Energies 2011, 4(7), 1102-1111; doi:10.3390/en4071102
Article

Combustion of Corn Stover Bales in a Small 146-kW Boiler

René Morissetteemail, Philippe Savoie* email and Joey Villeneuveemail
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Soils and Crops Research and Development Centre, 2560 Hochelaga Blvd, Quebec City, QC G1V 2J3, Canada
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 1 June 2011; in revised form: 18 July 2011 / Accepted: 19 July 2011 / Published: 22 July 2011
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass and Biofuels)
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Abstract: Spring harvested corn stover was used for direct combustion in a 146 kW dual chamber boiler designed for wood logs. Stover had a very low moisture content (6.83 ± 0.17%), a gross calorific value (GCV) of 18.57 MJ/kg of dry matter (±0.32 MJ/kg DM) and an ash content of 5.88% (±1.15%). Small stover bales (8.83 ± 0.90 kg) were placed manually in the upper combustion chamber at a rate of 10.5 to 12.8 kg/h over a 24-h period, with three replications, and compared to a control wood combustion trial (12.1 kg/h during 24 h). The overall heat transfer efficiency for stover was lower than for wood (57% vs. 77%). Stover bales produced on average 7.5% ash which included about 2% of unburned residues while wood produced 1.7% ash. CO gas emissions averaged 1324 mg/m³ for stover (118 mg/m³ for wood). The corn stover showed a good calorific potential, but it would have to be densified and the boiler should be modified to improve airflow, completeness of combustion and handling of the large amount of ash formed.
Keywords: corn stover; handling; combustion; ash; emissions; heat recovery; batch-fired boiler

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Morissette, R.; Savoie, P.; Villeneuve, J. Combustion of Corn Stover Bales in a Small 146-kW Boiler. Energies 2011, 4, 1102-1111.

AMA Style

Morissette R, Savoie P, Villeneuve J. Combustion of Corn Stover Bales in a Small 146-kW Boiler. Energies. 2011; 4(7):1102-1111.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Morissette, René; Savoie, Philippe; Villeneuve, Joey. 2011. "Combustion of Corn Stover Bales in a Small 146-kW Boiler." Energies 4, no. 7: 1102-1111.

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