Use of natural ores in thermal conversion of biomass

Paper in proceeding, 2018

To decrease the CO2 levels in the atmosphere without compromising with the electricity production and energy security two different issues have to be addressed – replacement of the current use of fossil fuels with CO2-neutral fuels and increase in the efficiency of the existing processes for thermal conversion. Fluidized bed (FB) thermal conversion is usually considered as the most energy efficient choice when biomass and municipal solid waste are used as fuels. The bed material that is used commonly within FB boilers is sand. With the demand to increase the efficiency of the electricity generation process, alternative bed materials have been tested. These materials are usually naturally occurring minerals containing transient oxides, most often Fe or Mn. The present paper presents three naturally occurring minerals that may be utilized as bed materials – olivine, ilmenite and manganese ore, while comparing with industrial silica sand for reference. The feasibility of their utilization as bed materials in thermal conversion of biomass on their further use is discussed.