Boiler Plant Modernisation
for Lower-Quality Biomass Fuel
As biomass fuel markets evolve, energy producers increasingly face the challenge of operating boilers with lower-quality biomass fuels (SM3 class). These fuels typically have higher moisture content, increased ash levels and larger fine fractions, which can significantly affect combustion stability and boiler performance.
Energy ON provides engineering solutions for boiler plant modernisation, enabling reliable and efficient combustion of lower-grade biomass while maintaining high operational stability and energy efficiency.
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Challenges of Combusting Lower-Quality Biomass
Compared to higher-grade biomass fuel (SM2), SM3 fuel has more demanding combustion characteristics, including:
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Moisture content up to 60%
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Ash content up to 5%
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Fine fraction up to 25%
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Higher levels of chlorine, potassium and sodium
These characteristics may lead to several operational challenges:
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Slagging and ash melting
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Reduced combustion stability
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Increased mechanical stress on grates
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Lower boiler efficiency
For many existing boiler plants, standard furnace designs are not optimised for such fuel conditions, making modernisation necessary.
Advanced Furnace Technology
The EON BioT adiabatic furnace with counter-current flow enables efficient drying of wet biomass during the combustion process. Hot recirculated flue gases pre-dry the incoming fuel, improving combustion stability and overall efficiency.
This technology allows stable operation with fuel moisture levels ranging from 35% to 60%.
Specially designed grate systems:
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For SM3 fuel combustion, Energy ON applies grate systems designed to ensure optimal fuel bed control:
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Roughened grate surface for better fuel layer stability
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Overlapping grate construction
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Primary air is supplied from the front of the grate
These design features help maintain an even fuel layer and ensure stable combustion across varying fuel qualities.
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Combustion efficiency is further improved through:
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Adaptive grate operation algorithms
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Fuel bed thickness control
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Preheated primary air supply
Maintaining the correct temperature in the combustion zone is essential when burning fuels with higher potassium and sodium content, which can significantly lower ash melting temperatures.