Multi-response optimization of the characteristics of wooden fuel sources for boiler applications

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Various kinds of biomass fuels are used for boiler and other kinds of thermal applications. The presence of moisture, ash and calorific value are known to be the most significant quality factors which influence the effective performance of a biomass fuel for a plant. The reasons for measuring the above mentioned quality factors are to perform the economic analysis and to control the combustion. The relevant industries are interested to obtain a method for predicting these quality factors quickly and consistently; and also to identify biomass fuels containing optimal level of these factors. In the present work, five different biomass fuels have been considered such as rubber wood, eucalyptus wood, mixed wood (tamarind tree and neem tree woods), palm shell with fiber and juliflora woodchips. The moisture content in the considered woods have been found to be 27.74 wt.%, 37.78%, 30.19 wt.%, 23.26 wt.% and 37.01 wt.% respectively. The main objective of this work is to maximize the efficiency of production. Grey relational analysis has been carried out to optimize the moisture content, ash content and calorific value in order to achieve cost savings and fuel efficiency. Also, the economic analysis has been done with the operational costs.   KEY WORDS: Biomass, Fuels, Energy, Boiler, Optimization Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2023, 37(4), 1055-1064.                                                             DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v37i4.20