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The present study investigates how three different silicate-based bed materials behave in bubbling fluidized bed combustion of a model agricultural residue with respect to ash composition, namely barley straw. Quartz, natural K-feldspar, and olivine were all used in combustion at 700 °C, and the resulting layer formation and bed agglomeration characteristics were determined. Based on this, a general reaction model for bed ash from agricultural residues was proposed, taking into account the reactivity of the different silicates investigated towards the main ash-forming elements K, Ca, and Si. The proposed reaction model links bed material interaction with K-rich bed ash to the degree of polymerization of the silicate bed material, where addition reactions occur in systems with high polymerization, predominately in quartz, and substitution reactions dominate for depolymerized silicates such as K-feldspar and olivine.

Modelling the performance of building stocks is crucial in facilitating the renovation at the building stock level. Bottom-up building stock modelling begins by detailing individual buildings and then aggregates them into stock level. Its primary advantage lies in capturing the inherent heterogeneity among distinct buildings, which enables tailored retrofitting. Naturally, this approach requires a comprehensive dataset with detailed building information such as geometry and envelope thermal properties. However, a common challenge is the incompleteness of available data in individual datasets. To address this, previous bottom-up studies have filled the missing data with representative or statistical data. Such practice could lead to homogeneous modelling of distinct buildings within the same statistical group. This limits the utilization of key ability of bottom-up building stock modelling in capturing heterogeneity, such as tailored retrofitting to explore potential retrofitting areas and strategies. To address this challenge of homogeneous modelling, we utilize data fusion framework for bottom-up building stock modelling, employing probabilistic record linkage and inverse modelling techniques to integrate multiple incomplete building performance datasets. This framework fills the missing data in one dataset with information from another, thus capturing inherent heterogeneity in the building stock. An empirical study was conducted in Umeå, Sweden, to investigate the framework's effectiveness by modelling building stock with various retrofitting strategies. This study contribution lies in enhancing bottom-up building stock modelling by capturing inherent heterogeneity, to provide tailored retrofitting solutions.

In Europe, the buildings sector is responsible for 40% of energy use and more than 30% of buildings are older than 50 years. Due to ageing, a large number of houses require energy-efficient renovation to meet building energy performance standards and the national energy efficiency target. Although Swedish house owners are willing to improve energy efficiency, there is a need for a dedicated platform providing decision-making knowledge for house owners to benchmark their buildings. This paper proposes a data-driven framework for building energy renovation benchmarking as part of an energy advisory service development for the Vasterbotten region, Sweden. This benchmark model facilitates regional homeowners to benchmark their building energy performance relative to the national target and similar neighbourhood buildings. Specifically, based on user input data such as energy use, location, construction year, floor area, etc., this model benchmarks the user's building performance using two benchmark references i.e., 1) Sweden's target to reduce buildings by 50% energy use intensity (EUI) by 50% by 2050 compared to the average EUI in 1995, 2) comparing user building with the most relevant peer group of buildings, using energy performance certificates (EPC) big data. Several building groups will be classified based on influential factors that affect building energy use. Hence, this benchmark provides decision-making supportive knowledge to homeowners e.g., whether they need to perform an energy-efficient renovation. In the future, this methodology will be extended and implemented in the digital platform to provide helpful insights to decide on suitable EEMs. This work is an integral part of project AURORAL aims to deliver an interoperable, open, and integrated digital platform, demonstrated by cross-domain applications through large-scale pilots in 8 regions in Europe, including Vasterbotten.

This paper presents an open digital ecosystem based on a web-framework with a functional back-end server for user-centric energy retrofits. This data-driven web framework is proposed for building energy renovation benchmarking as part of an energy advisory service development for the Västerbotten region, Sweden. A 4-tier architecture is developed and programmed to achieve users’ interactive design and visualization via a web browser. Six data-driven methods are integrated into this framework as backend server functions. Based on these functions, users can be supported by this decision-making system when they want to know if a renovation is needed or not. Meanwhile, influential factors (input values) from the database that affect energy usage in buildings are to be analyzed via quantitative analysis, i.e., sensitivity analysis. The contributions to this open ecosystem platform in energy renovation are: 1) A systematic framework that can be applied to energy efficiency with data-driven approaches, 2) A user-friendly web-based platform that is easy and flexible to use, and 3) integrated quantitative analysis into the framework to obtain the importance among all the relevant factors. This computational framework is designed for stakeholders who would like to get preliminary information in energy advisory. The improved energy advisor service enabled by the developed platform can significantly reduce the cost of decision-making, enabling decision-makers to participate in such professional knowledge-required decisions in a deliberate and efficient manner. This work is funded by the AURORAL project, which integrates an open and interoperable digital platform, demonstrated through regional large-scale pilots in different countries of Europe by interdisciplinary applications.

The demand for increased overall efficiency, improved fuel flexibility, and more stringent environmental legislations promotes the development of new fuel- and technology-related concepts for the bioenergy sector. Previous research has shown that careful consideration of the fuel ash composition and the adjustment of the same via various routes, i.e., fuel design, have the potential to alter the ash transformation reactions, leading to, e.g., a reduction of the formation of slag or entrained inorganic ash particles. The objective of the present work was, therefore, to demonstrate the use of fuel design as a primary measure to reduce the emission of PM1 during combustion of woody biomass in medium-scale grate-fired boilers while keeping the slag formation at a manageable level. This was achieved by designing fuel blends of woody biomass with carefully selected Scandinavian peats rich in Si, Ca, and S. The work includes results from three experimental campaigns, performed in three separate grate-fired boilers of different sizes, specifically 0.2 MWth, 2 MWth, and 4 MWth. In one of the campaigns, softwood-based stemwood pellets were copelletized with different additions of peat (5 and 15 wt %) before combustion. In the other campaigns, peat was added in a separate fuel feed to Salix chips (15 wt % peat) and softwood-based stemwood pellets (10 and 20 wt % peat). Particulate matter and bottom ashes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy for morphology and elemental composition as well as by powder X-ray diffraction for crystalline phase composition. The results show that the fuel design approach provided PM1 reduction for all fuel blends between 30 and 50%. The PM1 reduction could be achieved without causing operational problems due to slagging for any of the three commercial boilers used, although an expected increased slagging tendency was observed. Overall, this paper illustrates that fuel design can be implemented on an industrial scale by achieving the desired ash transformation reactions, in this case, leading to a reduction of fine particulate emissions by up to 50% without any operational disturbances due to slag formation on the grate.

Slag is related to the melting properties of ash and is affected by both the chemical composition of the fuel ash and the combustion parameters. Chemical analysis of slag from fixed bed combustion of phosphorus-poor biomass show that the main constituents are Si, Ca, K, O (and some Mg, Al, and Na), which indicates that the slag consists of different silicates. Earlier research also points out viscosity and fraction of the ash that melts, as crucial parameters for slag formation. To the authors’ knowledge, very few of the papers published to this day discuss slagging problems of different pelletized fuels combusted in multiple combustion appliances. Furthermore, no comprehensive classification of both burner technology and fuel ash parameters has been presented in the literature so far. The objective of the present paper was therefore to give a first description of a qualitative model where ash content, concentrations of main ash forming elements in the fuel and type of combustion appliance are related to slagging behaviour and potential operational problems of a biomass fuel in different small- and medium scale fixed bed appliances. Based on the results from the combustion of a wide range of pelletized biomass fuels in nine different burners, a model is presented for amount of slag formed and expected severity of operational problems. The model was validated by data collected from extensive combustion experiments and it can be concluded that the model predicts qualitative results.

The energy supply of today is, through the use of fossil energy carriers,contributing to increased net emissions of greenhouse gases. This hasseveral negative effects on our environment and our climate. In order toreduce the impact of this, and possibly to reverse some of the effects, allrenewable energy sources must be used. Biomass is the renewable energycarrier that has the greatest potential to reduce net greenhouse gasemissions, but the transition from fossil fuels to biofuels is challenging.The combustion of biomass is associated with various technical andenvironmental problems such as slagging, corrosion, and emissions ofparticles, soot, or harmful chemical compounds. Most of these problemsare linked to ash chemical reactions involving alkali metals. Therefore, toreduce the risk of operational and environmental problems, it is importantto understand and control the ash transformation reactions involvingalkali metals.The research presented in this thesis has focused on the development oftools, such as models and indices, for predicting the behaviour of variousbiofuels during combustion, and on the development of the concept of fueldesign and implementation of the same during industrial combustion ofbiomass. The development of easy-to-use tools for predicting problematicash behaviour is crucial in order to make it possible to increase the use ofbiomass as an alternative to fossil fuels. The tools presented here are basedon theoretical and empirical knowledge and can be used to predictchallenges concerning the fuel ash composition and to propose relevantfuel design measures.The purpose of fuel design, as used here, is to broaden the fuel feedstockand to increase the usability of biomass in the global energy system. Thisis achieved through measures to change the ash chemical composition inorder to enhance beneficial properties, or reduce problematic properties,via the use of additives or blending of two or more different fuels.The present thesis extends the foundation of knowledge regarding fuel ashtransformation reactions and their implications for operational problemsthrough in-depth laboratory studies and analyses. Furthermore, thefeasibility of applying this extended knowledge in the medium and largescaleindustrial combustion of biomass is demonstrated and validated. More specifically, a slagging index has been developed using the results ofseveral years of combustion experiments. Fuel designs based on the indexwas demonstrated during normal operation in local and district heatingplants. Furthermore, a model was developed for predicting slaggingproblems that take into account both the chemical composition of the fueland the burner technology.Several studies have also been performed on different fuel designs basedon the same foundation as the index and the model. Additives to supply forexample calcium and sulphur, as well as the clay kaolin, have been used toreduce both technical and environmental problems.The conclusion is that fuel design, based on ash chemistry, is a possiblepath for increased fuel flexibility and a broader feedstock for bioenergy.

Vår energianvändning bidrar idag genom användandet av fossilaenergibärare till ökade nettoutsläpp av växthusgaser. Detta medför olikaeffekter på vår miljö och vårt klimat. För att minska påverkan, ocheventuellt reversera vissa av effekterna, måste alla förnybara energikälloranvändas. Biomassa är den förnybara energibäraren som har den störstapotentialen att minska nettoutsläppen av växthusgaser, men övergångenfrån fossila bränslen till biobränslen kan vara utmanande.Förbränning av biomassa är förknippad med olika tekniska ochmiljömässiga problem såsom slaggning, korrosion och utsläpp av partiklar,sot eller skadliga kemiska föreningar. De flesta av dessa problem ärkopplade till askkemiska reaktioner som involverar alkalimetaller. För attminska risken för drift- och miljöproblem är det därför viktigt att förståoch kontrollera de asktransformationer som involverar just alkalimetaller.Forskningen som presenteras i denna avhandling har fokuserat påutveckling av verktyg, såsom modeller och index, för att förutsägabeteendet hos olika biobränslen under förbränning, samt på utveckling avkonceptet bränsledesign och implementering av detsamma vid industriellförbränning av biomassa. Utvecklingen av lättanvända verktyg för attförutsäga problematiska askbeteenden är avgörande för att det ska varamöjligt att öka användningen av biomassa som ett alternativ till fossilabränslen. Verktygen som presenteras här är baserade på teoretisk ochempirisk kunskap och kan användas för att förutsäga utmaningarangående bränsleaskans sammansättning och beteende, samt för attföreslå relevanta bränsledesignåtgärder.Syftet med bränsledesign, som det används här, är att bredda råvarubasenför biobränslen samt att öka användbarheten för biomassa i det globalaenergisystemet. Detta uppnås genom åtgärder för att förändra askanskemiska sammansättning, så att gynnsamma egenskaper förstärks ellerproblematiska egenskaper reduceras. Detta möjliggörs genom exempelvisanvändning av additiv eller samförbränning av två eller flera olikabränslen.Den här avhandlingen utvidgar kunskapsbasen för asktransformationerhos biomassa och deras konsekvenser i form av driftproblem genomdjupgående laboratoriestudier och analyser. Dessutom demonstreras och valideras bränsledesign under industriell förbränning av biomassa imedelstor och fullstor skala.Mer specifikt har ett slaggindex utvecklats med hjälp av resultaten frånflera års förbränningsförsök. Bränsledesigner baserade på detta index hardemonstrerats under normal drift i när- och fjärrvärmeanläggningar.Dessutom utvecklades med hjälp av multivariata statistiska metoder enmodell för att förutse slaggningsproblem som tar i beaktande bådebränslets kemiska sammansättning och brännartekniken.Flera delstudier har även genomförts på olika bränsledesigner baserade påsamma grund som indexet och modellen. Sameldning av olika bränslenoch additiv för att tillföra till exempel kalcium och svavel, samtlermaterialet kaolin, har använts för att minska såväl tekniska sommiljömässiga problem.Slutsatsen är att bränsledesign, baserat på askkemiska grunder, är enmöjlig väg för ökad bränsleflexibilitet och breddad råvarubas förbiobränslen.

The use of small- and medium-scale combustion of biomass for energy utilization is expected to grow in the coming decades. To meet standards and legislation regarding particle emissions and to reduce corrosion and deposit formation, it is crucial to reduce the release of alkali species from the fuel. This can be achieved by capturing the volatile alkali in the residual bottom ash as more thermally stable compounds. In this work, we investigate the combination of primary measures, i.e., process parameters and fuel additives, for reduction of the release of K and Na from the fuel bed during fixed bed combustion. In addition, the influence of these combined measures on fine particle emissions was explored. The results showed a clear influence of the process parameters, herein bed temperature, and that a significant reduction of the alkali release and PM1 emissions can be achieved by correct settings. Furthermore, the application of additives (kaolin and diammonium sulfate) reduced both K and Na release even further. The observed effects on the release behavior was mainly explained by the formation of KAlSiO4 and K2SO4 during addition of kaolin and diammonium sulfate, respectively. This work therefore emphasizes the importance of good control over the fuel bed conditions, especially temperature, when these additives are applied. To reduce the potential deactivation (for kaolinite) and melting (for K2SO4), the control of bed temperature is vital. Thus, it was concluded that the release of volatile alkali species and related fine particle emissions in small- and medium-scale biomass heat and power plants using wood fuels could be significantly reduced by a correct combination of controlling the combustion parameters and the use of fuel additives.

The addition of Ca-containing compounds can reduce mass loss from agricultural biomass during storage. The resulting alkaline environment is detrimental to microorganisms present in the material. Theoretical analysis of Ca-containing biomass suggests that combustion properties are improved with respect to slagging. To validate the theoretical calculations, barley straw was utilized as a typical model agricultural biomass and combustion characteristics of straw pre-treated with 2 and 4 w/w% CaCO3 for combined improvement of storage and combustion properties were determined through combustion at 700 degrees C in a bench-scale bubbling fluidized-bed reactor (5 kW) using quartz and olivine sand as bed materials. The combustion characteristics were determined in terms of elemental composition and compound identification in bed ash and bed material including agglomerates, fly ash, particulate matter as well as flue gas measurements. The addition of CaCO3 to straw had both positive and negative effects on its combustion characteristics. Both additive levels raised the total de fluidization temperature for both quartz and olivine, and olivine proved to be less susceptible than quartz to reactions with alkali. With Ca-additives, the composition of deposits and fine particulate matter changed to include higher amounts of KCl potentially leading to higher risk for alkali chloride-induced corrosion. Flue gas composition was heavily influenced by CaCO3 additives by significantly elevated CO concentrations likely related to increased levels of gaseous alkali compounds. The results suggest that it is necessary to reduce gaseous alkali compounds, e.g. through kaolin or sulphur addition, if alkali-rich straw is to be co-combusted with Ca-rich biomass or large amounts of Ca-additives.