Applied Energy 97 (2012) 470482

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Applied Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apenergy

Combustion of peanut shells in a cone-shaped bubbling uidized-bed

combustor using alumina as the bed material
Porametr Arromdee, Vladimir I. Kuprianov
School of Manufacturing Systems and Mechanical Engineering, Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology, Thammasat University, P.O. Box 22, Thammasat Rangsit Post Ofce,
Pathum Thani 12121, Thailand

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper reports experimental studies on burning peanut shells in the conical uidized-bed combustor
Received 27 August 2011 using alumina sand as the uidizing agent. Prior to combustion tests, hydrodynamic regimes and char-
Received in revised form 18 March 2012 acteristics of a conical aluminabiomass bed were investigated under cold-state conditions for variable
Accepted 24 March 2012
percentage of peanut shells in the mixture and static bed height. With selected particle sizes (300
Available online 26 April 2012
500 lm) and static bed height (30 cm), alumina ensured bubbling uidization regime of the bed at oper-
ating conditions specied for ring biomass. Combustion tests were performed at 60 kg/h and 45 kg/h
Keywords:
fuel feed rates, while ranging excess air from 20% to 80% at a xed combustor load. Temperature and
Peanut shells
Fluidized-bed combustor
gas concentrations (O2, CO, CxHy as CH4, and NO) were measured along radial and axial directions inside
Hydrodynamic characteristics the reactor as well as at stack in order to characterize combustion and emission performance of the com-
Combustion and emission performance bustor for the ranges of operating conditions. For ring 60 kg/h peanut shells, excess air of 40% can be
Behavior of the bed material selected as an appropriate value ensuring high, about 99%, combustion efciency and rather low emis-
sions of CO and NO: 520 ppm and 125 ppm, respectively (both on a dry basis and at 6% O2). With reducing
combustor load, the combustion efciency and emission characteristics were improved to a little extent.
No evidence of bed agglomeration was found during 30-h combustion tests on this conical uidized-bed
combustor using alumina sand as the bed material. However, the timescale effect on the composition of
the bed material was found to be substantial.
2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction and peach stones) exhibits difculties in achieving high combus-

During the past decade, a growing attention has been drawn to
a feasibility of effective utilization of various unconventional bio-
mass fuels (such as fruit stones and shells, nut shells and pelletized
agricultural residues) for heat and power production, generally
through their burning in bubbling and circulating uidized-bed
combustion systems. A number of research studies have been re-
cently carried out on the combustion of olive cake, peach, apricot
and date stones, coconut, palm oil and sunower shells, corncob,
cedar pellets, palm and cotton stalks, focusing mainly on combus-
tion efciency and emission performance of the system used
[112].
Most of these research studies have reported high combustion
efciency and acceptable levels of CO, CxHy and NO emissions,
which are generally affected by fuel properties, combustion meth-
od and operating conditions [712]. However, due to specic fea-
tures of texture, shape and size of biomass particles, the burning
of some unconventional biomass fuels (e.g., olive cake, apricot
Corresponding author. Tel.: +66 2 986 9009x2208; fax: +66 2 986 9112.
E-mail address: ivlaanov@siit.tu.ac.th (V.I. Kuprianov).
tion efciency, when CO and CxHy emissions as well as unburned
carbon in y ash from the reactor show elevated values [13]. In
the case when combustion efciency of a biomass-fueled system
is below 99%, the emission of highly hazardous polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons may be recorded at a substantial level, as reported in
a study on the combustion of coconut shells [5]. When ring high-
N biomass fuels with a relatively large size of fuel particles (typical
for as-received stones and shells), there is a problem of simulta-
neous controlling of CO and NO emissions at acceptable levels,
which both should meet corresponding emission limits [7].
Much research have been also addressed the major ash-related
problem of biomass combustion the bed agglomeration which
may likely occur in a uidized-bed combustion system when ring
biomass with elevated content of alkali-based compounds in fuel
ash and using silica sand as the bed material. Severe agglomeration
is reported to result in bed deuidization even at relatively low bed
temperatures (typical for biomass combustion), which eventually
leads to complete shutdown of the combustion system [6,1316].
To prevent bed agglomeration, alternative (but more expensive)
bed materials, such as alumina sand, aluminum-rich materials,
dolomite and limestone, were successfully used as a uidizing
agent in some studies on ring high-alkali biomass fuels [912,17].

0306-2619/$ - see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2012.03.048
 P. Arromdee, V.I. Kuprianov / Applied Energy 97 (2012) 470482
Nomenclature
A ash content in fuel (wt.%, on as received basis)
AD air distributor
BH static bed height (cm)
Cfa unburned carbon content in y ash (wt.%, on dry basis)
Dp pressure drop across the bed (kPa)
Dpmax pressure drop across the bed at the minimum velocity of
partial uidization (kPa)
EA excess air (vol.%)
FBC uidized-bed combustor
FR fuel feed rate (kg/h)
FC xed carbon content in fuel (wt.%, on as received basis)
LHV lower heating value (kJ/kg)
PNS percentage of peanut shells in aluminabiomass mix-
ture (wt.%)
Qa volume rate of airow (m3/s)
Peanut shells are the major byproduct from processing of pea-
nuts. Annually, about 35 million tons of peanuts (also called
groundnuts) are produced in many countries around the world
[18]. Taking into account the availability (as about 25 wt.% of the
total peanut mass) and caloric value (assessed as 16 MJ/kg
[19]), the world energy potential of peanut shells is estimated to
be about 1.4  1011 MJ/year. This biomass is characterized by
excellent combustion properties (substantial caloric value and
volatile matter [19]), but typically contains elevated fuel N, a major
source of NOx emissions, and also a substantial proportion of potas-
sium in biomass ash [19] indicating a high risk of bed agglomera-
tion. In a recent study on a small-scale (50 kWth) uidized-bed
combustor, Rao and Reddy [20] revealed that the shells can be suc-
cessfully burned using quartz sand as the bed material, via main-
taining bed temperature at a relatively low level (below 650 C).
Highest combustion efciency (99.4%) was achieved when burning
this biomass fuel at elevated excess air (about 80%). However, a
higher heat input to the combustor (>50 kWth) led to an increase
in the bed temperature, and this factor caused formation of
agglomerates in the bed and eventually its deuidization.
A bubbling uidized-bed combustor with a cone-shape bed re-
ferred to as conical FBC using alumina sand as the bed material
seems to be highly suitable for ring peanut shells. Compared to
columnar (cylindrical and prismatic) uidized-bed reactors, the
conical FBC ensures sustainable ignition and combustion of bio-
mass fuels using a relatively small amount of the inert bed mate-
rial [2123], which becomes an important factor when using
high-cost alternative materials (e.g., alumina sand). Two another
benets of the cone-shaped uidized bed are: (i) reduced start-
up time of the combustor [22] and (ii) a lower pressure drop
across the bed [24], both resulting in lower operating costs of
the combustor.
This experimental work was aimed at studying the combustion
of peanut shells in the conical uidized bed combustor using alu-
mina as the bed material. However, because of irregular shape
and size of fuel particles, hydrodynamic regimes and characteris-
tics of a binary (aluminabiomass) mixture uidized in the conical
bed were investigated under cold-state conditions prior to the
combustion trials. In the second part of this work, a conical FBC
was red with peanut shells. The effects of operating variables
(fuel feed rate and excess air) on formation and decomposition of
gaseous pollutants (CO, CxHy as CH4, and NO) in different regions
of the combustor, as well as on emissions and combustion ef-
ciency of the conical FBC, were the main focus of this study. The
timescale effect on the chemical composition of the bed material
was among the work objectives as well.
471
quc heat loss with unburned carbon (%)
qic heat loss owing to incomplete combustion (%)
SFBC swirling uidized-bed combustor
u supercial air velocity at the air distributor exit (m/s)
umpf minimum velocity of partial uidization (m/s)
umff minimum velocity of full uidization (m/s)
V dg@6% O2 volume of ue gas per 1 kg fuel on a dry basis and at 6%
O2 (m3/kg)
VM volatile matter content in fuel (wt.%, on as received
basis)
W moisture content in fuel (wt.%, on as received basis)
Z current height (or level) above the air distributor (m)
Greek symbols
gc combustion efciency (%)
2. Experimental
2.1. Experimental set-up
Fig. 1 depicts the schematic diagram of the experimental set
up with the conical FBC used in both cold-state and combustion
studies. This newly constructed combustor designed for burning
various biomass fuels consisted of six refractory-lined steel
modules connected coaxially: a conical (lower) module with
40 cone angle and 0.25 m inner diameter at the bottom plane,
and ve cylindrical modules of 0.5 m height and 0.9 m inner
diameter. In each module, the refractorycement insulation
was 50 mm thick, lined inside 4.5-mm-thick steel walls. All
the modules were equipped with gas sampling ports and sta-
tionary ChromelAlumel thermocouples (of type K), the latter
being employed to measure temperature at different locations
along the combustor centerline during the combustor start up
and combustion tests.
Besides the combustor, the experimental set up included a
screw-type fuel feeder, a 25-hp blower for air supply to the reactor,
a cyclone for collecting particulates from the ue gas, and also
some facilities for measurement, acquisition and treatment of
experimental data. The air blower delivered air to the combustor
through an air pipe of 0.1 m inner diameter. Air was injected into
the reactor through the 13-bubbling-cap air distributor (arranged
at a bottom plane of the conical module, as shown in Fig. 1), which
generated a uidized bed at the reactor bottom.
2.2. The fuel and the bed material
Basically, peanut shells can be categorized as a herbaceous bio-
mass fuel [17]. The major chemical constituents of raw peanut
shells are reported to be cellulose (from about one-third to half
of the fuel mass) and lignin (up to one-third of the fuel mass),
whereas minor fuel properties are represented by moisture, pro-
tein and ash [25]. The shells have a brous skeleton supporting
a cellulose-lignin layer. A substantial proportion of bers in peanut
shells (up to 70 wt.% [25]) affects signicantly the texture of fuel
particles and, consequently, devolatilization and combustion
behavior of this biomass fuel.
Table 1 shows the ultimate and proximate analyses as well as
the lower heating value of Thai peanut shells used in this work.
It can be seen in Table 1 that the shells had a signicant proportion
of volatile matter, a moderate proportion of xed carbon, but
rather low contents of fuel moisture and fuel ash (all provided in
the proximate analysis), which resulted in the substantial lower
472 P. Arromdee, V.I. Kuprianov / Applied Energy 97 (2012) 470482

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the experimental set up with the conical uidized-bed combustor.

Table 1
Ultimate and proximate analyses and lower heating value (LHV) of peanut shells used in experimental tests on the conical uidized-bed combustor.

Ultimate analysis (wt.%, as-received) Proximate analysis (wt.%, as-received) LHV (kJ/kg)
C H O N S W A VM FC
48.10 5.48 30.04 1.30 0.08 9.3 5.7 65.4 19.6 16,400

caloric value of the shells: LHV = 16,400 kJ/kg. Using the ultimate
analysis from Table 1, the theoretical volume of air (at 1 atm and
0 C) required for burning 1 kg of as-received peanut shells was
estimated according to Ref. [26] to be 4.73 Nm3/kg. It should be
also noted that the fuel had a rather high fuel N content, which
pointed at a risk of elevated NO emission from the combustion of
peanut shells. Because of the low fuel S content, SO2 was not ad-
dressed in this study.
A setting up test for ring peanut shells with original fuel par-
ticles revealed substantial difculties (uctuations) of fuel feeding
when using the screw-type feeder, which resulted in unstable
combustion and emission characteristics of the combustor. It was
therefore decided to burn the shells as shredded fuel. However,
the shape and size of shredded peanut shells were quite irregular:
from ne sawdust-like particles to ake-shape particles with the
maximum sieve size of about 5 mm. The particle solid density of
the peanut shells was 580 20 kg/m3.
Alumina sand (Al2O3 = 92%, SiO2 = 3.5%) of 3400 kg/m3 solid
density and 300500 lm particle sizes was used as the bed mate-
rial in this conical FBC with the aim to prevent bed agglomeration
when ring peanut shells.
2.3. Experimental methods for the cold-state hydrodynamic study on
aluminabiomass mixtures uidized in the conical bed
A cold-state study was performed on the bottom module of the
combustor. Fig. 2 depicts the experimental facilities used in this
study. As seen in Fig. 2, the facilities included the conical module
lled with the bed material (alumina or alumina-biomass mixture)
and the blower supplying ambient air (at about 30 C) to the
reactor.
The rate of airow through the bed (Qa) was controlled by a but-
tery valve downstream from the blower. The relationship between
Qa (quantied by integrating the velocity prole across the air pipe)
and the valve opening was determined prior to experiments. A
multifunction owmeter Testo-512 (Testo AG, Germany) with
the L-type Pitot tube was used to measure air velocity across the
air pipe in special calibration tests. With this method, a measure-
ment accuracy of the airow rate was ensured within 0.03 m/s
when ranging the mean air velocity from 0 to 10 m/s. However,
due to the error in physical measurement of the pipe inner diameter
(1%) and also uncertainty in the velocity prole (2%), the
measurement uncertainty in the airow rate was 3%.
 P. Arromdee, V.I. Kuprianov / Applied Energy 97 (2012) 470482
Fig. 2. Experimental facilities for the cold-state experiments.
As mentioned previously, the air distributor used in this conical
FBC was made up of thirteen bubbling-cap stand pipes arranged in a
staggered order on the air distributor plate. An individual stand
pipe of 32-mm outer diameter had 64 holes (each of 2 mm in diam-
eter) distributed evenly over the pipe outer surface and also four
vertical slots (each of 10 mm  2 mm sizes) located under a cap
with 47 mm diameter. Thus, airow from distinct pipes penetrated
into the bed in the radial direction, which facilitated uniform distri-
bution of total airow over the plate. The net cross-sectional area of
airow at the distributor exit (calculated as the difference between
area of the 250-mm-diameter distributor plate and total area occu-
pied by the caps) was Aa = 0.027 m2. For particular operating condi-
tions (i.e., at xed Qa), the supercial air velocity at the conical bed
bottom was estimated as u = Qa/Aa, with an uncertainty of 3%.
In this cold-test study, alumina was premixed with shredded
peanut shells in different fractions, or percentages, of biomass in
the binary mixture (PNS): 0% (i.e., when using pure alumina),
2.5%, 5%, 7.5% and 10% (all by weight). Prior to a trial, alumina or
binary aluminabiomass mixture was placed in the conical module
forming a loosely packed bed. For xed percentage of biomass in
the binary mixture, the test runs were performed at three different
static bed heights (BHs): 20, 30 and 40 cm. When testing with pure
alumina, these static bed heights were assured by 17, 38 and 54 kg
of alumina, respectively.
To measure the total pressure drop across the bed and air dis-
tributor (Dp) for variable supercial air velocity (u) and ranges of
PNS and BH, one of the two static pressure probes connected to
the U-tube manometer was arranged in the air duct below the
air distributor, while the second one was xed at the top of the
conical section of the combustor, as shown in Fig. 2. The measure-
ment uncertainty in Dp (2%) was affected by the correctness of
xation of the static pressure tubes in the airow and also by the
error in reading of the U-tube manometer.
For the selected PNS and BH, the pressure drop across the bed
was measured versus the supercial velocity with the aim to pro-
vide data for plotting the Dp-u diagram of the conical bed, which,
afterwards, was used for determining major hydrodynamic re-
gimes and characteristics of the bed (discussed below) for particu-
lar operating conditions. In each trial, supercial air velocity was
ranged from 0 to 45 m/s to observe different uidization regimes
of the bed.
2.4. Experimental methods for the combustion study
During the combustor start up mode, a diesel burner (model
Press G24, Riello Burners Co.) was used to preheat alumina sand
(see Fig. 1). The dieselair ow was injected into the splash zone of
the bed (at a 0.5 m level above the air distributor) through the bur-
473
ner nozzle directed toward the reactor centerline and inclined at a
30 angle to the horizontal. When the bed temperature reached
about 700 C, a diesel pump of the start up burner was turned
off, and a required combustor load was ensured by feeding of bio-
mass into the reactor. The fuel feeder delivered the shells into the
conical module at a level Z = 0.6 m above the air distributor. The
rotational speed of the screw feeder was adjusted using a three-
phase inverter, which ensured the required fuel feed rate. As found
in the calibrations tests, the fuel feed rate had a quasi-linear rela-
tionship with the rotational speed (rpm) of the fuel feeder. For the
range of 3080 kg/h fuel supply, measurement uncertainty in the
fuel feed rate was within 3%.
During the experiments for ring biomass, the burner fan re-
mained operating (at a minimum airow rate) to protect the bur-
ner nozzle against overheating. In the meantime, a steel curtain
of 20 cm  30 cm  0.5 cm in dimensions was used to screen the
burner from the combustor space with the aim to avoid impacts
from the ame and solids onto the start-up burner and also to ex-
clude penetration of the burner air into the reactor during the
experiments.
The fuel feed rate and excess air were selected as major operat-
ing (independent) variables in the combustion study. The experi-
mental tests were performed for two fuel feed rates: 60 kg/h and
45 kg/h, which resulted in the combustor heat input (or thermal
load) of 275 kWth and 206 kWth, respectively. For each fuel feed
rate, the experiments were performed for four specied values of
excess air ensured by the blower: 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% (by
volume).
To investigate the behavior of temperature and gas concentra-
tions (O2, CO, CxHy as CH4, and NO) in different regions of the reac-
tor (i.e., to study the combustion and emission performance of the
conical FBC), these dependent variables were measured (at xed
combustor load and excess air) along radial and axial directions in-
side the combustor, as well as at stack, i.e., downstream from the
cyclone (see Fig. 1). A model Testo-350XL gas analyzer (Testo,
Germany) was used to measure temperature and gas concentra-
tions (O2, CO, CxHy as CH4, and NO) inside the reactor, as well as
in the stack ue gas. The measurement accuracies were 0.5% for
temperature, 5% for CO within the range of 1002000 ppm,
10% for CO higher than 2000 ppm, 10% for CxHy up to
40,000 ppm (as CH4), 5% for NO, and 0.2 vol.% for O2.
For each test run, excess air was quantied according to Ref.
[27] using O2, CO and CxHy (as CH4) concentrations at the cy-
clone exit. For the ranges of operating conditions, the heat losses
due to unburned carbon and incomplete combustion (both as the
percentage of LHV) were predicted together with the combustion
efciency using a conventional method provided in Appendix A.
The content of unburned carbon in y ash was determined in
laboratory tests to quantify associated heat loss, whereas
heat loss due to incomplete combustion was predicted using
the CO and CxHy (as CH4) emissions and some other relevant
parameters.
The chemical composition of y ash generated in the conical
FBC was determined for some selected operating conditions with
the aim to discuss ash-related issues. Besides, the chemical compo-
sition and particle distribution of the bed material were monitored
during the combustion tests. The particle size distribution and
average (volumetric) particle diameter of the bed material were
determined using the Mastersizer-S particle size analyzer after
the combustor testing during 10, 20 and 30 h. Prior to sampling
of the bed material, the combustor was cooled down for 11.5 h
by blowing of cold air through the combustor. During this time,
coarse ash particles and bed material grains were subject to colli-
sions, breakage and/or attrition in the expanded uidized bed,
which eventually resulted in carryover of all the y ash as well
as ne particles (fragments) of the bed material from the reactor.
474 P. Arromdee, V.I. Kuprianov / Applied Energy 97 (2012) 470482
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Hydrodynamic regimes and characteristics of conical alumina
biomass beds
Fig. 3 shows the Dp-u diagram of the conical bed for three se-
lected BHs when using pure alumina sand as the bed material (so-
lid dots), as well as the contribution of the pressure drop across the
air distributor to the total pressure drop Dp for variable u (open
dots). For each BH, the bed exhibited three sequent ow regimes
when varying u from 0 to 45 m/s: (1) the xed-bed regime, (2)
the partially uidized-bed regime, and (3) the full bubbling uid-
ized-bed regime, like those found in conical beds with identical
geometrical characteristics when using quartz sand of similar sizes
[24].
With increasing u within the xed-bed regime, the total pres-
sure drop was found to be increased until the maximum value,
Dpmax, was attained. At this critical point, the lowest layer of the
conical alumina bed began to uidize. The supercial air velocity
giving a start to the partially uidized-bed regime was therefore
termed the minimum velocity of partial uidization (umpf) [28]. It
can be seen in Fig. 3 that with increasing BH, umpf showed the trend
to be noticeably increased: from umpf = 0.26 m/s at BH = 20 cm to
umpf = 0.54 m/s at BH = 40 cm, mainly due to the greater bed
weight. This effect, typical for the conical gassolid beds [24,29],
resulted in an increase of the corresponding maximum pressure
drop: from Dpmax = 2.1 kPa at BH = 20 cm to Dpmax = 5.8 kPa at
BH = 40 cm. During the partially uidized-bed regime, Dp abruptly
reduced (roughly by 1520%, i.e., substantially greater than in
columnar beds at similar BHs), when increasing u from umpf to
the value termed the minimum velocity of full uidization (umff).
Thus, at u = umpf, a sharp peak was observed on the Dp-u diagram,
a typical feature of conical (bubbling and spouting) uidized beds
[24,29,30]. Note that in all the test runs, the change from umpf to
umff was stepwise, and this did not allow measuring Dp at super-
cial velocities within the range of umpf < u < umff. With increasing u
during the full bubbling uidized-bed regime (u P umff), Dp was
found to be increased (at nearly the same rate for all BHs), due
to the effects of pressure drop across the air distributor. If the pres-
sure drop across the air distributor were subtracted from Dp, the
pressure drop across the uidized bed would be then represented
for u P umff by a quasi-invariant characteristic, Dp  const., typical
for bubbling uidization regime [24].
During visual observations of the bed behavior in all the cold-
state tests using pure alumina, at relatively low supercial
velocities (however, exceeding umff), one could see solid splashes
randomly appearing at different locations on the alumina bed
8 Air distributor (AD)
20-cm alumina bed + AD
30-cm alumina bed + AD
40-cm aluimina bed + AD
6 which made the abrupt reduction of Dp during the partially uid-
p (kPa)
4
2 A static bed height of 30 cm seems to be appropriate as ensuring
0 tion of biomass fuels in the cone-shaped uidized bed [7,23]. An
0 1 2 3 4 5
u (m/s)
Fig. 3. Pressure drop across the air distributor versus operating air velocity and the
Dp-u diagram of the alumina conical bed for different static bed heights (accounting
for the contribution made by the air distributor).
surface. At higher supercial velocities corresponding to actual
operating conditions of the combustor, the uidized bed exhibited
a signicant expansion along the axial direction, generally to a
level of 0.60.8 m above the air distributor. Thus, at u > umff, the
uidized bed of alumina apparently exhibited the features of
bubbling uidization regime.
Fig. 4 compares the Dp-u diagrams of conical beds using alu-
mina sand mixed with shredded peanut shells between the test
runs for variable static bed height, which are presented in four
individual graphs for distinct biomass fractions in the binary mix-
ture. Like for the beds with pure alumina, the Dp-u diagram of the
bed with a binary mixture exhibited the above-mentioned regimes,
however, with some apparent effects from the biomass.
Within the xed-bed regime, the gradient d(Dp)/du in all the
test runs was not as smooth as in the case of alumina beds, partic-
ularly, at supercial velocities of 0.20.5 m/s (see Fig. 4). At an any
arbitrary BH, umpf showed a substantial increase (with an extent
depending on BH) when ranging PNS from 0 (i.e., for alumina beds)
to 5 wt.%, due to the effects of coarse biomass particles. However,
with further increasing PNS from 5 wt.% to 10 wt.%, umpf stayed al-
most constant, which is quite unusual for the minimum uidiza-
tion velocity of columnar uidized gassolid beds, basically
showing an apparent increasing trend [31,32]. It can be seen in
Fig. 4 that in all the trials with the binary mixtures using shredded
peanut shells, umpf was within a reasonable range: from about
0.5 m/s to 0.8 m/s (maximum). Compared to data for the alumina
sand beds (see Fig. 3), Dpmax for the binary mixtures increased
insignicantly (maximum by 1 kPa) for the ranges of BH and
PNS, which nevertheless made the sharp peaks (at u = umpf) on
the Dp-u diagram of the mixtures more profound. Responding to
the umpf behavior, Dpmax exhibited a similar (as umpf) effect of
PNS at xed BH. Note that the difference between umff and umpf (re-
lated to the partially uidized-bed regime) sensibly increased with
a greater percentage of biomass in the binary mixture, the differ-
ence being more signicant for higher beds. For instance, for
PNS = 10 wt.% and BH = 40 cm, the value of umff was rather high,
about 1.5 m/s.
However, for a typical proportion of biomass in the uidized
bed (less than 5% [12,31]), both umpf and umff were found to be
at an acceptable level, below 0.8 m/s, for the 2030 cm static
bed heights, the umff being by 1025% greater than umpf. It should
be noted than Dp for these conditions did not exceed 5.5 kPa at
highest supercial velocities. For the bubbling uidized-bed re-
gime, an apparent effect of the pressure drop across the air dis-
tributor on the Dp-u diagram was observed in all the trials,
especially, at higher supercial velocities. For the 20-cm static
bed height, the Dp-u diagrams of the fully bubbling uidized beds
in the test runs for variable PNS were represented by quite sim-
ilar proles (i.e., being almost independent of PNS). However, at
any u within this regime, the values of Dp for the binary mixtures
with BH = 30 cm and BH = 40 cm were noticeably lower than
those for alumina beds (due to lowering of the bed density),
ized-bed regime of the mixtures to be more signicant than that
for the pure alumina beds (see Fig. 3). In the meantime, as can be
seen in Fig. 4, the effects of PNS on the behavior of Dp at u P umff
were rather weak.
(i) stable uidization of the bed (at reasonable umff), and (ii) suf-
cient amount of the bed material to sustain ignition and combus-
increase in BH will apparently lead to a greater amount of the
bed material and also higher pressure drop across the bed (i.e., sub-
stantially higher operating costs); however, too low bed heights
may become a cause of deterioration of fuelair mixing in the
combustor bottom part.
 P. Arromdee, V.I. Kuprianov / Applied Energy 97 (2012) 470482 475

8 8

6 6

p (kPa)
p (kPa)
4 4

2 PNS = 2.5 wt.%, BH = 20 cm

2 PNS = 5 wt.%, BH = 20 cm
PNS = 2.5 wt.%, BH = 30 cm PNS = 5 wt.%, BH = 30 cm
PNS = 2.5 wt.%, BH = 40 cm PNS = 5 wt.%, BH = 40 cm
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5
u (m/s) u (m/s)

8 8

6 6

p (kPa)
p (kPa)

4 4

2 PNS = 7.5 wt.%, BH = 20 cm

2 PNS = 10 wt.%, BH = 20 cm
PNS = 7.5 wt.%, BH = 30 cm PNS = 10 wt.%, BH = 30 cm
PNS = 7.5 wt.%, BH = 40 cm PNS = 10 wt.%, BH = 40 cm
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5
u (m/s) u (m/s)

Fig. 4. Effects of static bed height on the Dp-u diagram of the conical bed of alumina mixed with peanut shells (PNS) for variable weight percentage of biomass in the binary
mixture.

As mentioned previously, for each of the two fuel feed rates in
the combustion tests (discussed below), excess air was specied
to be in the range of 2080%. It can be estimated (using the
above-mentioned theoretical volume of air) that at 60 kg/h fuel
feeding, the supercial air velocity at a bottom plane of the conical
bed was maintained in the range from 4.2 m/s to 6.2 m/s when
increasing excess air. Based on the results from the cold-state
studies at PNS = 2.55 wt.% for the selected static bed height
(BH = 30 cm), one may conclude that u was varied within (5.3
8.0)umff in the combustion tests at 60 kg/h fuel feeding, and within
(4.05.8)umff at 45 kg/h fuel supply, i.e., being substantially greater
than the respective value of umff. Thus, the conical FBC was ex-
pected to ensure the bubbling uidization regime of the bed during
the combustion of peanut shells for the ranges of operating
conditions.
3.2. Radial temperature and gas concentration proles in the conical
FBC
For this uidized-bed combustion technique with a cone-shape
bed, an extent of uniformity of the combustion and emission char-
acteristics across the combustor is a key issue affecting the volume
of an experimental work.
Fig. 5 depicts the radial temperature and gas concentration
proles in the conical FBC ring 60 kg/h peanut shells at excess
air of about 40%, at three different levels (Z) above the air distrib-
utor. All these proles were plotted using the over-time averages
of temperature and gas concentrations (O2, CO, CxHy and NO)
measured under steady combustion conditions. Note that the
uctuations of these variables from their mean values in the bot-
tom region of the combustor were somewhat greater than at the
combustor top, mainly due to the impact from the uidized bed.
At Z = 0.6 m, the uctuations were basically within 2 K for the
temperature, 1.5% (vol.) for O2, 1500 ppm for CO, 900 ppm
for CxHy (as CH4), and 90 ppm for NO. Taking into account the
respective averages from Fig. 5, one may conclude that the rela-
tive uctuation of temperature was insignicant, roughly 0.2%,
whereas the one of the gaseous compounds was found to be
within 1014%.
It can be seen that the radial temperature proles in the reactor
were quite uniform at all the levels indicating highly intensive
heat-and-mass transfer in the radial direction. In the meantime,
the radial O2, CO, CxHy (as CH4) and NO concentration proles were
rather/fairly uniform pointing at quite intensive gassolid and gas
gas mixing in this direction. The maximum difference between the
current O2 (or CO) concentration along the radius and the mean
concentration of these species (averaged across the reactor) was
about 15%. The uniformity of another two radial proles (of CxHy
and NO) was apparently higher. Similar results (in terms of the
prole uniformity) were also found for ring peanuts shells at
the reduced combustor load.
Such an appearance of the radial proles (as quasi-uniform
characteristics across the reactor) in this conical FBC allowed using
the axial proles of temperature and gas concentrations for charac-
terization of the combustion and emission performance of the pro-
posed combustor.
3.3. Behavior of combustion characteristics along the axial direction
The axial temperature and O2 concentration proles in the con-
ical FBC ring peanut shells at different fuel feed rates are shown in
Fig. 6 for variable excess air. The axial temperature proles for the
two thermal loads indicated that the reactor was basically oper-
ated under quasi-isothermal conditions (taking into account the
behavior of temperature in radial direction). However, all these
proles in the bottom region of the combustor (at 0 < Z < 1 m) were
found to have a slight positive gradient along the combustor
height, mainly due to the over-bed fuel feeding and also endother-
mic processes of drying and devolatilization of fuel particles. In the
upper regions of the reactor (Z > 1 m), the temperature was found
to be slightly reduced with higher Z because of heat loss across
combustor walls. As can be compared in Fig. 6, reducing the fuel
feed rate from 60 kg/h to 45 kg/h led to a lower temperature at
any point inside the reactor (by 5080 C, depending on excess
air). This result can be explained by an increase in heat loss across
combustor walls when reducing the fuel feed rate and air supply.
In all the test runs in Fig. 6, the axial O2 concentration dimin-
ished gradually along the combustor height. The behavior of O2
476 P. Arromdee, V.I. Kuprianov / Applied Energy 97 (2012) 470482

1200 20

Temperature (oC )
1000 15

O2 (vol.%)
800 10

600 Z = 2.55 m 5 Z = 2.55 m

Z = 1.55 m Z = 1.55 m
Z = 0.60 m Z = 0.60 m
400 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
r/R r/R

12000 12000

CxHy as CH4 (ppm)

10000 10000
Z = 2.55 m
CO (ppm)

8000 Z = 1.55 m 8000

Z = 0.60 m Z = 2.55 m
6000 6000
Z = 1.55 m
4000 4000 Z = 0.60 m

2000 2000
0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
r/R r/R
1200
1000
NO (ppm)

800 Z = 2.55 m
Z = 1.55 m
600 Z = 0.60 m
400
200
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
r/R

Fig. 5. Radial temperature and O2, CO, CxHy (as CH4) and NO concentration proles at three different levels (Z) inside the conical uidized-bed combustor when ring 60 kg/h
peanut shells at excess air of about 40%.

(a) 1200 (b) 1200 EA = 82%

EA = 59%
Temperature (C)
Temperature (C)

EA = 41%
1000 1000 EA = 20%

800 800

EA = 80% 600
600 EA = 60%
EA = 37%
EA = 19%
400 400
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5
Height above the air distributor (m) Height above the air distributor (m)

20 20
EA = 80% EA = 82%
EA = 60% EA = 59%
EA = 37% EA = 41%
15 EA = 19% 15 EA = 20%
O2 (vol.%)
O2 (vol.%)

10 10

5 5

0 0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5

Height above the air distributor (m) Height above the air distributor (m)

Fig. 6. Effects of excess air on the axial temperature and O2 concentration proles inside the conical uidized-bed combustor when ring peanut shells at the fuel feed rate of
(a) 60 kg/h and (b) 45 kg/h.

indicated that a substantial proportion of this high-ber fuel was tion in this region at the reduced combustor load was somewhat
oxidized in the expanded uidized bed as well as in the (lower) higher (despite the reduction in the bed temperature), which can
part of the freeboard. However, at xed EA, the rate of O2 consump- be explained by the increased residence time of the reactants. It
 P. Arromdee, V.I. Kuprianov / Applied Energy 97 (2012) 470482 477

the freeboard region, O2 exhibited some reduction at a rather low
rate, approaching eventually a level corresponding to the specied
EA in each test run.
3.4. Formation and decomposition of CO, CxHy, and NO in different
regions of the combustor
Fig. 7 compares the axial CO, CxHy (as CH4) and NO concentra-
tion proles in the conical FBC between the fuel feed rates for sim-
ilar EA values. All the proles revealed an occurrence of two
specic regions in the reactor, the bottom region and the freeboard,
within which the net result of formation/decomposition of the gas-
eous species was quite different.
In the rst region basically comprising the expanded uidized
bed (0 < Z < 0.6 m), all the species exhibited a signicant increase
of their concentrations, mainly due to rapid devolatilization of fuel
particles and also oxidation of volatiles and char-C (that contrib-
uted to highly intensive formation of CO and NO), while decompo-
sition of CO, CxHy and NO in this region occurred at a substantially
lower rate.
At the reduced combustor load, the peak of CO was found to be
somewhat lower compared to that at the maximum load for simi-
lar EA, primarily due to (i) greater residence time (as discussed pre-
viously) and (ii) lower contribution of CxHy oxidation to CO
formation, both leading to a higher rate of CO decomposition in
this region. In the second region (Z > 0.6 m), CO was gradually
reduced along the combustor height (basically, via chain routes
involving O2 and water vapor), the highest rates of CO oxidation
being observed in the lower half of the combustor where the
concentrations of both CO and O2 were substantial. For the two
combustor loads, the level of CO at any arbitrary level Z, was pre-
determined by excess air and apparently correlated with the CO
peak for the given operating conditions.
Like CO, the axial CxHy concentration proles exhibited two spe-
cic regions and similar trends when responding to variations in
the fuel feed rate and excess air. Apparently, CxHy originated (along
with CO, H2 and other combustibles) from fuel volatile matter
(which accounts for 65.4 wt.% of fuel mass, as provided in Table 1).
As well known, CxHy are basically oxidized forming CO as an inter-
mediate product [33]. Since CO received the continuous feeding
from oxidation of CxHy and char-C, the concentration of CO at dif-
ferent locations in the combustor were substantially higher than
that of CxHy for the ranges of operating conditions (see Fig. 7).
During the combustion of various biomass fuels, NO is known to
form from volatile nitrogenous species (mainly, NH3), via the fuel-
NO formation mechanism, which includes the proportional effects
of fuel-N, combustion temperature and excess air [33,34]. In the
meantime, NO is decomposed (reduced) via its (i) reactions with
CO on a surface of fuel-chars [34], as well as (ii) homogeneous
reactions with NH3 [35] and light hydrocarbon radicals [33]. It
can be concluded from observation of the axial NO concentration
proles in Fig. 7 that the rate of NO formation in the rst region

(a) 16000 EA = 80%

(b) 16000 EA = 82%
EA = 60% EA = 59%
EA = 37% EA = 41%
12000 EA = 19% 12000 EA = 20%
CO (ppm)
CO (ppm)

8000 8000

4000 4000

0 0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5
Height above the air distributor (m) Height above the air distributor (m)

16000 16000
EA = 80% EA = 82%
EA = 60% EA = 59%
CxHy as CH4 (ppm)
CxHyas CH4 (ppm)

EA = 37% EA = 41%
12000 EA = 19% 12000 EA = 20%

8000 8000

4000 4000

0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Height above the air distributor (m) Height above the air distributor (m)

1200 1200
EA = 80% EA = 82%
EA = 60% 1000 EA = 59%
1000 EA = 37% EA = 41%
EA = 19% EA = 20%
NO (ppm)
NO (ppm)

800 800

600 600

400 400

200 200

0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Height above the air distributor (m) Height above the air distributor (m)

Fig. 7. Effects of excess air on the CO, CxHy (as CH4) and O2 concentration proles inside the conical uidized-bed combustor when ring peanut shells at the fuel feed rate of
(a) 60 kg/h and (b) 45 kg/h.
478 P. Arromdee, V.I. Kuprianov / Applied Energy 97 (2012) 470482
prevailed that of NO decomposition (for the two fuel feed rates),
which led to the dramatic increase of NO along the combustor
height (at nearly the same rate, almost independent of excess
air). This resulted in the NO peak attained at the exit from this re-
gion (at Z  0.6 m), where the formation and decompositions rates
of NO were equal. However, in the freeboard, the rate of chemical
reactions responsible for NO decomposition, such as the previously
mentioned catalytic reduction of NO by CO (on the highly devel-
oped char surface of peanut shells) and homogeneous reactions
of NO with NH3 and CxHy, prevailed the formation rate of NO,
which resulted in a signicant drop of NO in this region.
It can be also seen in Fig. 7 that the inuence of EA on the
behavior of NO in the axial direction was substantial, which con-
rmed an occurrence of the fuel-NO formation mechanism in the
reactor. A reduction in the fuel feed rate led to a higher mitigation
of NO in the rst region, and, correspondingly, to a lower NO peak
at given EA. This fact is explained by lower bed temperature and
greater residence time at the reduced combustor load, which, on
one had, reduced the NO formation rate, and, on the other hand,
enhanced the NO decomposition rate in this region. However,
when ring peanut shells at the reduced load, the rate of NO reduc-
tion in the second region (i.e., in the combustor freeboard) was
substantially lower than that at 60 kg/h feed rate. For this reason,
despite effective mitigation of NO in the bottom region, a reduction
in the combustor load did not lead to apparent diminishing of the
NO emission from this conical FBC red with this biomass fuel.
3.5. Emissions
Fig. 8 depicts the CO, CxHy (as CH4) and NO emissions (all on a
dry basis and at 6% O2) from the conical FBC for ring peanut shells
at the fuel feed rates of 60 kg/h and 45 kg/h for variable EA. As a
matter of fact, these emission characteristics represent the net re-
sults of formation/decomposition processes in different regions of
the reactor.
At the maximum combustor load and relatively low (about 20%)
excess air, the CO and CxHy emissions from the conical FBC were
relatively high, about 1200 ppm and 850 ppm, respectively. As
(a)
1200
FR = 60 kg/h
1000
FR = 45 kg/h
CO emission
(ppm, 6% O2)
800
600
400
200
0 0
0 20 40 60 80
Execss air (%)
(c) 300
250
NO emission
(ppm, 6% O2)
200
150
100
50
0
0 20
Fig. 8. Effects of the fuel feed rate and excess air on the emission of CO, CxHy (as CH4) and NO from the conical uidized-bed combustor red with peanut shells.
seen in Fig. 8, these emissions can be effectively controlled by
increasing excess air within the specied range, via maintaining
this operating variable at an appropriate level. With increasing ex-
cess air, the NO emission was found to be increased, conrming
apparently the fuel-NO formation mechanism and pointing at the
substantial contribution of CO and CxHy to the NO decomposition
at lower excess air values. When ranging EA from about 20% to
80% at maximum combustor load, the NO emission increased sub-
stantially: from 75 ppm to 215 ppm (on a dry basis and at 6% O2).
With reducing the fuel feed rate (at any xed EA within the range),
all the emissions showed the trend to be reduced. However, as fol-
lows from analysis of data in Fig. 8, the effects of the combustor
load on the emissions were rather weak.
3.6. Heat losses and combustion efciency
Table 2 shows the heat losses, which are due to unburned car-
bon and incomplete combustion, together with the actual emission
characteristics (used for assessment of the heat losses and combus-
tion efciency) of the conical FBC when ring peanut shells at the
fuel feed rates of 60 kg/h and 45 kg/h for the range of EA. Because
of the low ash content in this biomass fuel (see Table 1), the heat
loss due to unburned carbon had a minor inuence on the combus-
tion efciency, leaving the heat loss due to incomplete combustion
to be predominant in heat balance. Hence, the combustion ef-
ciency of the conical FBC can be generally improved via reducing
the CO and CxHy emissions. It can be seen in Table 2 that for the
two combustor loads, high combustion efciency is achievable at
EA of 4080%: 98.999.8% for the 60 kg/h fuel feed rate, and
99.399.8% for 45 kg/h.
Taking into consideration the above emission characteristics
and combustion efciencies, excess air of 40% seems to be the best
option for ring peanut shells in the conical FBC. For maximum
combustor load and optimal excess air, the combustor can be oper-
ated with high combustion efciency, about 99%. Under these
operating conditions the major emissions can be controlled at
acceptable levels: CO = 520 ppm and NO = 125 ppm (both on a
dry basis and at 6% O2), meeting the corresponding emission limits
(b)
1200
CxHy (as CH4) emissions
FR = 60 kg/h
1000
FR = 45 kg/h
(ppm, 6% O2)
800
600
400
200
100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Excess air (%)
FR = 60 kg/h
FR = 45 kg/h
40 60 80 100
Excess air (%)
 P. Arromdee, V.I. Kuprianov / Applied Energy 97 (2012) 470482 479

Table 2
Unburned carbon content in y ash, emission concentration of CO and CxHy (as CH4), heat losses and combustion efciency of the conical uidized-bed combustor red with
peanut shells for variable operating conditions.

Excess air Airow ratea Unburned carbon COb CxHyb Heat loss (%) Combustion efciency
(%) (Nm3/s) (wt.%) (ppm) (ppm) (%)
Due to unburned Due to incomplete
carbon combustion
Fuel feed rate = 60 kg/h
19 0.094 1.98 1200 840 0.23 1.80 98.0
37 0.108 1.89 537 434 0.22 0.89 98.9
60 0.126 0.91 200 92 0.10 0.23 99.7
80 0.142 0.86 109 54 0.10 0.13 99.8
Fuel feed rate = 45 kg/h
20 0.071 2.94 874 720 0.35 1.46 98.2
41 0.083 1.12 352 305 0.13 0.61 99.3
59 0.094 1.12 100 80 0.13 0.16 99.7
82 0.108 1.01 59 44 0.12 0.09 99.8
a
Under standard conditions: at 1 atm and 0 C.
b
At 6% O2 (on a dry gas basis).

imposed by the Thai environmental legislation for biomass-fueled
industrial applications [36]: 740 ppm for CO and 215 ppm for NO
(as presented on a dry basis and at 6% O2).
Table 3 compares the CO and CxHy emissions (that affect the
combustion-related heat losses and combustion efciency) be-
tween the conical FBC and some other bubbling uidized-bed
combustors red with unconventional biomass fuels. For compara-
bility, all cases have been selected for ring the fuels at EA = 35
50%. Some important thermal characteristics, such as heat input
(dened as the product of fuel LHV and feed rate), heat release
per unit cross-sectional area of the bed surface (at static state)
and heat release per unit volume of each combustor (estimated
by the authors of current study) are included in Table 3 as well.
By heat input, all these combustion techniques can be conven-
tionally subdivided into two groups of: (1) laboratory-scale
combustors operated at heat input 50 kWth or lower [3,9,10,19]
and (2) pilot-scale combustors with heat inputs of 170275 kWth
(presented in Ref. [11] and current study). From Table 3, the
pilot-scale combustors with unconventional design of the bottom
part ensured not only a higher fuel feed rate but also substantially
greater heat release per unit bed area compared to the small-
capacity columnar uidized-bed combustors.
Most of the biomass-fueled combustors in Table 3 exhibit rather
high combustion efciency, about 99% and up. This key character-
istic of a combustor seems to be more trustable when effects of un-
burned carbon in y ash as well as concentrations of CO and CxHy
in ue gas at the combustor exit are taken into account (such as
performed in Refs. [3,7] and current study).
Data in Table 3 revealed that the reliable operation (avoiding
bed agglomeration) of columnar bubbling FBCs using silica sand
as the bed material can be achieved via maintaining the bed
temperature at a rather low level, either operating the combustor
at reduced load (or heat release) [3,9] and/or using a cooling sur-
face arranged as the combustor waterwalls [19]. However, when
alumina was used as the bed material, the combustors in differ-
ent case studies were operated with no features of bed agglom-
eration despite that the bed temperature in all the FBCs was
substantially higher (as reported in Refs. [911] and current
study), thus promoting more intensive fuel burnout in the
uidized bed.

Table 3
Comparison of CO and CxHy emissions as well as combustion efciency between columnar and conical uidized-bed combustors red with various unconventional biomass fuels
for selected operating conditions.

Fuel LHV Operating Heat input Heat release Bed Emissionb Combustion Source
(kJ/kg) conditions (kWth) temperature (C) efciency (%)
FR (kg/h) EA (%) Per unit c.-s. areaa Per unit volume CO CxHy
(kWth/m2) (kWth/m3) (ppm) (ppm)
Columnar bubbling uidized-bed combustors using silica sand as the bed material
Peach stones 20,390 0.9 50 5 620 690 631 1459 532 97.5c Kaynak et al. [3]
Apricot stones 21,796 0.9 46 5 670 740 674 5428 497 96.2c Kaynak et al. [3]
Cedar pellets 19,700 2.7 4091 15 230 140 780 170350 n/a 99.5099.88d Shimizu et al. [9]
f
Groundnut shells 19,728 9.3 53 50 2880 2880f 615 n/a n/a 99.2e Rao and Reddy [19]
Columnar bubbling uidized-bed combustor using alumina as the bed material
Cedar pellets 19,700 2.7 4091 15 230 140 880 3095 n/a 99.9299.93d Shimizu et al. [9]
Cedar pellets 19,700 n/a 35 n/a n/a n/a 850 190 n/a 98.7d Han et al. [10]
Bubbling uidized-bed combustor with two prismatic modules of different cross-sectional areas using alumina as the bed material
Cotton stalk 17,531 35 36g 170 3210 n/a 875 190 n/a 99.88d Sun et al. [11]
Conical bubbling uidized-bed combustor using alumina as the bed material
Peanut shells 16,500 60 37 275 1670 150 839 537 434 98.9c Current study
a
Cross-sectional area of the (static) bed surface.
b
On a dry basis and at 6% O2.
c
Including effects of CO, CxHy and unburned carbon in y ash.
d
Including effects of CO only.
e
Including effects of CO and unburned carbon in y ash.
f
Removing a part of available heat from the ue gas by using cooling (coiled) tubes.
g
Using air-staging.
480 P. Arromdee, V.I. Kuprianov / Applied Energy 97 (2012) 470482

Table 4
Composition of the y ashes originating from the conical uidized bed combustor when ring peanut shells at excess air of about 40% for different fuel feed rates.

Fuel feed rate Composition (as oxides, wt.%)

SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO Na2O K2O TiO2 P2O5 Sum
FR = 60 kg/h 50.49 11.14 5.27 8.52 3.21 0.02 9.85 0.73 2.83 92.06
FR = 45 kg/h 51.46 10.67 4.96 8.37 3.11 0.02 10.66 0.77 2.98 93.00

Table 5
Composition of the bed material used in the conical uidized bed combustor red with peanut shells at different time instants during the combustion tests.

Operating time (h) Composition (wt.%)

Al2O3 SiO2 K2O CaO MgO Fe2O3 TiO2 P2O5 ZrO2
0 (prior to testing) 91.96 3.46 0.11 0.72 0.18 0.66 2.74 0.04 0.13
10 80.33 14.11 1.54 0.87 0.51 0.38 1.83 0.19 0.24
20 62.78 28.26 3.77 1.54 0.74 0.89 1.52 0.34 0.16
30 56.15 33.64 4.62 1.72 0.76 1.19 1.40 0.39 0.13

The pilot-scale combustors (the one proposed by Sun et al. [11] Table 6
and that presented in the current study) exhibit an essential bene- Particle size distribution of the bed material used in the conical uidized bed
t, showing a rather low ratio of alumina mass to heat input, combustor red with peanut shells at different time instants during the combustion
tests.
0.14 kg/kWth for both combustors. However, this index is much
higher for the columnar FBC studied in Ref. [9]: 0.49 kg/kWth, as Particle size Volume percentage of particles in the size range
estimated based on relevant data provided. range (lm)
After 10-h After 20-h After 30-h
testing testing testing
3.7. Ash composition 108126 0.00 0.00 0.00
126147 0.23 0.16 0.23
Table 4 shows the composition of y ashes (as the weight per- 147172 1.32 1.12 1.27
172200 3.16 2.81 3.01
centage of representative oxides) generated in the conical FBC
200233 5.64 5.14 5.34
when ring peanut shells at 60 kg/h and 45 kg/h for similar excess 233272 8.46 7.84 8.00
air, about 40%. For these two ash analyses, the total sum of oxide 272317 11.13 10.48 10.55
percentages was below 100%, which indicated the presence of 317370 13.11 12.54 12.49
some amount of carbonates in the ashes. A comparison of the 370431 13.93 13.56 13.41
431502 13.40 13.31 13.11
ash compositions revealed quite weak effects of operating condi-
502586 11.61 11.84 11.66
tions (via the bed temperature and residence time) on the percent- 586683 8.97 9.48 9.34
age of individual constituents in the analysis. 683796 5.95 6.70 6.61
The major components in the y ash of peanut shells were sil- 726928 3.04 3.92 3.87
9281082 0.05 1.10 1.10
icon (some 50 wt.% as oxide) and aluminum (about 11 wt.% as
10821262 0.00 0.01 0.01
oxide), followed by potassium (about 10 wt.% as oxide). The alka-
li-earth metals (calcium and magnesium) were represented by
substantially lower percentages of their oxides.
tor bottom was quite strong. This interaction likely occurred via
Note that the y ash contained a small proportion of ne parti-
the sequential formation of coating on the surface of the bed mate-
cles formed by attrition or fragmentation of the bed material in the
rial particles, mainly due to substantial proportions of silicon and
reactor bottom (as discussed below), the contribution of bed mate-
potassium in the fuel ash [15]. The contents of SiO2 and K2O in
rial fragments to the composition of y ash being dependent on the
the alumina-based bed material were found to be signicantly in-
fuel ash analysis as well as on the (current) mass ux of bed mate-
creased with time, whereas other components presented in the y
rial particles carried out from the combustor.
ash at noticeable levels (such as CaO, MgO, Fe2O3 and P2O5) exhib-
ited a moderate/weak time increment of their contents in the
3.8. The effects of timescale on composition and particle size of the bed grains. It can be therefore suggested that the particle coating con-
material sisted mainly of K2OAl2O3SiO2 systems (eutectics), such as kalsi-
lite (KAlSiO4) and leucite (KAlSi2O6), with relatively high melting
Neither bed agglomeration nor signicant ash deposit on the point (15001600 C [37]) that signicantly exceeded the bed
combustor walls was observed in this experimental study on the temperature, thus preventing the bed agglomeration in this
conical FBC using alumina sand as the bed material during the en- combustor.
tire test period, about 30 h (for the rst 20 h, the combustor was However, despite continuous coating, the particle size of the
tested at the fuel feed rate of 60 kg/h, whereas for the rest time, bed material did not show signicant timescale effects. Table 6
all combustion tests were performed at 45 kg/h). As found by vi- shows the particle size distribution for the operating time of 10,
sual inspections, the bed material exhibited normal appearance 20 and 30 h. It can be seen in Table 6 that the size distribution
(grains) and ability to uidize during the experiments. (as the volume percentage of particles in each size range) for the
Table 5 shows the composition of alumina sand (prior to test- three bed material samples at different time instants was nearly
ing) and that of the reused bed material after different time periods the same and showed some increase in volumetric diameter of
of combustor operation. The results revealed that the interaction the particles (429, 445 and 444 lm, respectively) compared to
between the fuel ash and the bed material uidized in the combus- the mean particle size for the original alumina sand (400 lm).
 P. Arromdee, V.I. Kuprianov / Applied Energy 97 (2012) 470482
Along with coarse particles (>500 lm in size), all the samples of the
bed material included a substantial proportion of ne particles
(<300 lm in size), which were likely generated due to collisions,
breakage and attrition of the bed material particles, apparently
causing destruction of the coating. After each of the 10-h test
series, the weight of the bed material was found to be slightly re-
duced (by 0.51%) due to insignicant carryover of ne fragments
of the bed material from the combustor during the post-test blow-
ing (as described in Subsection 2.4), which likely affected the time-
related size distributions within a limited range of nest particles.
As follows from the analysis of the size distribution at different
time instants, the main proportion of the bed material was repre-
sented by the Geldart-B particles, which sustained bubbling uid-
ized-bed regime of this conical FBC during all the experiments.
A substantial reduction of Al2O3 in the reused bed material
(whose mass remained almost unchanged in all the tests) indicated
that a considerable amount, about 39% of original bed material
(alumina sand), was lost during these 30-h experiments. A contin-
uous loss of the original bed material results in gradual diminish-
ing of the bed capability in preventing bed agglomeration and
also affects the composition of y ash.
4. Conclusions
This study revealed a feasibility of the effective energy conver-
sion from peanut shells via direct combustion in the conical uid-
ized-bed combustor using alumina sand as the bed material. The
combustor has been successfully tested for the hydrodynamic re-
gimes and characteristics of conical beds with binary (alumina
biomass) mixtures as well as for burning peanut shells in the pro-
posed combustor at 60 kg/h and 45 kg/h feed rates for excess air
ranged from 20% to 80%.
The following specic conclusions have been derived from this
experimental work:
 with selected particle sizes (300500 lm) and static bed height
(30 cm), alumina ensures bubbling uidization regime of the
bed at operating conditions specied for the fuel ring;
 radial temperature and gas (O2, CO, CxHy as CH4, and NO) con-
centration proles inside the combustor at different levels
above the air distributor are rather/fairly uniform;
 the behavior of CO, CxHy and NO along the combustor height
indicates the occurrence of two specic regions inside the reac-
tor showing signicant differences in formation and decompo-
sition of the gaseous pollutants;
 the emissions of CO, CxHy and NO from the combustor are
weakly affected by the reactor load showing, however, substan-
tial effects of excess air;
 for the conical FBC burning peanut shells at the maximum load,
excess air of 40% seems to be the best option as ensuring high
(about 99%) combustion efciency and acceptable emission lev-
els (meeting the national emission limits): 520 ppm for CO and
125 ppm for NO, whereas CxHy emissions can be maintained at a
level of about 400 ppm (all on a dry basis and at 6% O2);
 no evidence of bed agglomeration was found during 30-h exper-
imental tests on this conical uidized-bed combustor using alu-
mina sand as the bed material; however, the composition of the
bed material undergoes signicant changes during the combus-
tion of peanut shells.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge the nancial support from the
Thailand Research Fund and Thammasat University (Contract No.
481
BRG 5380015) as well as from the Commission on Higher Educa-
tion, Ministry of Education, Thailand (Contract No. 6/2551).
Appendix A. Determining combustion-related heat losses and
combustion efciency
In this work, combustion efciency of the FBCs was determined
using the heat-loss method [26]. For both combustors with no ash
removal through the bottom part, the heat loss due to unburned
carbon, quc (%), was predicted as:
 
32; 866 Cfa
quc A A1
LHV 100  Cfa
The heat loss owing to incomplete combustion, qic (%), was
quantied based on the CO and CxHy (as CH4) emissions from the
combustors (in ppm, on a dry gas basis and at 6% O2) as:
100  quc
qic 126:4CO 358:2CH4 @6%O2 104 V dg@6%O2 A2
LHV
where V dg@6% O2 is calculated by Refs. [26,27] using the fuel compo-
sition on as-received basis.
The combustion efciency of the uidized-bed combustors, gc
(%), was then determined as:
gc 100  quc qic A3
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