Lina Vorotinskienė “Analysis of Chipped Wood Moisture Loss in Biofuel Reactors” doctoral dissertation defense

Author, Institution: Lina Vorotinskienė, Lithuanian Energy Institute

Dissertation title: Analysis of Chipped Wood Moisture Loss in Biofuel Reactors

Science area, field of science: Technological Sciences, Energetics and Power Engineering, T006

Defense of the dissertation: 2023-06-01, 10:00 a.m., Lithuanian Energy Institute, AK-202 auditorium, Breslaujos st. 3, Kaunas, Lithuania.

Scientific Supervisor: Dr. Nerijus Striūgas (Lithuanian Energy Institute, Technological Sciences, Energetics and Power Engineering, T006)

Dissertation Defense Board of Energetics and Power Engineering Science Field:

• Chairperson – Dr. Egidijus Urbonavičius (Lithuanian Energy Institute, Technological Sciences, Energetics and Power Engineering, T006)
• Prof. Dr. Algirdas Jasinskas (Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy, Technology Science, Environmental Engineering, T004)
• Prof. Hab. Dr. Gintautas Miliauskas (Kaunas University of Technology, Technological Sciences, Energetics and Power Engineering, T006)
• Assoc. Prof. Dr. Robertas Poškas (Lithuanian Energy Institute, Technological Sciences, Energetics and Power Engineering, T006)
• Dr. Martin Seemann (Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, Technological Sciences, Energetics and Power Engineering, T006)

The doctoral dissertation is available on the internet and at the library of Kaunas University of Technology (K. Donelaičio g. 20, Kaunas) and Lithuania Energy Institute (Breslaujos st. 3, Kaunas)

Annotation
Biofuel combustion is one of biomass’s most common heat and electrical energy production methods. However, it is a complicated process, and due to the constantly changing composition of supplied biofuel, various issues are faced, such as incomplete combustion and the formation of harmful byproducts. One of the most commonly variable properties of biofuel is its water content, varying in a wide range and occasionally reaching 60% by mass or more. High moisture content biofuel cannot undergo combustion in the furnace; instead, it takes much space on the fire-grate to dry. In order to improve the devices used for biofuel combustion, it is necessary, first, to determine the influence of drying factors and dependencies on drying agent temperature and stirring frequency. From this follows the study object of this work – moisture loss rate of high moisture content chipped wood biofuel in a biofuel combustion furnace. It is possible to design and integrate sensors to predict drying rate change based on obtained results and improve the efficiency of biofuel combustion equipment.