Vol. 337 No. 8 (2026)
DOI https://doi.org/10.18799/24131830/2026/8/5436
Oxidizer temperature effect on the modes of ignition of wood biomass particles
In 2022–2024, it was officially established that unconventional renewable energy sources (wind turbines and solar panels) in the foreseeable future (15–20 years) will not be able to replace traditional energy (thermal and nuclear power plants) due to the lack of powerful, reliable and safe electric energy storage systems. Therefore, coal-fired power plants in the coming decades will certainly generate large amounts of electricity not only in China, India, the USA and Poland, but also in many other countries. In this regard, the world-class scientific problem is environmental pollution by coal combustion products (flue gases from coal-fired power plants). This problem can be solved by burning coal in the furnaces of steam and hot water boilers mixed with biomass (wood in the first place). But wood burning in the furnaces of boiler installations so far in most real technologies leads to intensive slagging of heating surfaces. Therefore, an urgent task, the solution of which can ensure the transition to environmentally friendly and resource-saving coal-fired power in the future, is the task of substantiating the parameters of ignition and combustion of wood biomass particles. Aim. To determine the combustion modes of wood biomass particles of different sizes during high-temperature heating. Object. Wood particles (pine) of cubic shape of three characteristic sizes. Method. To determine the ignition and combustion modes of cubic wood particles under high-temperature heating conditions, a special experimental setup with laser illumination was used. Results. A conventional temperature boundary of Tcr=908 K was established for the transition between two ignition modes (gas-phase and heterogeneous) for pine wood biomass particles. It was also shown that the characteristic particle size of the wood (in the studied size range, L=4–8 mm) has no significant effect on the characteristics and conditions of the transition from one ignition mode to another. It was also experimentally established that, at relatively low oxidizer temperatures, the difference in ignition delay times for different ignition modes with a characteristic particle size of L=8 mm can reach 10%.
For citation: Baranova (Kostoreva) A.A., Syrodoy S.V., Solodovnikova (Kostoreva) Zh.A., Omarov A.A., Nekrasov S.S., Senchikhin D.K. Oxidizer temperature effect on the modes of ignition of wood biomass particles. Bulletin of the Tomsk Polytechnic University. Geo Assets Engineering, 2026, vol. 337, no. 8, pp. 32–44. http://doi.org/10.18799/24131830/2026/8/5436
Keywords:
biomass, wood, ignition, thermal preparation time, heating, combustion modes
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