Abstract

Residential wood stoves are the most important source of air pollution and particulate matter in southern regions of Chile, where the Eucalyptus globulus is the most consumed biomass. In this context, the main objective of this experimental investigation was to evaluate the effect of the use of inert ceramics foams (Silicon carbide) inside the combustion chamber of residential wood stoves on particulate matter emissions. The porous ceramics were disposed in three configurations (floor, walls, and roof) in a single-chamber, and biomass was burned. Preliminary wood stoves combustion test showed that porous ceramics increase firewood burning rates, exhaust gases and external surface temperatures, and carbon dioxide emissions. Final combustion test results showed that for all configurations the particulate matter emission factors decreased at least in 20%. Being the porous ceramics located at the combustion chamber walls the configuration with the highest improvement, achieving a 61% reduction. The positive effect, on biomass combustion, of adding porous ceramics inside the combustion chamber could be attributed to a higher rate of the volatile organic compounds being burned due to heat and mass transfer intensification. Thus, further studies are necessary to identify an optimal design for a combustion chamber incorporating porous ceramics.