Waste biomass from production process co-firing with coal in a steam boiler to reduce fossil fuel consumption: A case study

Waste biomass is always generated during the production process in industries. The ordinary way to get rid of the waste biomass is to send them to landfill or burn it in the open field. The waste may potentially be used for co-firing with coal to save fossil fuel consumption and also reduce net carbon emissions. In this case study, the bio-waste from a Nicotiana Tabacum (NT) pre-treatment plant is used as the biomass to co-fire with coal. The samples of NT wastes were analysed. It was found that the wastes were of the relatively high energy content which were suitable for co-firing with coal. To investigate the potential and benefits for adding NT wastes to a Fluidised Bed Combustion (FBC) boiler in the plant, detailed modelling and simulation are carried out using the European Coal Liquefaction Process Simulation and Evaluation (ECLIPSE) process simulation package. The feedstock blending ratios of NT waste to coal studied in this work are varied from 0% to 30%. The results show that the addition of NT wastes may decrease the emissions of CO2 and SOx without reducing the boiler performance.