Experimental and numerical analysis of fine particle and soot formation in a modern 100 MW pulverized biomass heating plant

The formation of soot, organic, and inorganic aerosols has a profound effect on the environmental and technological feasibility of biomass combustion. In this work, the soot and aerosol processes are examined for a modern pulverized wood-burning 100 MWth district heating plant. Experimental data was collected from two locations inside the furnace (30% and 100% thermal loads), including measurements for fine particle (PM1) number size distribution, number concentration, and chemical composition. The experiments were complemented with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and Plug-Flow Reactor (PFR) modeling. The measurements and modeling are combined in a comprehensive analysis, providing fundamental understanding on the aerosol processes inside the furnace. The wood-powder combustion is efficient under both thermal loads, indicated by the low unburned carbon content in fly-ash, and the low CO, NO and soot emissions (