Size-up, monitorization, performance optimization and waste study of a 120 kW in-use wood pellet boiler: A case study

This work deals with different aspects related to biomass combustion in a medium-size commercial pellet boiler. Firstly, there were evaluated the heating requirements of a bioclimatic building to select an adequate device. Once started up, it was developed a complete monitorization of gaseous emissions and solid wastes aiming to optimize its performance by manually modifying the fuel feeding and air inlet. Thanks to this, fuel consumption decreased a 20% and oxidizing air inlet was lessened to a 21% excess, what led to a reduction of CO, NO x and SO 2 emissions to values respectively below 200 ppm and 80 and 30 mg/Nm 3 . Thermal yield was enhanced from 78.6 to 94.9%. Chamber and fumes temperatures and thermal rise increased to respectively 160 °C and 20 °C, accomplishing values recommended by boiler’s manufacturer. All measures taken, and the results they provided, entailed meaningful environmental and economical improvements.