Renewable Energy 23 (2001) 103–121

www.elsevier.nl/locate/renene

Combustion of coffee husks

M. Saenger a, E.-U. Hartge a, J. Werther a,*
, T. Ogada b,
Z. Siagi b
a
Technical University Hamburg-Harburg, Chemical Engineering I, D-21071 Hamburg, Germany
b
Department of Production Engineering, Moi University, P.O. Box 3900, Eldoret, Kenya

Received 21 September 1999; accepted 5 May 2000

Abstract

Combustion mechanisms of two types of coffee husks have been studied using single particle
combustion techniques as well as combustion in a pilot-scale fluidised bed facility (FBC), 150
mm in diameter and 9 m high. Through measurements of weight-loss and particle temperatures,
the processes of drying, devolatilisation and combustion of coffee husks were studied. Axial
temperature profiles in the FBC were also measured during stationary combustion conditions
to analyse the location of volatile release and combustion as a function of fuel feeding mode.
Finally the problems of ash sintering were analysed. The results showed that devolatilisation
of coffee husks (65–72% volatile matter, raw mass) starts at a low temperature range of 170–
200°C and takes place rapidly. During fuel feeding using a non water-cooled system, pyrolysis
of the husks took place in the feeder tube leading to blockage and non-uniform fuel flow.
Measurements of axial temperature profiles showed that during under-bed feeding, the bed and
freeboard temperatures were more or less the same, whereas for over-bed feeding, freeboard
temperatures were much higher, indicating significant combustion of the volatiles in the free-
board. A major problem observed during the combustion of coffee husks was ash sintering and
bed agglomeration. This is due to the low melting temperature of the ash, which is attributed to
the high contents of K2O (36–38%) of the coffee husks.  2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All
rights reserved.

Keywords: Coffee husks; Combustion mechanisms; Ash problems; N2O and NOx emissions

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +49-40-428783039; fax: +49-40-428782678.

E-mail address: werther@tu-harburg.de (J. Werther).

0960-1481/01/$ - see front matter  2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 9 6 0 - 1 4 8 1 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 1 0 6 - 3
104 M. Saenger et al. / Renewable Energy 23 (2001) 103–121

1. Introduction

There are around 2,500 coffee factories in Kenya, distributed over a range of
provinces, producing over 100,000 tons of coffee per annum, making it Kenya’s
leading cash-crop [1]. Kenya coffee varieties are mainly the high quality Arabica.
Fig. 1 shows a section of a coffee (fruit) cherry. Two coffee beans are usually found
in each fruit, each bean covered with a thin closely fitting skin known as silverskin,
outside of which is a looser, yellowish skin called the parchment, the whole being
encased in a pulp which forms the flesh of the cherry. The green coffee of inter-
national commerce constitutes only 50–55% of the dry matter of the ripe cherry [2].
The remaining material is diverted to various by-products depending on the pro-
cessing technique (i.e. dry or wet methods) used.
Dry processing is the simplest technique for processing coffee cherries. After har-
vesting, the coffee cherries are dried to about 10–11% moisture content. Thereafter,
the coffee beans are separated by removing the material covering the beans (outer
skin, pulp, parchment and silverskin) in a de-hulling machine. In Kenya this by-
product is referred to as mbuni husks. Wet processing, on the other hand does not
require drying of the cherries. Here, first the outer skin and pulp are mechanically
removed and then the beans obtained are fermented to remove a layer of remaining
pulp material 0.5–2 mm thick. After fermentation, the clean beans are dried to about
12% moisture content and then de-hulled to remove the parchment. The resulting
solid waste (parchment and silverskin) is collectively termed parchment husks. On
average, for every one ton of clean coffee produced, 1 ton of mbuni husks are gener-
ated during dry processing, whereas, for wet processing, 0.28 tons of parchment
husks, 2 tons of pulp and 22.73 tons of wastewater would be generated [3,4].
In the year 1996, the total production of parchment and mbuni husks in Kenya

Fig. 1. A section of a coffee cherry [2].

 M. Saenger et al. / Renewable Energy 23 (2001) 103–121 105

stood at 16,755 and 3,310 tons, respectively [4]. Since the 1970s, the Kenya Planters
Co-operative Union — KPCU (a body which processes and markets coffee beans
in Kenya) has been producing charcoal briquettes from mbuni husks for domestic
use [3]. The husks are carbonised in a kiln, ground, coagulated and then moulded
into briquettes prior to packing into bags of 2, 4 and 50 kg, respectively [3,4]. The
product, “coffee” charcoal briquettes has been found to have better burning character-
istics than wood charcoal [3,4]. 70% of the mbuni husks produced in Kenya are
utilised in this way. The rest, i.e. 30%, is used as compost manure. However, carbon-
isation is not the best route for energy recovery from the husks since coffee husks,
like most biomass, is expected to have high contents of volatiles, all of which are
lost into the atmosphere unburned during carbonisation. The energy recovery through
this route is therefore very small. In Kenya, currently the bulk of the parchment
husks is collected by farmers and spread in cattle pens where the parchment husks
are mixed with cow dung to produce manure that is used in the coffee plantations.
Only a small quantity of the parchment husks is currently used for energy purposes,
mainly as a fuel for drying coffee beans and as a source of energy for brick making
processes [4,5].
One of the reasons for the low level of usage of coffee husks as fuel for direct
combustion is the lack of sufficient information concerning the combustion and emis-
sion characteristics of these residues. Such information would be useful for the design
and efficient operation of combustion systems for coffee husks. Like other agricul-
tural residues, some physical and chemical properties of coffee husks, such as the
bulk density, ash melting point and contents of volatile matter, would decide how
effectively the combustion process can be carried out. Whereas some information is
available concerning the effect of these properties on the combustion of biomass such
as straw, sewage sludge and wood [6–8], there is not much information available on
coffee husks. The purpose of the current work was therefore to obtain some infor-
mation concerning the combustion and emission characteristics of coffee husks,
through analyses of the physical and chemical composition of coffee husks, con-
ducting single particle combustion in an oven and combustion of the husks in a
pilot–scale fluidised bed, studying the sintering properties of the ash formed and
measuring NOx and N2O emissions.

2. Experiments

The experiments were conducted using the facilities at the Technical University
of Hamburg-Harburg, Germany using some 200 kg of coffee (parchment and mbuni)
husks which were shipped from Kenya. The physical and chemical analyses were
done using standard experimental procedures. In order to obtain information about
the combustion mechanisms of coffee husks, single particle combustion experiments
were done in a laboratory-scale furnace. This was followed by combustion experi-
ments, conducted in a pilot-scale bubbling fluidised bed, 150 mm in diameter and
9 m high (Fig. 2). The dimensions of the fluidised bed combustor (FBC) is such
that the mean gas residence times may be adjusted to be similar to those normally
106 M. Saenger et al. / Renewable Energy 23 (2001) 103–121

Fig. 2. Flow diagram of the bubbling fluidised bed combustor (FBC).

applied in large-scale plants. As bed material, quartz sand with a mean size of 0.48
mm was used. The required temperatures were maintained through electrical heating
of the walls of the combustor. The experimental set-up for gas-sampling and analysis
is shown in Fig. 3. The sample was withdrawn from the center-line of the combustor
and sucked through an electrically heated filter and sampling line by means of a gas
pump. The sample was dried in a gas cooler and thereafter supplied to each analyser.
O2 was measured on the basis of the paramagnetic effect whereas CO2, CO, NO and
N2O, respectively, were measured with non-dispersive infrared absorption spec-

Fig. 3. Experimental set-up for gas sampling and analysis.

 M. Saenger et al. / Renewable Energy 23 (2001) 103–121 107

trometry. The measurement signals were evaluated, shown on-line and recorded by
a computer.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Chemical and physical properties

Table 1 shows the proximate and ultimate analyses of coffee husks as well as
bituminous coal, sewage sludge and wood obtained by the current authors. Literature
data on a few other selected agricultural wastes [9] are also included. Other para-
meters such as bulk densities, calorific values and size distribution of the coffee
husks are also given. It is seen that coffee husks are characterised by low moisture
contents (10–11%), high volatile matter content (65–72%), low ash content (1–4%)
and low fixed carbon content (17–20%). The nitrogen content ranges from 0.6 to
1.6% whereas the sulphur content is only 0.1%. The bulk density is 184 and 301
kg/m3 for mbuni and parchment husks, respectively.
The low moisture content of coffee husks is attributed to the fact that the coffee
cherry or parchment must be dried before separating (de-hulling) the husks from the
coffee beans. The low moisture content is an important factor in the combustion of
coffee husks, since problems associated with the combustion of high moisture content
fuels are avoided. One such problem is the effect of moisture on the heating values
of fuels (Table 2). It is seen that mbuni and parchment husks have higher heating
values of 16.1 and 18.2 MJ/kg, respectively, which fall within the range of the calor-
ific values of agricultural wastes, based on dry mass. But the high moisture contents

Table 1
Chemical and physical properties of the coffee husks and some agricultural and forest residues and coalsa

Proximate analysis (raw) Ultimate analysis (waf)

Fuel MoistureVolatilesAsh FC C H O N S

Mbuni husks 11.4 64.6 4.1 20.0 43.9 4.8 49.6 1.6 0.1
Parchment husks 10.1 72.0 0.9 17.0 46.8 4.9 47.1 0.6 0.6
Sewage sludge 6.9 44.6 41.5 7.0 52 6.3 32.1 6.3 3.1
Wood 40.0 46.7 0.5 12.8 50.7 5.9 43.1 0.2 0.04
Bituminous Coal 7.5 34.0 4.9 53.6 88 6 4 1.2 0.8
Cotton husks* 6.9 73.0 3.2 16.9 50.4 8.4 39.8 1.4 0.0
Palm fibre* 36.4 46.3 5.3 12.0 51.5 6.6 40.1 1.5 0.3
Groundnut shell* 7.88 68.1 3.1 20.9 50.9 7.5 40.4 1.2 0.02
Coconut shell* 4.4 70.5 3.1 22 51.2 5.6 43.1 0.0 0.1
Parchment husks Mbuni husks
Bulk density (kg/m3) 301 184
Higher calorific value (MJ/kg) 18.2 16.1
Size distribution (mbuni husks), mm ⬍1.0 1.0⬍2.5 2.5⬍5.0 ⬎5.0
Quantity, in % 15.6 25.6 51.3 7.5

a
FC=fixed carbon; *=data from [9].
 108

Table 2
Moisture content and heating values of some agricultural residuesa

Residue Wheat straw Barley straw Rice straw Bagasse Coconut shells Maize straw Wheat chaff Barley chaff

W-% 12–22 12–22 12–22 40–60 10–20 50–70 15–22 15–22

LHV, dry mass 17.3 16.1 14.6 18.0 19.1 16.8 16.5 16.3
LHV, raw mass 12.9–14.9 12.0–13.9 10.9–12.6 5.7–9.8 14.9–17.0 3.3–7.2 12.3–13.7 10.8–13.5

a
W=moisture contents; LHV=lower heating value in MJ/kg (Strehler and Stuetzle [14]).
M. Saenger et al. / Renewable Energy 23 (2001) 103–121
 M. Saenger et al. / Renewable Energy 23 (2001) 103–121 109

in some residues substantially reduce their calorific values. Secondly, high moisture
content can also lead to poor ignition, reduce the combustion temperature and hinder
the combustion of the reaction products. These factors affect the quality of combus-
tion [10]. Analysis of drying and devolatilisation processes of wet brown coal [11],
wood chips and logs [12] as well as sewage sludge [13] showed that the presence
of moisture can greatly delay the release of the volatiles. Furthermore, a large quan-
tity of flue gas is also formed from high moisture content fuels which eventually
leads to large dimensioning of flue gas treatment and handling equipment.
The bulk densities of mbuni and parchment husks of 184 and 301 kg/m3, respect-
ively, are higher than for most agricultural residues but lower than those of coals.
For example, the bulk densities of chopped straws [15] and rice husks [16] are 50–
120 and 122 kg/m3, respectively, whereas those of coals are in the range of 560–
900 kg/m3 [15]. Low bulk densities may complicate the firing process of the coffee
husks as well as raise the cost of fuel transportation and storage. A solution to the
low bulk density is densification. Densification techniques normally used are baling,
briquetting and pelleting, in the increasing order of equipment complexity, energy
requirement and cost [17]. Croiset et al. [18] have reported the results of briquetting
tests of coffee husks using a pilot-scale unit in Bujumbura, Burundi. They found
that coffee husks can be briquetted more easily than wood chips and rice husks and
a bulk density of around 1000 kg/m3 can be achieved using an energy input of around
600 kJ/kg. However, the coffee husks briquettes have high friability and are therefore
less resistant to successive impacts than the briquettes from wood chips or rice husks.
Coffee husks briquettes may therefore not be suitable for long distant transportation.
The ash contents of around 4 and 1% measured for mbuni and parchment husks,
respectively, are small, like those for most other agricultural residues. Thus little
capital investment would be required on the equipment for particle emission control.
But the effect of high volatile matter content on the overall combustion process can
be enormous, as has been observed during the combustion of sewage sludge [13,17].
Whereas the size of coffee husks is smaller compared to the size of wood chips and
coals for combustion in a fluidised bed. This may lead to problems of mixing and
segregation in fluidised bed furnaces as well as elutriation and incomplete combus-
tion in all furnaces. The content of nitrogen, which ranges between 0.6 to 1.6, is
similar to that of most coals and attention may need to be given to the formation
of NOx and N2O during the combustion of coffee husks.

3.2. Single particle combustion of coffee husks

Fig. 4 shows weight loss curves for particles of parchment and mbuni husks
obtained in an oven at different temperatures. For comparison, the weight loss curve
for bituminous coal from [20] is also included. The analysis was carried out using
a similar experimental procedure as was previously adopted for sludge granulates
and coals [13,19]. The furnace was initially maintained at 50°C and after one hour,
three samples were removed, cooled and analysed for weight loss. The furnace tem-
perature was then increased, initially in steps of 20°C up to 150°C and thereafter in
steps of 50°C up to 500°C, and each time the analysis procedure was repeated. For
110 M. Saenger et al. / Renewable Energy 23 (2001) 103–121

Fig. 4. Weight loss analysis of particles of coffee husks and coal at different temperatures.

the coffee husks, the initial weight loss was recorded between 50°C and 100°C during
which a weight loss of 10% was registered corresponding to the moisture content
of the husks. Between 100°C and 170°C, there was no appreciable change in weight.
Further increase in weight loss started above 170°C, marking the beginning of devol-
atilisation, which was more rapid at 200–250°C. At temperatures above 450°C, no
further increase in the weight loss was observed. The final weights of the samples
were 1 and 4% for parchment and mbuni husks, respectively, corresponding to the
ash content of the husks. Visual observation showed that the combustion of the char
particles (first signs of ash formation) started at around 400–450°C. In comparison,
bituminous coal started devolatilising at 300–400°C. Low devolatilisation tempera-
tures have also been established for wood chips and sewage sludge [12,20] and it
appears to be a characteristic of biomass fuels.
In further experiments, temperatures at the centre of coffee husks pellets and wood
chips were measured during exposure of the particles in a hot medium. The husks
were pressed into cylindrical pellets of 10 mm in diameter and 10 mm in height and
the temperatures were continuously recorded using Ni–Cr–Ni thermocouples. The
results (Fig. 5) show that the particle temperature remains below 100°C during the
drying phase. Upon completion of the drying process, the temperature rises rapidly,
characterising the volatile release and combustion phase. Thereafter, the temperature
remains more or less constant during the char combustion phase. The rate of tempera-
ture built-up was higher for wood chips than for the coffee husks pellets due to the
higher density of the pellet. Thus in its loose form, the temperature build-up in coffee
husks would be expected to be faster.
The low devolatilisation temperature and the high rate of temperature built up
indicate that the coffee husks would devolatilise rapidly, ignite easily and burn-out
within a short time. This observation is important with respect to fuel feeding, heat
release and temperature distribution in the furnace. The feeding system may need
to be water cooled to avoid pyrolysis taking place in the feeding system, which can
 M. Saenger et al. / Renewable Energy 23 (2001) 103–121 111

Fig. 5. Time–temperature history for mbuni husks and wood. Furnace temperature 850°C.

lead to blockages in the tube and non-uniform fuel flow. Care may also need to be
taken to avoid combustion of the coffee husks near the feed point leading to hot
spots, by ensuring that the coffee husks are distributed uniformly within the cross-
section of the furnace.

3.3. Continuous combustion in the fluidised bed

The purpose of these experiments was to investigate the effect of the feeding
system and mode of fuel feeding on the combustion of coffee husks as well as the
level of NOx and N2O emissions established during combustion. Both water-cooled
and uncooled feeding systems as well as under-bed and over-bed feeding mode were
tested. During a steady combustion state, the axial temperature profiles as well as
the CO, NO, N2O and O2 concentrations were measured. Thereafter, the mass flow
rate of the coffee husks was varied while maintaining constant the flow of the com-
bustion air, thereby establishing different combustion regimes in the furnace. The
axial temperatures as well as the concentrations of CO, NO and N2O were then
analysed as a function of oxygen concentration in the flue gas.

3.3.1. Fuel feeding

The experiments showed that coffee husks could be fed as received without further
processing. During feeding using uncooled screw feeding systems, the coffee husks
pyrolysed in the tube and clogged the feeding system. A sintered ash was found
near the feed point (discussed later) indicating that intensive combustion took place
near the feed point. Using a water-cooled screw feeding system the firing process
was successful both for over-bed and under-bed feeding.
112 M. Saenger et al. / Renewable Energy 23 (2001) 103–121

3.3.2. Axial temperature profiles

The purpose of analysing the axial temperature profiles in the bed and freeboard
was to obtain information about the location of volatile release and combustion and
the effect of the fuel feeding mode. Fig. 6 (top) shows the temperature profiles
obtained from mbuni and parchment husks during under-bed feeding. It is seen that
for parchment husks, the axial temperature profile was more or less the same both
in bed and freeboard, whereas for mbuni husks the temperature increased slightly
in the bed, attaining a peak around the splash zone and thereafter decreased steadily
in the freeboard. This slight difference in behaviour was attributed to the fact that
the parchment husks had a slightly higher volatile matter and lower fixed carbon
contents than the mbuni husks. Secondly, parchment husks are lighter than mbuni
husks, so that the contribution of particle carry-over from the bed is more significant
than for mbuni husks.
A significant difference was observed during over-bed feeding (Fig. 6, bottom).
Whereas the bed temperature was below 800°C, the freeboard temperatures were
significantly higher, with peak temperatures near the splash zone being over 950°C.
Above 3 m, the furnace temperature remained more or less constant. The results show

Fig. 6. Temperature profiles during combustion of coffee husks; (top diagram — under-bed feed, bottom
diagram — comparison of under-bed and over-bed feeding).
 M. Saenger et al. / Renewable Energy 23 (2001) 103–121 113

that during over-bed feeding, there is an increased volatile release and combustion in
the freeboard. Similar results were found by Peel and Santos [21] who investigated
the combustion of sawdust, bagasse, rice husks, wood chips and corn cobs in a 200
mm diameter fluidised bed combustor. Satisfactory combustion could only be achi-
eved with under-bed feeding. During over-bed feeding, the bagasse and sawdust
ignited before reaching the bed surface and their combustion was largely completed
within the freeboard with little heat transferred to the bed and consequently the bed
temperature fell.
The high volatile matter content of the coffee husks is therefore an important
factor for consideration during the design and operation of the combustion systems
for coffee husks, particularly with respect to the design of the fuel feeding system,
furnace configuration and the distribution of the combustion air.

3.3.3. NOx and N2O emissions

Fig. 7 shows NOx and N2O emissions from coffee husks compared with those of
bituminous and brown coal samples obtained previously in the plant. The nitrogen
contents of the coals were 1.3 and 1.4% for bituminous and brown coal samples,
respectively. The coffee husks generated 450–525 mg/m3 NOx and 3–27 mg/m3 N2O
for oxygen concentrations of 10–16 vol.-%. The NOx values from coffee husks are

Fig. 7. NOx and N2O emissions during the combustion of coffee husks.
114 M. Saenger et al. / Renewable Energy 23 (2001) 103–121

between those of brown coal and bituminous coal whereas the N2O emissions were
lower than those of brown coal. Although these results are not adequate to make
conclusions about the NOx and N2O trends, few remarks can be made as concerns
the NO and N2O formation in general during the combustion of coffee husks. First,
for the temperatures at which the above experiments were conducted (850°C), the
formation of thermal-NO and prompt-NO is insignificant [22, 23: p. 222] and the
recorded NO can be assumed to have come mainly from the nitrogen contained in
coffee husks. Secondly, single particle pyrolysis experiments showed that during
devolatilisation of coffee husks, 52–68% of the nitrogen is released with the volatile,
the quantity increasing proportionally with the combustion temperature (Table 3).
This distribution is important since the formation of NO and N2O from the fuel
nitrogen takes place through the combustion of the nitrogenous species released with
the volatiles and the oxidation of the nitrogen retained in the char. The dominant
volatile nitrogen species are NH3 and HCN. NH3 may decompose to NH2 and NH
radicals which can either be oxidised by O2 to form NO or react with available NO
and OH radicals to form N2. On the other hand, the HCN may decompose to NCO
with the help of an oxygen radical and thereafter NCO can react with NO to form
N2O. The char-bound nitrogen burns to form NO, N2O and N2 [24]. Third, coffee
husks contain only small quantities of fixed carbon (17–20%), ash (1–4%) as well
as components with catalytic effect (2.2–2.4% Fe2O3, 3.7–4.0% MgO and 9.8–10.7
CaO). Thus their effect on NO and N2O formation is negligible. Char, for example,
provides a catalytic surface for the gas phase NO reduction by CO, which is esti-
mated to account for about 50% of the NO reduction formed at primary stage. Char
is also very effective for the catalytic and direct reduction of N2O. In the case of
fluidised bed combustion, the presence of CaO, MgO and Fe2O3 in the fuel can lead
to the formation of an active bed which can catalyse the reduction of NO and N2O,
especially under fuel-rich combustion conditions [23–25].
In summary, it is recognised that high NOx emissions can be formed during single
stage combustion of coffee husks, whereas there would be no problem with N2O
emissions. Therefore during the design of combustion systems for coffee husks, a
facility for the control of NOx, e.g. injection ports for secondary air or/and NH3 and
urea for selective non-catalytic reduction of NOx (SNCR), should be included.

3.4. Agglomeration, fouling and slagging during the combustion of coffee husks

During continuous combustion experiments, severe bed agglomeration and sinter-

ing was observed. During over-bed feeding using an uncooled screw feeder, after 4
hours of operation, a sudden temperature rise of up to 1000°C was observed near

Table 3
Distribution of coffee husks nitrogen between volatiles and char during devolatilisation

Temperature, °C 500 600 700 800 900

N % in volatiles 54.2 52.0 53.2 60.2 67.6
N % in char 45.8 48.0 46.8 39.8 32.4
 M. Saenger et al. / Renewable Energy 23 (2001) 103–121 115

Fig. 8. Photo of the sintered bed material (view from the distributor level) from coffee husks combustion
in the pilot scale combustor.

the feed point. The experiments were stopped and the furnace was allowed to cool
down. A large sintered glass structure was found in the region near the feed point
covering almost the whole cross-section of the furnace (Fig. 8).
In another experiment with in-bed feeding using a water-cooled screw feeder, after
some hours of operation, large temperature and pressure fluctuations were observed
within the bed. Consequently the experiments were stopped and again the furnace
was allowed to cool down. The bed materials were then removed and analysed. It
was observed that the bed material contained several particles of agglomerates, 5–
10 mm in diameter.
In order to find an explanation for the observation, samples of ash were prepared
from the coffee husks and the composition was analysed. For comparison, the com-
position of the ashes from coal, wood and sewage sludge were also analysed. These
three materials had previously been fired in the furnace without sintering and agglom-
eration problems. The results (Table 4) showed that the coffee husks ash had very

Table 4
Chemical composition of ash from coffee husks, coal, sewage sludge and woodsa

SiO2 Fe2O3 TiO2 P2O5 Al2O3 CaO MgO SO3 Na2O K2O

Mbuni husks 13.5 2.2 n.m. 3.7 3.9 10.7 4.0 n.m. 0.4 38.1
Parchment 16.6 2.4 n.m. 3.4 4.5 9.8 3.7 n.m. 0.5 36.9
husks
Sewage sludge 38.3 12.5 0.8 15.4 14.8 9.1 2.8 1.1 2.2 2.2
Bituminous coal 43.7 10.2 1.0 0.3 24.7 5.8 3.8 5.7 0.9 3.2
Wood 12.8 5.20 n.m 2.1 4.1 45.2 0.9 n.m. 0.6 0.5

a
n.m.=not measured.
116 M. Saenger et al. / Renewable Energy 23 (2001) 103–121

Table 5
Sintering temperatures of some biomass and coalsa

Material Straws [6] Coals [27]

Material Wheat Rye Oat Barley Colombian Russian

K2O, wt.-% 6.6 19.2 40.3 40.3 2.2 2.4

IDT, °C 900–1050 800–850 750–850 730–800 1283 1282
HT, °C 1300–1400 1050–1150 1000–1100 850–1050 1353 1363
FT, °C 1400–1500 1300–1400 1150–1250 1050–1200 1427 1404

a
IDT=Initial deformation temperature; HT=hemisphere temperature; FT=flow temperature.

high contents of K2O (37–38%) compared with wood (0.5%), coal (3.2%) and sludge
(2.2%). High contents of K2O have also been reported for other agricultural residues
such as cotton husks (50%), pepper wastes (30%) and soya husks (30%) (Bapat et
al. [9]). High K2O contents in these residues are being attributed to the use of ferti-
lisers in agricultural farms [3,26]. Higher K2O quantities lower the melting point of
ash (Table 5). It is seen that straws of oats and barley, with K2O contents of 40%,
have an Initial Deformation Temperature (IDT) of 730–850°C, whereas wheat straw
with K2O of 6.6% has an IDT of 900–1050°C.
In fluidised beds, the ash melting point is lowered further due to the interaction
of the ash with quartz sand. Although sand consists mainly of SiO2, with a melting
point of around 1450°C [27], the K2O or salts can react with Si compounds of the
bed material according to
4SiO2⫹K2CO3→K2O·4SiO2⫹CO2 (1)
to form a eutectic mixture with a melting point of 764°C, which is lower than for
the individual components [9,25]. Indeed, using a simple experimental technique, it
was shown that the sintering point of coffee husks pellets was lowered from 800–
900°C to less than 700°C for pellets with 50% sand (Table 6). For these experiments,
the coffee husks ash was pressed into pellets and then heated in a furnace at 650,
700, 800 and 900°C for three hours. Thereafter the samples were removed and their
surfaces examined using a microscope. The procedure was repeated for pellets mixed
with 50% sand.

Table 6
Sintering temperatures of coffee husks

Temp. °C Coffee husks Mbuni +50% sand Parchment +50% sand

500 Sintering not observed Sintering not observed Sintering not observed
600 Sintering not observed Sintering not observed Sintering not observed
700 Sintering not observed Sintering observed Sintering observed
800 Sintering observed Sintering observed Sintering observed
900 Sintering observed Sintering observed Sintering observed
 M. Saenger et al. / Renewable Energy 23 (2001) 103–121 117

Information available in the literature indicates that apart from sintering and
agglomeration, low sintering ash may also lead to slagging, fouling and corrosion
of the heat transfer surfaces. The problem of fouling and slagging was observed
during the commissioning of a 10 MW fluidised bed combustor firing rice stalk
(Muthukrishnan et al. [28]). The rice stalk bales were fed over-bed, and due to the
high volatile matter content, a significant freeboard combustion took place leading
to high gas temperatures. This softened the ash and resulted in ash depositions on
the convective superheater tubes in the flue gas path. The deposition rate was so
high that in less than 12 h of operation the space between the convection superheater
tubes was completely bridged with ash. On the other hand, severe corrosion was
reported from straw fired boilers in Denmark. Investigations undertaken by Petersen
et al. [29] showed that corrosion had occurred on the surfaces of the convection
tubes and in the economiser section in practically all the plants. The corrosion attack
caused the replacement of unalloyed steel parts after 2–9 years in 45% of the plants.
There are techniques through which the melting point of ash can be raised to
reduce the problems of sintering, agglomeration, fouling, slagging and corrosion.
These are: use of additives, use of alternative bed materials in the case of fluidised
bed combustion, and co-firing with other fuels, e.g. coals and lignite. Additives which
can raise the softening temperature of ash are kaolin, ceramic, alumina, calcium
oxide, magnesium oxide and dolomite [26]. The effect of the additives is to enrich
the ash formed during combustion with non potassium/sodium compounds or/and to
react with the alkali compounds to form complexes whose melting points are higher.
For example, Wilen et al. [6] fired straw (40 wt.-% K2O in ash) pellets with kaolin
(1–2 wt.-% K2O) at 900°C and found that a 2% kaolin addition was sufficient to
prevent straw ash from melting. Use of a bed material enriched with sufficient Fe2O3
can reduce the rate of formation of agglomerates, since Fe2O3 can react preferentially
with the alkali compounds present in the bed according to Eqs. (2) and (3):

Fe2O3⫹X2O→X2Fe2O4 (2)

Fe2O3⫹X2CO3→X2Fe2O4⫹CO2 (3)

(where X can be K or Na) making them unavailable for reaction (1) and forming
eutectic mixtures with melting temperatures in excess of 1135°C [9,27]. Co-firing
of coffee husks with small amounts of fossil fuels or other combustible wastes having
low contents of K2O is another way of reducing the concentration of potassium in
the ash. To test the effect of co-firing, pellets consisting of coffee husks ash blended
with different quantities of coal ash were exposed to a furnace temperature of 900°C,
each for 4 hours. No sintering was observed for samples with more than 30% coal
ash (Table 7). Due to the high sintering point of coal ash, the sintering points were
raised in proportion to the amount of coal ash in the pellet. Assuming that the behav-
iour of the ash in the experiment is the same as in a fluidized bed and that the
composition of the coal is given (see Table 1) a fuel ratio coffee parchment
husks/bituminous coal of 10.6 results.
118 M. Saenger et al. / Renewable Energy 23 (2001) 103–121

Table 7
Effect of coal ash blending on the sintering characteristics

% Coal ash 0 5 10 20 30 40 50

Comments Sintering Sintering Sintering Sintering No No No

occurred occurred occurred occurred sintering sintering sintering

4. Conclusions

In this work, the combustion mechanisms of coffee husks have been investi-
gated using single particle combustion techniques as well as combustion in a pilot-
scale fluidised bed facility. The following conclusions have been drawn from
the work:

1. Coffee husks are characterised by high content of volatile matter and low con-
tents of fixed carbon and ash. The devolatilisation begins at a low temperature
range of 170–200°C and the rate of temperature built-up in the particles is very
rapid. This means that the coffee husks devolatilise easily upon heating and
therefore may require a water cooled feeding system or the residence time of
the husks in the feeder tube should be very short to prevent pyrolysis of the
husks taking place in the feeding system leading to blockages and non-uniform
fuel flow into the furnace. Because of the tendency to devolatilise rapidly, the
feeding systems should be designed such as to achieve uniform distribution of
the coffee husks within the cross-section of the furnace to avoid high tempera-
tures near the feeding point and achieve a more or less uniform distribution of
heat release in the furnace.
2. The coffee husks are lighter and smaller than wood chips and coals burned in
non-pulverised firing systems. Thus there may be a tendency of the particles
to be carried out of the furnace with the flue gas. Furthermore, without proper
design of the furnace, part of the combustible volatile gases may leave the
furnace unburned. The furnace size and configuration should be such as to
provide sufficient turbulence and residence time to enable complete combus-
tion. Furthermore, the distribution of the combustion air supply in stages may
improve not only the combustion efficiency but also reduce the emissions of
unburned pollutants like CO, CxHy and carbon fines.
3. The bulk density of the coffee husks is low, raising the costs of transportation
and storage. Furthermore, coffee briquettes are fragile and not suitable for long
distance transportation. Coffee husks are therefore more suitable for firing
within the production region. Because of this characteristic, coffee husks are
also a good candidate for co-firing.
4. Due to the low contents of sulphur, SO2 emission problems would not be
expected during coffee husks combustion. However, high NOx emissions of
400–500 mg/m3 measured during single stage combustion indicate that in
 M. Saenger et al. / Renewable Energy 23 (2001) 103–121 119

designing combustion systems for coffee husks, allowance should be given to

enable the application of NOx emission reduction techniques, such as staged
combustion and selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) techniques.
5. An important consideration during the combustion of coffee husks is the low
melting temperature of ash due to the high content of K2O. Problems of
agglomeration, fouling, slagging and corrosion will be expected. These prob-
lems can lead to an increase in the cost of operation and maintenance of the
combustion system. Therefore there is a need for more research to be done in
this area to find a suitable solution for the low sintering properties of coffee
husks ash. Techniques such as the use of additives, proper furnace design and
co-firing with coal will need to be tested on a wider scale and in real combus-
tion situations.

Acknowledgements

Research in biomass combustion at the Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg

is financed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft through Sonderforschungsbere-
ich 238. This substantial financial support is gratefully acknowledged. One of the
authors (TO) would also like to thank the German Academic Exchange Program
(DAAD) and Moi University’s Committee of Deans for their support.

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