The Direct Use of Post-Processing Wood Dust in Gas Turbines

Alîne Doherty, Eilín Walsh, Kevin P. McDonnell

Animal and Crop Sciences, School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
School of Biosystems Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.

DOI: 10.4236/jsbs.2012.23009                

Abstract

Woody biomass is a widely-used and favourable material for energy production due to its carbon neutral status. Energy is generally derived either through direct combustion or gasification. The Irish forestry sector is forecasted to expand significantly in coming years, and so the opportunity exists for the bioenergy sector to take advantage of the material for which there will be no demand from current markets. A by-product of wood processing, wood dust is the cheapest form of wood material available to the bioenergy sector. Currently wood dust is primarily processed into wood pellets for energy generation. Research was conducted on post-processing birch wood dust; the calorific value and the Wobbe Index were determined for a number of wood particle sizes and wood dust concentrations. The Wobbe Index determined for the upper explosive concentration (4000 g/m3) falls within range of that of hydrogen gas, and wood dust-air mixtures of this concentration could therefore behave in a similar manner in a gas turbine. Due to its slightly lower HHV and higher particle density, however, alterations to the gas turbine would be necessary to accommodate wood dust to prevent abrasive damage to the turbine. As an unwanted by-product of wood processing the direct use of wood dust in a gas turbine for energy generation could therefore have economic and environmental benefits.

Keywords

Wood Dust; Wood Processing; Gasification; Renewable Energy

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	SEI, “Bioenergy in Ireland,” Sustainable Energy Ireland, Dublin, 2004.
[2]	COFORD, “Strategic Study: Maximising the Potential of Wood Use for Energy Generation in Ireland,” 2004. http://www.seai.ie/Renewables/Bioenergy/Maximising_the_potential_of_wood_energy,_Coford.pdf
[3]	Teagasc, “Forestry Statistics 2010,” Teagasc, Carlow, 2010.
[4]	DCMNR, “Bioenergy Action Plan for Ireland,” Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Dublin, 2007.
[5]	M. Peksa-Blanchard, P. Dolzan, A. Grassi, J. Heinim?, M. Junginger, T. Ranta and A. Walter, “IEA Bioenergy Task 40: Global Wood Pellets Markets and Industry: Policy Drivers, Market Status and Raw Material Potential,” International Energy Agency, Paris, 2007.
[6]	Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, “Wood Fuel and Supply Chain,” 2011. http://www.seai.ie/Renewables/Bioenergy/Sources/Wood_Energy_and_Supply_Chain/Fuel_and_Supply_Chain/
[7]	M. R. Wu, D. L. Schott and G. Lodewijks, “Physical Properties of Solid Biomass,” Biomass and Bioenergy, Vol. 35, No. 5, 2011, pp. 2093-2105. doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2011.02.020
[8]	GTC, “Gasification: The Waste-to-Energy Solution,” Gasification Technologies Council, Arlington, 2012.
[9]	C. Syred, A. Griffiths and N. Syred, “Gas Turbine Combustor with Integrated Ash Removal for Fine Particulates,” Proceedings ASME Turbo Expo, Vienna, 14-17 June 2004, pp. 1-9.
[10]	D. J. Flynn, J. J. Dillon, P. B. Desch and T. S. Lai, “The NALCO Guide to Boiler Failure Analysis,” 2nd Edition, McGraw Hill, Inc., New York, 2011.
[11]	K. W. Ragland, D. J. Aerts and A. J. Baker, “Properties of Wood for Combustion Analysis,” Bioresource Technology, Vol. 37, 1991, pp. 161-168. doi:10.1016/0960-8524(91)90205-X
[12]	B. Fungtammasan, P. Jittreepit, J. Torero and P. Joulain, “An Experimental Study of the Combustion Characteristics of Sawdust in a Cyclone Combustor,” Proceedings European—ASEAN Conference on Combustion of Solids and Treatment of Products, Hua Hin, 16-17 February 1995, pp. 1-18.
[13]	Weyerhaeuser Company, “Wood and Wood Dust (Without Chemical Treatments or Resins/Adhesives). Material Safety Data Sheet,” Weyerhaeuser Company, Washington, 2010.
[14]	V. Babrauskas, “Ignition of Wood: A Review of the State of the Art,” Proceedings Interflam, 9th International Fire Science and Engineering Conference, Edinburgh, 17-19 September 2001, pp. 71-88.
[15]	R. K. Eckhoff, “Dust Explosions in the Process Industry,” Gulf Professional Publishing, Massachusetts, 2003.
[16]	M. P. Boyce, “Gas Turbine Engineering Handbook,” Vol. 4, Butterworth-Heinemann, Woburn, 2011.