LATVIA UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE - Latvijas ...

Rasma Platače, Aleksandrs AdamovičsCOMBUSTION ABILITY OF ENERGY CROP PELLETSThe highest combustion heat indicators wereobserved for peat: 28.8 MJ kg -1 , moreover thenumber is very close to the coal index. The strawbiomass had the highest combustion heat indicators -17.3÷18.5 MJ kg -1 , wood (various tree species)combustion heat comprised 18.5÷19.5 MJ kg -1 , woodbark - 18.5÷19.5 MJ kg -1 , and canola - 18.6÷19.6 MJ kg -1(Zaķe et al., 2010).When analyzing combustion ability of differentproportion reed canary grass and osier pellets,depending on the dose of nitrogen chemical fertilizers,we came to the conclusion that best combustion abilitywas indicated in samples without the dose of nitrogenchemical fertilizers.Best combustion ability indicators were foundin the combination 1/3 (RCG /Populus tremula L.) -18.59 MJ kg -1 with nitrogen chemical fertilizers and18.83 MJ kg -1 without the dose of nitrogen chemicalfertilizers (Fig. 1).When analyzing combustion abilityof different composition reed canary grass and osierpellets, depending on the dose of nitrogen chemicalfertilizers, we found out that the best combustionability was in samples without the dose of nitrogenchemical fertilizers. The best combustion abilityis indicated at 1/3 (/RCG/Salix viminalis L.) witha nitrogen fertilizer - 18.57 MJ kg -1 , but without adose of nitrogen chemical fertilizers - 18.69 MJ kg -1(Fig. 2).Consequently, nitrogen chemical fertilizers arenot of vital importance, therefore for clearness theaverage results of combustion capacities in pelletswith different compositions were displayed inFigure 3.The research shows that 100% RCG biomass ishaving lower combustion ability than pellets withosier and poplar. The best reed canary grass biomasscombustion ability indicators are presented on sampleswith ratio 1/3 (/RCG/Salix viminalis L.) - 18.71 MJ kg -1 ,1/3 (RCG/Populus tremula L.) - 18.63 MJ kg -1 .Heating with lower ash content allows operatingwith economically higher quality heating systems. InLatvia amount of ashes from wood chip pellets andbriquettes ranges within limits from 2.5 to 10 g kg -1 .Figure 1. Combustion ability of osier and reed canary grass pellets depending on the nitrogen chemicalfertilizers: -without mineral nitrogen fertilizer; - with mineral nitrogen fertilizer.Figure 2. Combustion ability of poplar and reed canary grass pellets depending on nitrogenchemical fertilizers:- without mineral nitrogen fertilizer; - with mineral nitrogen fertilizer.Research for Rural Development 201253