Effect of wood fuel on the emissions from a top-feed pellet stove

Particle and gaseous emissions of a top-feed pellet stove were studied in laboratory conditions. Pellets made of separate stem and bark materials of five different wood species and a commercial pellet product were used as fuels. The study included the determination of the particle number concentration, size distribution, fine-particle mass (PM1.0), CO, CO2, NOx, and volatile organic compounds (VOC). The PM1.0 emission was analyzed for inorganic substances, organic carbon, and elemental carbon. Thermodynamic equilibrium calculations were performed to interpret the results from chemical analysis and to estimate the chemical composition of the PM1.0 mass emitted with various fuels.
The bark fuels produced higher PM, VOC, and CO emissions than stem fuels. This was evidently related to the higher ash content of the bark fuels and was found to increase both the fly ash emission and the products of incomplete combustion.
The fuel ash content correlated linearly with the PM1.0 emission. Among stem fuels, willow and alder produced higher PM1.0 emissions than birch, pine, spruce, and the commercial fuel. An exceptionally low PM1.0 emission was measured from pine bark combustion, which can be explained by the low ash content of the fuel.
The main components in the PM1.0 were K2SO4, KCl, K2CO3, KOH, and organic material. Except birch fuels, around 60−80 mass % of potassium species were K2SO4 based on the equilibrium calculations.
In the case of birch fuels, because of the high chlorine content and low S/Cl ratios, around half of the potassium was KCl.