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CORESTA Congress, Berlin, 2016, Agronomy/Phytopathology Groups, AP 60

Application of biomass moulding fuel to flue-cured tobacco furnaces: efficiency and cost effectiveness

REN Tianbao(1); YANG Chao(2); WANG Jianan(1); CHEN Yiyin(1); WANG Huanhuan(1); LIU Guoshun(1)
(1) Henan Agricultural University, China National Tobacco Cultivation & Physiology & Biochemistry Research Centre, Zhengzhou, P.R. China; (2) Chongqing Tobacco Science Research Institute, Chongqing, P.R. China

Biomass moulding fuel (BMF) is an environmentally friendly and renewable energy source. We studied an independently-developed automatic flue-cured tobacco furnace, employing a biomass fuel source and studied the effect of BMF on tobacco flue-curing. We found that 1 kg of dried tobacco required 1.2 kg of BMF (heating value = 3550 kcal/kg). The energy input cost was 1.43 RMB (fuel and electricity) and the labour cost was reduced by 75%, a reduction of 18.6% compared to the cost of burning coal. With respect to the environmental impact, the average emission concentration of smoke in the exhaust gas from the furnace was 16.2 mg/m3, SO2 was 13.6 mg/m3, and NOx was 2.3 mg/m3. Ringelmann blackness was less than 1. Compared to burning coal, all emissions were very low, demonstrating that the BMF furnace saved energy and reduced emissions compared to coal. In addition, the quality of cured tobacco and economic index were significantly improved.