The impact of fuel properties on the emissions from the combustion of biomass and other solid fuels in a fixed bed domestic stove

Experimental results are presented on the emissions froma single combustion chamber stove burningwood, coal and processed fuels. This technique was used to permit comparisons to bemade of the influence of different fuel types without it being influenced by the effects of secondary combustion.Measurements were made of CO, NOx and fine particulates during themajor phases of combustion, namely flaming and smouldering.Measurements of the particulates were made in two ways: firstly using a gravimetric total particulate measurement and secondly using a cyclone technique to give PM2.5 and PM10 size fractions. Smoke emissions from the different fuels were very dependent on the phase of combustion especially for the total particulate results,where flaming phase emissionsweremuch higher than in the smouldering phase. Itwas found that the particulate emission factors for the wood fuelswere dependent on the volatile contentwhilst the coals followed a different pattern. NOx was linearly dependent on the fuel-N content for all the fuel types, but the relationship for biomass is different from that for coal. CO emissions were very dependent on the combustion phase.