Prediction of woody biomass ash potential for utilization as fertilizer and cement material

With increasing combustion of woody biomass for bioenergy, woody biomass ash (WBA) utilization is essential. Future woody fuel consumption has been predicted, but WBA potential has not. This study predicted WBA amount available for fertilizer and cement material in Japan by a new approach involving decision tree analyses. The criteria for predicting the recycling properties of WBA were determined based on elemental composition data from 98 samples. The WBA appropriate for fertilizer was estimated more than double the amount of fertilizer material imported. The western Japan showed reasonable potential for WBA utilization in cement considering location of cement kilns and ash distribution. Assuming Japan’s biomass power generation to be 8 GW in 2050, the predicted WBA appropriate for fertilizer and cement use were 0.89 Mt and 0.13 Mt. The more palm kernel shells combusted, or the less common circulating fluidized beds become, WBA production will be larger.