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Fuel Properties and Characteristics of Saline Biomass

Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org

Citation:  Paper number  056132,  2005 ASAE Annual Meeting . (doi: 10.13031/2013.19580) @2005
Authors:   S. L. Blunk, B.M. Jenkins, R.E. Aldas, R.H. Zhang, Z.L. Pan, C.W. Yu, N.R. Sakr and Y. Zheng
Keywords:   Drainage water, irrigation water, salinity, alkali, biomass, combustion, fuel properties, leaching

Integrated farm drainage management (IFDM) systems employ sequential reuse of water with biomass production to help control saline groundwater and improve the sustainability of arid land irrigated agriculture. Currently operating near Five Points, CA is a 640 acre IFDM demonstration project. Subsurface drainage water is reused to irrigate plants of increasing salt tolerance and produce crops which could be utilized in energy conversion. Combustion properties of biomass are influenced by the presence of chlorine, alkali and other metals, all of which may increase in concentration with drainage water reuse. Physical, chemical, structural, and fuel properties were determined for three species of biomass irrigated with saline drainage water, including two woods (Athel and Eucalyptus) and one grass (Jose Tall Wheatgrass). For each species, the as-harvested moisture content, heating value, proximate analysis (ash, volatiles, and fixed carbon), and concentration of acid-insoluble ash were determined. Wood and bark dry matter fractions were determined on both a volume and a mass basis along with apparent wood density. Structural carbohydrate fractions were found through NDF, ADF, and lignin determinations. Ultimate, ash, and water soluble alkali analyses and heavy metals and trace element concentrations were also conducted for each biomass species. Combustion fuel properties including ash volatilization, ash fusibility, and ash sulfur decomposition temperatures were determined. The Jose Tall Wheatgrass has high fouling potential for combustion systems, and the Athel exhibits high uptake of calcium and alkali sulfates.

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