An experimental study of biomass ignition

An experimental study has been conducted to determine the ignition temperature of biomass at 21% O-2, both under pulse ignition conditions and under thermogravimetric conditions. In the pulse ignition experiments, samples of about 2 g wheat straw were placed in an isothermal reactor. The ignition temperature was determined from the transient CO and CO2 profiles to approximately 255 T at a superficial gas velocity of 14 cm/s (STP). The ignition temperature increased for decreasing superficial gas velocity. Thermogravimetric experiments at 20% O-2 and heating rates of 5 T/min with finely milled biomass indicated ignition temperatures of approximately 220 T for wheat straw, 235 T for poplar wood, and 285 T for eucalyptus wood. These values are significantly lower than values obtained for coal under similar conditions and confirm the relationship between volatile matter content and ignition temperature previously reported for coal. A mechanistic model for ignition of biomass is proposed. We believe that the ignition process is initiated by oxidation reactions on the straw surface. These reactions raise the surface temperature above that of the surrounding gas and promote ignition of the volatiles. Once ignited, the volatiles may form a homogeneous diffusion flame away from the particle surface. The superficial gas velocity affects the particle heating rate as well as the transport of oxygen to the surface. For this reason the ignition process is not entirely controlled by kinetics at low temperatures. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.