(Department of Chemical & Process Engineering University of Moratuwa, 2020-03) Anjana, MMK; Gunathilake, RANN; Gunarathne, RMDS; Rathnasiri, PG
Using rice straw for combustion in boilers
has been quite effective and productive despite the
drawbacks created by the ash content, which causes a
range of severe ash related problems upon combustion
such as slag formation, fouling, sintering and
agglomeration. Here, hot water pretreatment of rice straw
for ash removal has been studied using response surface
methodology (RSM) and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
by varying temperature, washing time and water-tobiomass
ratio as independent variables. After generating a
mathematical model, operating conditions were optimized
and the effect of water washing on the calorific value of
rice straw was investigated.
