Characteristics of Particle Mass Concentrations from Small Scale Biomass Combustion: A Review

Combustion of biomass fuels in small scale heating appliances is an important source of particle emissions. The majority of the particles are less than 1 µm (micrometer) and emitted directly to the ambient air from the heating appliances. There is a growing concern worldwide about particle emissions from biomass combustion. This paper presents a review on Characteristics of Particle Mass Concentrations from Small Scale Biomass Combustion and covers during the period from 2001 to 2010. Types of particles, formation mechanisms, their characteristics and available measurement techniques are first discussed. Then, particle mass concentration characteristics on small scale biomass combustion from the literature have been discussed. Finally, the literature data has been summarized to show how combustion appliances and fuel affect on the particle mass concentrations and their size distributions. Mass concentrations of particles in the flue gas from small scale heating appliances reported in the literature to be in the range of 7-67 mg/Nm3. For pellet stoves, particle mass concentration increases linearly with increasing the thermal output of the stove. From the literature it is clear that particle mass concentrations from biomass combustion are closely related not only to the fuel properties but also to the combustion conditions and combustion appliances.