Solid biomass combustion modeling: Bibliometric analysis and literature review of the latest developments in OpenFOAM based simulations

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling is a powerful and cost-effective tool for study and improves the performance of combustion systems. OpenFOAM is a powerful open-source engineering-tool, which has been successfully used in numerous applications. To guide researchers interested in using OpenFOAM for this type of applications, in this document, a general view of solid biomass combustion modeling and a complete review of the topic when OpenFOAM is used are presented. It was found that, although there are relatively few OpenFOAM-based studies on the topic, there is a growing interest in the use of the tool for solid combustion simulation. Those works usually seek to improve thermal efficiency and reduce pollutant emissions in combustion furnaces; by using new biomasses or changing operational parameters. The main articles related to the subject are described and citation analyses are made to identify their relationships and relevance. [Display omitted] •There are two main groups of authors who work on solid biomass combustion modeling.•There is a growing interest in the use of OpenFOAM for solid combustion simulation.•The four modeling approaches have been successfully implemented in OpenFOAM.•Solid combustion simulations usually seek to improve efficiency in combustion furnaces.