Energy is increasingly gained from plant and crop products, the so-called biomass. The PhD student Leticia Chico-Santamarta and her colleagues from Harper Adams University College investigate how the storage of pellets made of biomass takes effect on the quality and combustion characteristics. The researcher takes a closer look at pellets made from oilseed rape straw, short rotation coppice willow and the solid fraction of dairy manure. Before, the focus of research had predominately been laid on wood pellets.
Leticia Chico-Santamarta assesses the quality of the pellets from various angles. What chemical elements do they consist of? Do they contain bacteria or fungi? To what extent are the pellets compressed and what is the size of the individual particles? Moisture content, gross calorific value, biomass temperature development and ambient temperature of both the original straw and the resulting pellets are also compared. At the end of her study the researcher strives to determine the optimal physical properties of pellets (pellet size, pellet particle size, and biomass moisture content) which are required to get an optimal quality and ease the fuelling process of a biomass energy plant.
