The Impact of Additives on Gaseous Pollutants from the Combustion of Various Solid Fuels

Abstract

This article compares the emission of gaseous pollutants such as CO2, CO, NO, SO2, and HCl emissions from the combustion of the selected most popular solid fuels in a low-power boiler. The process was carried out under controlled conditions on a laboratory stand equipped with a Moderator Unica Vento Eko 25 kW boiler. Solid fuels were selected for comparison, such as hard coal with granulation above 60 mm, hard coal with a granulation of 25–80 mm, hard coal with a granulation of 8–25 mm, wood pellets, and mixed firewood. The experiment was carried out in two stages. In stage 1, previously selected solid fuels were combusted under controlled repeatable conditions, while simultaneously measuring gaseous components in the exhaust gases in real time. On the other hand, the second stage involves the combustion of the same fuels under the same conditions with combustion additives that modify the combustion process in terms of reducing the emission of pollutants. At the same time, in the second stage, gaseous components in the exhaust gas were also measured in real time. The experiments carried out have shown that, in addition to the additive, a testing system should be used to assess the profitability and improve the efficiency of energy production and distribution after using a given additive for fuel combustion. Implementation of the use of solid fuel activators on a common scale should also entail research on the emission of dioxins and furans, which may be emitted in increased amounts under the influence of some components contained in combustion modifiers.