, emission factor, carbon content, hydrogen content, nitrogen content, oxygen content, and combustible content.

FORMATION OF SOL-GEL CATALYTIC COATINGS TO IMPROVE THE ECOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF INTERMETALLIC POROUS BURNERS

Экологические параметры энергетического оборудования важны с точки зрения минимизации негативного воздействия на окружающую среду. Интерметаллидные инфракрасные пористые беспламенные горелки являются новым поколением горелочных устройств с улучшенными характеристиками. Газовые горелки относятся к наиболее эффективным устройствам прямого преобразования теплоты горения в энергию инфракрасного излучения. Несмотря на улучшенные по сравнению с традиционными горелками экологические характеристики инфракрасных пористых горелок, при работе они могут выделять нежелательные и опасные продукты горения газовых смесей (или других топлив), особенно при переходных и высокомощных режимах. В этой работе были получены каталитические покрытия оксидных систем на основе церия с небольшим добавлением оксидов кремния. Осаждение каталитического материала на пористые интерметаллидные подложки фиксировалось с применением весового метода, оптической системы анализа и сканирующей электронной микроскопии, а изучение химической структуры - с помощью ИК-спектроскопии. Выявлено равномерное распределение покрытия по поверхности подложки и соответствие ИК-пиков химическому составу синтезированных систем. The environmental parameters of power equipment are important in terms of minimizing the negative impact on the environment. Intermetallic infrared porous flameless burners are a new generation of burners with improved performance. Gas burners are among the most efficient devices for direct conversion of combustion heat into infrared energy. Despite the improved environmental characteristics of infrared porous burners compared to traditional burners, during operation they can emit unwanted and hazardous combustion products of gas mixtures (or other fuels), especially during transient and high-power modes. In this work, catalytic coatings based on cerium-based oxide systems with a small addition of silicon oxides were obtained. The deposition of the catalytic material on porous intermetallic substrates was controlled using the gravimetric method, optical analysis system, and scanning electron microscopy, and its chemical structure was investigated using IR spectroscopy. The uniform distribution of the coating over the substrate surface and the correspondence of the IR peaks with the chemical composition of the synthesized systems were detected.

Identifying The Quantity of Combustion Heat when Briquetting Oil Waste Process

During the works by calculation, there were grounded the makeup of fuel briquettes, which are produced from oil wastes, coal and biomass - rice husk. Within changing considered makeups and concentration, combustion heat values calculated, which in future will allow to compare the experimental values of the fuel characteristics of the briquettes with an assigned structural composition

Enhanced decomposition of laminated ammonium perchlorate composite

In order to improve the thermal decomposition performances of ammonium perchlorate (AP), the laminated AP composite was prepared by ice-template induced self-assembly method. In this study, Iron-Konjac glucomannan (Fe3+-KGM) hydrosol rich in AP was selected as the freezing precursor. Through directional freezing of precursor and recrystallization of AP molecules, the laminated AP composite was obtained. The results showed that the thickness of the lamellar composite structure is about 10 to 30 μm, and the recrystallized AP particles are uniformly dispersed in the gel system. The oxygen bomb test results show that the micro-/nano-layered structure can significantly improve the sample’s combustion heat value. Thermal analyses indicated that with the increasing Fe3+ content, the peak exothermic temperature of lamellar AP composite at different heating rates both showed a decreasing trend. With 10 wt% Fe(NO3)3·9H2O added, the decomposition peak temperature decreased from 433.0 to 336.2 °C at a heating rate of 5 °C/min, and the apparent activation energy (Ea) decreased dramatically from 334.1 kJ/mol to 255.4 kJ/mol. A possible catalytic thermal decomposition mechanism of lamellar AP composite catalyzed by Fe3+ was proposed. This work is beneficial to the structural design of other energetic materials.

Co-Combustion of Tire Pyrolysis Products and Wood Pellets

Thermal power plants remain one of the main sources of environmental pollution. The deterioration of the quality of traditional carbon-containing energy resources leads to the need to develop technologies for co-combustion of biofuel and coal at small and large power plants. The paper proposes the concept of using solid waste from tire recycling by adding to the composition of the mixed fuel “coal – wood waste” as a substitute for coal slag, which is formed during the utilization of worn-out tires by pyrolysis. The aim of the work was to determine the possibility of increasing the calorific value of wood pellets by co-firing with pyrolysis slag instead of coal without increasing the burden on the environment. At the same time, the following tasks have been set: to determine the lowest combustion heat of mixed fuels and assess its change when replacing coal with slag; to determine moisture content, total sulfur content, volatile matter yield, ash content of mixed fuels according to standard methods; to assess the change in these parameters when replacing coal with slag at the same component ratios; to determine the optimal ratios of components in mixed fuels, which will not increase the burden on the environment when replacing coal with pyrolysis slag. It has been determined that replacing coal with slag results in an increase in calorific value by 37–45 %, a decrease in ash content by 37–42 %, and an increase in the yield of volatile substances. At the same time, the sulfur content increases by 5.6–18 %. The use of traditional cleaning equipment is recommended in order to reduce the emission of sulfur dioxide. The research results make it possible to substantiate the possibility of replacing coal with slag in mixed fuels at certain ratios of components. A new direction of using solid products from recycling of rubber products, i.e. worn-out tires, has been proposed by the pyrolysis method in mixed fuels “slag-wood pellets” for small and medium-sized power plants.