LAUSR

Nowadays, it is widely recognized that biomass combustion processes can contribute to the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, and thus, these processes have become a viable option as an alternative energy source for the power industry. Among various biomasses, the herbaceous biomass is regarded as an abundant and relatively inexpensive fuel. However, it contains high ashes (especially high levels of alkali metals), leading to operation troubles such as slagging and fouling inside a heat exchanger or deterioration in efficiency. Accordingly, we herein propose an economical method to remove the inherent ashes in the biomass using 16.6 M acetic acid pretreatment at 60 °C for 10 min. Seven different biomasses were investigated to validate the effects of method. The Kenaf shows the total mineral rejection of 93.48%. In particular, the potassium and sodium elements in the Kenaf, which are major factors influencing fouling and slagging in a boiler, were removed up to 99.46 and 100%, respectively. Furthermore...