THERMAL SCIENCE

International Scientific Journal

Djordje M. Đatkov

,

Aleksandar Z. Nesterović

,

Miodrag I. Višković

,

Milan Martinov

,

Martin Kaltschmitt

PROFITABILITY OF CORN COB UTILIZATION AS A FUEL IN SMALL RESIDENTIAL HEATING APPLIANCES

ABSTRACT
The subject of this paper is utilization of corn cobs as a fuel in small residential heating appliances in Serbia. The objective was to investigate the profitability of the three cob forms: whole, crushed, and pellets. Thereby, construction and re-construction option of a heating system that uses corn cobs were compared with woody and fossil fuel forms. Net present values of generated costs in the first option, as well as net present value of savings, payback period, and internal rate or return in the second, were analyzed. Assessment was conducted using BIOMASAPRO calculator with integrated approach for energy facility investments. Only utilization of whole cobs were profitable, comparing with wood logs, coal, and natural gas. In option construction, around 8700 €, 7000 €, and more than 4100 € could be thus saved after the appliance lifespan, respectively. The savings could be 7800 €, 5500 €, and more than 3600 € in option reconstruction, with payback period less than two years compared with wood logs and coal, and around 2.5 years with natural gas. Sensitivity analysis showed that utilization of whole cobs could be profitable with up to three times higher purchase price. With bank loan as a financing option for economically weaker biomass users, the scenarios though remain profitable. Subsidy of more than 40% for a heating appliance that uses crushed cobs would allow for profitable investment in comparison with wood chips. Future investigation should comprise assessment including social and environmental aspects, to conclude if corn cobs are a sustainable fuel in Serbia.
KEYWORDS
corn cob, biomass, fuel, heating, small appliance, profitability, Serbia
PAPER SUBMITTED: 2020-05-08
PAPER REVISED: 2020-05-28
PAPER ACCEPTED: 2020-07-16
PUBLISHED ONLINE: 2020-08-08
DOI REFERENCE: https://doi.org/10.2298/TSCI200508221D
CITATION EXPORT: view in browser or download as text file
THERMAL SCIENCE YEAR 2021, VOLUME 25, ISSUE Issue 4, PAGES [2471 - 2482]
REFERENCES
  1. Bourguignon, D., Biomass for Electricity and Heating – Opportunities and Challenges, Report No. PE 568.329, European Parliamentary Research Service, Brussels, Belgium, 2015
  2. Nakada, S., et al., Global Bioenergy Supply and Demand Projections: A Working Paper for REmap 2030, International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 2014
  3. Glavonjić, B. D., Consumption of Wood Fuels in Households in Serbia – Present State and Possible Contribution to the Climate Change Mitigation, Thermal Science, 15 (2011), 3, pp. 571-585
  4. Nilsson, D., et al., Pellet Production from Agricultural Raw Materials – A Systems Study, Biomass Bioenerg, 35 (2011), 1, pp. 679-689
  5. Bojić, S., et al., Location Allocation of solid Biomass Power Plants: Case Study of Vojvodina, Renew Sust. Energ. Rev., 26 (2013), Oct., pp. 769-775
  6. Martinov, M., et al., Program za ocenu ekonomskih pokazatelja za energetsku primenu biomase (Calculator for Profitability Assessment of Biomass Utilization for Energy Generation, in Serbian), Faculty of Technical Sciences., Novi Sad, Serbia, 2011, http://www.psemr.vojvodina.gov.rs/index.php/studije/item/11-studije-na-temu-potencijala-biomase-i-razlicitih-mogucnosti-primene
  7. Hartmann, H., Grundlagen der Thermo – Chemischen Umwandlung Biogener Festbrennstoffe in: Energie aus Biomasse – Grundlagen, Techniken und Verfahren (Eds. M. Kaltschmitt, et al.), SpringerVerlag, Berlin, Germany, 2016, pp. 579-814
  8. Schmidl, C., et al., Particulate and Gaseous Emissions from Manually and Automatically Fired Small Scale Combustion Systems, Atmospheric Environment, 45 (2011), 39, pp. 7443-7454
  9. Schmitt, V. E. M., Kaltschmitt, M., Effect of Straw Proportion and Ca- and Al-containing Additives on Ash Composition and Sintering of Wood-Straw Pellets, Fuel, 109 (2013), July, pp. 551–558
  10. Golub, M., et al., Corn Stover Harvesting for Renewable Energy and Residual Soil Effects, Agricultural mechanization in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, 43 (2012), 4, pp. 72-79
  11. Golub, M., et al., Investigation on Possibilities for Sustainable Provision of Corn Stover as an Energy Source: Case Study for Vojvodina. Agricultural mechanization in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, 47 (2016), 4, pp. 8-15
  12. Kim, S., Dale, B. E., Global Potential Bioethanol Production from Wasted Crops and Crop Residues, Biomass Bioenerg, 26 (2004), 4, pp. 361-375
  13. *** Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, Database of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, https://data.stat.gov.rs/Home/Result/130102?languageCode=sr–Cyrl
  14. Martinov, M., Tešić, M., Cereal/Soybean Straw and Other Crop Residues Utilization as fin Serbia-Status and Prospects, in: Cereals Straw and Agricultural Residues for Bioenergy in European Union New Member States and Candidate Countries, (Eds. N. Scarlat, et al.), EC, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Novi Sad, Serbia, 2008, pp. 45-56
  15. Ebeling, J. M., Jenkins, B. M., Physical and Chemical Properties of Biomass Fuels. ASAE, 28 (1985), 3, pp. 898-902
  16. Kaliyan, N., Morey, R. V., Densification Characteristics of Corn Cobs, Fuel Processing Technology, 91 (2010), 5, pp. 559-565
  17. Martinov, M., et al., Investigation of Maize Cobs Crushing – Preparation for Use as a Fuel, Thermal Science, 15 (2011), 1, pp. 235-243
  18. Miranda, M. T., et al., Analysis of Pelletizing from Corn Cob Waste, Journal of Environmental Management, 228 (2018), Dec., pp. 303-311
  19. Pordesimo, L. O., et al., Variation in Corn Stover Composition and Energy Content with Crop Maturity, Biomass and Bioenergy, 28 (2005), 4, pp. 366-374
  20. Djatkov, DJ., et al., Influencing Parameters on Mechanical – Physical Properties of Pellet Fuel Made from Corn Harvest Residues, Biomass and Bioenergy, 119 (2018), Dec., pp. 418-428
  21. Djatkov, DJ., et al., Corn Cob Pellets as a Fuel in Serbia: Opportunities and Constraints, Proceedings, 45th International Symposium on Agricultural Engineering: Actual Tasks on Agricultural Engineering, Opatija, Croatia, 2017, pp. 417-426
  22. Brunner, T., et al., Combustion Properties of Maize Cobs – Results from Lab and Pilot-Scale Tests, Proceedings, 19th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, Berlin, Germany, 2011, pp. 944-951
  23. Las-Heras-Casas, J., et al., Implementation of Biomass Boilers for Heating and Domestic Hot Water in Multi-Family Buildings in Spain: Energy, Environmental, and Economic Assessment, Journal of Cleaner Production, 176 (2018), Mar., pp. 590-603
  24. Wang, K., et al., Economic Analysis of a Field Monitored Residential Wood Pellet Boiler Heating System in New York State, Renewable Energy, 133 (2019), Apr., pp. 500-511
  25. Kattan, P., Ruble, I., An Economic Assessment of Four Different Boilers for Residential Heating in Lebanon, Energy and Buildings, 50 (2012), July, pp. 282-289
  26. Glavonjić, B., et al., Spatial Wood Fuels Production and Consumption Analysis, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, Italy, 2015
  27. ***, EN 14774-2, Solid biofuels – Determination of moisture content Oven dry method. Part 2: Total moisture – Simplified method, European Committee For Standardization (CEN), 2009
  28. ***, EN 14918, Solid biofuels – Determination of calorific value, European Committee For Standardization (CEN), 2009
  29. ***, Fer Komerc Ltd., Slankamen, Ljepoja Vlado, personal contact (April 2019)
  30. ***, Zemun polje, Zemun, personal contact (May 2019)
  31. ***, Maj-Gor, http://www.ogrevnovisad.rs/index.html (October 2019)
  32. ***, Srbijagas, http://www.srbijagas.com/ (October 2019)
  33. ***, Termoplin Ltd., Mladenovac, Aleksandar Jugović, personal contact (May 2019)
  34. ***, ATI–Terming Ltd., Kula, Branislav Banatski, personal contact (May 2019)
  35. ***, Etaž Ltd., Novi Sad, personal contact (January 2020)
  36. Lepotić Kovačević, B., et al., Construction of Plants and Electricity/Heat Generation from Biomass in the Republic of Serbia – Guide for Investors, Ministry of Mining and Energy of Republic of Serbia, Beograd, Serbia, 2010
  37. ***, ERSTE BANK, Energy Efficiency Credit, https://www.erstebank.rs/sr/Stanovnistvo/Krediti/kreditza-energetsku-efikasnost-iz-ebrd-linije (January 2020)
PDF VERSION [DOWNLOAD]
Profitability of corn cob utilization as a fuel in small residential heating appliances

© 2024 Society of Thermal Engineers of Serbia. Published by the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International licence