Effect of Storage Methods on the Physical and Chemical Properties of Biomass Fuels

The need for biomass co-firing with coal and dedicated biomass plants for power generation is growing worldwide as generators continue their search for sustainable sources of energy. This project focuses on the storage of biomass fuels and the impact this has on degradation and subsequently on the handling, milling and combustion of the fuels. From July 2010 to January 2011; four different fuels; namely willow chips, miscanthus chips, forestry residue chips and pine pellets; were stored in air-tight buckets at room temperature to promote artificial/accelerated degradation and provide an initial benchmark in a long term project investigating the impact of different storage scenarios on a range of fuels. At regular intervals, samples were taken out of buckets for analysis including stereo zoom microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Fungal identification and count were also carried out on the two most degraded fuels.