Effects of Carbonization on Physical Properties and Combustion Behaviors Using Biomass Pellets

This study aims to evaluate the effect of carbonization on physical property and combustion behavior of wood-based (sanding-dust) pellets. It was found that the physical properties (i.e. density and mechanical compress resistance) of the pellets decreased with increasing carbonization temperatures, particularly at 300 ºC and 400 ºC. Additionally, the nitrogen which is originally high in the used biomass can be removed efficiently by the carbonization treatment. The combustion experiments conducted in a thermogravimetric analyzer demonstrate that the carbonized pellets have resulted in the significant hysteretic effect on the char combustion, compared to the powdered particles. The only one DTG peak for the carbonized pellets combustion clearly indicated that the reaction was relatively slow and stable. Further kinetic analysis could see the increasing activation energy for the char pellets with increasing carbonization temperature probably due to the growth in the proportion of inert carbon structure.