CFD modelling of biomass boilers - a review of the state of the art

Abstract

Combustion is the main method of converting biomass to energy, either by direct heating systems or by boilers. By means of CFD models, it is possible to optimize the behavior of those systems and improve significantly its performance, without incurring the economic and environmental cost of experimental studies. However, modelling of biomass combustion is a complex process that requires a large number of sub-models and computational resources for a detailed description, therefore, different approaches have been developed which depend on the system and simulation objective. In this work, a review of the state of art of modelling of solid biomass combustion in the last years is presented, including classification, description and analysis of several of the main models about the subject.