ENK6-2001-00556 Pre-Normative Work on Sampling and Testing of Solid Biofuels for the Development of Quality Management

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EESD (Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development) : Solid Biofuels

Proposal No:	ENK6-2001-00556
Date Prepared:	February 2004
Source:	European Bio-Energy Projects (EUR 20808)

Introduction

The European Commission has given a mandate to CEN for the development of standards in the field of solid biofuels.

The ongoing standardisation work has shown that the methods for sampling and testing, as well as for quality assurance, already exist for the use of solid fossil fuels (e. g. hard coal). But these methods are only partly applicable to solid biofuels.

Although CEN Technical Committee (TC) 335 "Solid Biofuels" will continue to develop standards on the basis of the best information available, it recognises the strong need for further research to improve the reliability of selected sampling and testing methods. Also the strong need for the development of an overall quality assurance system for solid biofuels, taking practical requirements into consideration, was acknowledged. To close these gaps the BioNorm project ('Pre-normative work on sampling and testing of solid biofuels for the development of quality assurance systems') was started in early 2002.

To support the work of CEN TC 335 'Solid Biofuels' most effectively, a quality assurance system for solid biofuels based on sampling and testing procedures will be developed within the BioNorm project to ensure that the appropriate biofuel quality is available at reasonable costs at the plant gate. To achieve this goal, verified tests with high precision for the determination of selected physical-mechanical and chemical properties are strongly needed. The work within the BioNorm project includes the following fields of research:

• Sampling and Sample reduction Sampling and sample reduction errors are often much more significant than testing errors. Therefore investigations of methods for sampling as well as for sample reduction are carried out to provide a representative bulk sample.
• Physical tests The testing of the physical properties of solid biofuels is commonplace but the precision and reproducibility of the results is often very poor. Additionally there is a strong need for reliable rapid methods, for example for either fuel acceptance or rejection. Thus, the exactness of existing procedures will be improved and, respectively, new procedures will be developed, such as: o the determination of the moisture content and bulk density with a focus on rapid on-site test methods,
  o the determination of ash melting behaviour,
  o particle size distribution and dimension,
  o the determination of the durability and raw density of pellets and briquettes.
• Chemical tests Tests for the determination of chemical fuel characteristics are derived primarily from the analysis of coal. Consequently the exactness of existing procedures needs to be improved and new procedures need to be developed for sulphur, chlorine and nitrogen content and for major and minor elements.
• Solid biofuel quality assurance Currently no quality assurance system exists which takes the whole provision chain of solid biofuels into account. Another goal, therefore, is to develop an overall quality assurance system for solid biofuels.
• Research exchange with NAS To give the Newly Associated States (NAS) the chance to participate in the forthcoming biofuel market at an early stage, a continuous flow of information is needed in both directions. Therefore the partners from the NAS will develop a country report describing the national situation in detail and, additionally, national platforms will be established to serve as an interface between the project consortium and NAS.

Activities

The project work plan is sub-divided into five work packages (WP), which consist of interrelated tasks. 39 partners from 20 different European countries including the NAS contribute to the work of the project.

Progress to date

After almost half of the project lifetime, substantial progress has been made regarding procedures for sampling and sample reduction, as well as for the development of procedures for the determination of physical-mechanical and chemical fuel properties. Moreover, best practice guidelines, for example on the determination of moisture content, bulk density, particle size distribution, durability, raw density as well as ash characterisation and the production of homogeneous biomass samples, were drafted.

Within the work on fuel quality assurance, a review on the existing quality systems based on ten different cases has been elaborated, and a guideline for the implementation of quality assurance systems within companies dealing with solid biofuels has been developed. Also, the research exchange with the NAS has been established.

Expected impact

BioNorm will help to develop the market for solid biofuels throughout Europe, as more reliable and acceptable sampling and testing procedures will increase the quality of the biofuel to be traded and used. Additionally, a system for fuel quality assurance will be developed to allow for the provision of a high quality biofuel throughout the overall provision chain and thus improve the confidence of the customer into the fuel.

The integration of the NAS ensures that the standardisation requirements of these countries are considered as well. As the work to be realised within the BioNorm project is closely linked to the work of CEN TC 335 'Solid Biofuels' an excellent exploitation of the results is guaranteed.