| Powder fuel quality and behavior for thermal conversion systems are investigated by assessing the combustion reactivity using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The aim is to obtain the kinetic and pyrolytic characteristics of powder fuel from forestry residue (white spruce, white pine and balsam fir needles). White spruce of 150 μm particle size has the highest energy potential (HHV=21.16MJ/kg, Ea 262.40kJ/kmol) as compared to the same particle size of white pine (HHV=19.93 MJ/kg, Ea= 197.14kJ/kmol) and balsam fir (HHV=16.60 MJ/kg, Ea=139.94kJ/kmol). The highest total volatiles (68.2%), determined based on the lignocelluloses region, of balsam fir needles were obtained at a heating rate of 40°C/min and a particle size of 425μm. The highest char (26.8%) and highest activation energy (Ea = 259.04kJ/kmol) of balsam fir needles, was achieved at a low heating rate of 20°C/min and a particle size of 150μm. The Flynn-Wall-Ozawa approach, using peak temperature instead of iso-conversional method, has proved to be the best fit model (R2=0.99) for forestry residue.;Keyword: Forestry residue, Kinetic model, Activation energy, Combustion, Pyrolysis, Fuel. |
