Natalia Cid Rodriguez

I am a student from Spain and I have been to Bioenergy 2020 in Graz for two weeks, during my BRISK2 visit. 

The facility I used was a lab-scale reactor for biomass solids. The main objective of the visit was to test two different fuels brought from Spain, while simulating recirculation of flue gas to the bed of the reactor. It was concluded that the recirculation of flue gas reduces the bed temperature in the combustion zone. This is an advantage to work with fuels which ashes have a low melting point, since they can clog the grate of the burner. This way, some of the fuels that are not commercially feasible due to the melting point of their ashes can be used in boilers and stoves with recirculation of the flue gas. Unfortunately, the results of the tests do not show any other clear finding. The ashes of both fuels were analysed to do the complete calculations on the reactions inside the facility. The emissions of the process were analysed and exhaustively recorded for the same reason. 

The facility from Bioenergy 2020 offered the possibility to inject a mix of different quantities of gases. Some tests were done with a fraction of CO2 as input gas, so as to simulate the mix of the air with the cold flue gas. The facilities to analyse the composition of the ashes and the composition of the fuels were also available. 

The BRISK2 program was a great opportunity to work with facilities that are not available in my university and to test the chosen fuels with different parameters. The results help my research and can be added to the results that I have obtained in Spain. The program also offered me the opportunity to work within a different team, which was a rewarding experience.