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Various waste materials have energy potential. It is important to make use of this potential and prepare the product for further use by treating the waste. Treatments such as compressing waste into pellets leads to increasing the energy density of this fuel, which benefits transport and storage costs. However, low bulk density, high ash content, low-ash melting temperatures, and low calorific values of non-woody pellets can cause problems during their combustion. This article deals with the energy usage of walnut shells, which were blended with spruce sawdust in various amounts and compressed into pellets. The mechanical and energy properties of these were measured and compared with recommended or standardized values. The formed pellets met the quality limit for bulk density, ash content, moisture content, the content of nitrogen and sulfur, and net calorific value according to ISO 17225. However, low ash melting temperatures were noticed for pellets from pure walnut shells, and also lower mechanical durability for produced pellets with walnut shells contents higher than 10% were detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This article is about heat transport limitation standard-used construction wick heat pipes with various working fluids operating at temperatures from −30 °C to 140 °C. In this paper is the proposal and verification of a mathematical model for calculating heat transport limitations of heat pipe. The calculations of the various variants of the wick structure of heat pipe and working fluid are presented in diagrams as a dependency of the heat transport limitations on the working temperature. In the conclusion, the effect of these limits on the cooling power of the heat pipe is evaluated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Heat pipes, as passive elements show a high level of reliability when taking heat away and they can take away heat flows having a significantly higher density than systems with forced convection. A heat pipe is a hermetically closed duct, filled with working fluid. Transport of heat in heat pipes is procured by the change of state of the working fluid from liquid state to steam and vice versa and depends on the hydrodynamic and heat processes in the pipe. This study have been focused on observing the impact these processes have on the heat process, the transport of heat within the heat pipe with the help of thermovision. The experiment is oriented at scanning the changes in the surface temperatures of the basic structural types of capillary heat pipes in vertical position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lot of residual biomass has energy value and can be used for further applications through suitable treatments, such as pelletization. This treatment can improve properties, mainly energy density, but can also lead to problems due to their low ash melting temperatures, high ash content, and the formation of harmful compounds during combustion. This article deals with the energy potential of pellets produced from spruce sawdust, spruce bark, and pine cones in different proportions. The impact of cone and bark contents on pellet properties was also observed. The energy properties of the produced pellets were measured, such as the contents of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, moisture, volatile, fixed carbon, and ash, as well as calorific values and ash melting temperatures. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the addition of pine cones and spruce bark to spruce sawdust mainly affected the contents of nitrogen and ash and melting temperatures. Despite this, all produced pellets met the standard EN ISO 17225-2 for the content of nitrogen, ash, and also lower calorific value at least B quality. However, only three pellet samples of five met this standard for A2 and B quality for ash melting behavior. Therefore, they present an alternative fuel with interesting energy potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural and other residues are promising renewable energy sources. However, they can cause problems in combustion processes. One of these problems is also low ash melting temperatures. Except, the ash melting behavior can be impacted by many factors, such as ash preparation or used atmosphere. This article deals with comparing different atmosphere conditions during measurements of ash melting temperatures of three agricultural pellets: alfalfa, straw, and hay. The first one was oxidizing with compressed air and nitrogen. The second atmosphere was reduced with the air purge, and the last was only reduced, consisting of 60% carbon monoxide and 40% carbon dioxide. Differences between individual atmospheres were none, up to 9.8%. The most significant differences have appeared between oxidizing and reducing atmospheres. In general, the oxidizing atmosphere presents a less expensive way. More attention should be paid to the use of oxidizing atmosphere for applications in heat sources mainly due to its similarity to the combustion process. However, it would be suitable to realize more comprehensive research regarding ash preparation in different ways and with using of different types of fuel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bio-waste is a source of energy-rich material. Therefore, it can be used in further processes and efficiently utilized. Further processes of waste utilization include compressing them to pellets. However, this type of pellet often has a low bulk density, high ash content, low ash melting temperature, and low calorific value. This research dealt with the energy properties of peanut and pistachio nut shells that were pure or mixed with spruce sawdust in half proportion and compressed into pellets. As a continuation of previous research, the properties of these pellets prepared were measured and compared with pure spruce pellets and with pellets from walnut shells. The tested shell pellets had calorific values similar to wood pellets from spruce. However, mixing nut shells with spruce solved the problems of high ash content and low ash melting temperatures. The amount of wood present in the pellets resulted in increased ash melting temperatures and decreased the ash content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, we are still feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in connection with the huge amount of waste generated. However, the reuse of the produced waste in other processes requires energy consumption. This article deals with the reuse of face masks FFP2, which were added as an admixture to spruce or beech sawdust and then processed into pellets. During the production process of the pellets, energy consumption was measured and further converted to one ton of pellets, and also the consumption was reflected in the price of electricity. After storage, the mechanical durability and dimensions of the individual pellets were measured, and their density was calculated. Based on the results, it can be concluded that spruce pellets with 10% face masks FFP2 (consumption 747.41 kWh; durability 97.53%) and beech pellets with 5% face masks FFP2 (consumption 721.27 kWh; durability 97.38%) achieved higher values of mechanical durability and also consumed more energy than the remaining samples with lower values of durability without considering the sample with spruce sawdust and 5% FFP2 face masks (consumption 872.63 kWh; durability 91.68%). The production of spruce pellets with 5% FFP2 face masks was affected mainly by cold outside weather. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presence of particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere is a problem mainly in the winter time. PM are getting into atmosphere from combustion of solid fuels in heat sources. Their impact on people health is harmful, when we breathe them. Therefore, it is necessary for reduction these emissions in the atmosphere. This article investigates downfall velocities of particulate matter based on calculations and then it observes velocity simulation of particulate matter flowing through baffles placed in the flue tract of local heat source by using program Ansys. These baffles are usable for separation of particulate matter in the flue tract. When particles reach downfall velocity, forces which acting on them are in equilibrium and they would not get into atmosphere from the flue tract of heat source. CFD simulation in program Ansys allows us to observe velocity distribution in flue tract and compare it with calculated downfall velocity of these particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]