Performance of a Residential Pellet Combustor Operating on Raw and Torrefied Spruce and Spruce-Derived Residues

The heterogeneous nature of solid biomass fuels makes their combustion a substantial challenge compared to the more traditional fuel types, such as fossil fuels and natural gas. Many studies found in the literature attempt at identifying enhancements in fuel properties of biomass after a thermal pretreatment step, such as torrefaction, but only few investigate specifically the combustion behavior of these fuels. In this study, pellet combustion of raw and torrefied spruce and spruce tree tops and branches (T&B) has been investigated with regard to the emissions of gaseous pollutants and particulate matter (PM). The combustion was performed in a residential pellet stove, where a total of six different feedstocks, with and without pretreatment, were tested. The wide range of the feedstock properties was shown to go beyond the design limitations of the pellet stove. This could be seen as combustion instability for the T&B torrefied at 275 °C. Technology adjustments might be needed in terms of combustion air ...

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