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In this study, gaseous emissions and particles are measured during start-up and stop periods for an over-fed boiler and an under-fed boiler. Both gaseous and particulate matter emissions are continuously measured in the laboratory. The measurement of gaseous emissions includes oxygen (O2), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide and (NO). The emissions rates are calculated from measured emissions concentrations and flue gas flow. The behaviours of the boilers during start-up and stop periods are analysed and the emissions are characterised in terms of CO, NO, TOC and particles (PM2.5 mass and number). The duration of the characterised periods vary between two boilers due to the difference in type of ignition and combustion control. The under-fed boiler B produces higher emissions during start-up periods than the over-fed boiler A. More hydrocarbon and particles are emitted by the under-fed boiler during stop periods. Accumulated mass of CO and TOC during start-up and stop periods contribute a major portion of the total mass emitted during whole operation. However, accumulated mass of NO and PM during start-up and stop periods are not significant as the duration of emission peak is relatively short.

Gaseous and particulate emissions from a residential pellet boiler and a stove are measured at a realistic 6-day operation sequence and during steady state operation. The aim is to characterize the emissions during each phase in order to identify when the major part of the emissions occur to enable actions for emission reduction where the savings can be highest. The characterized emissions comprised carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NO), total organic carbon (TOC) and particulate matter (PM 2.5). In this study, emissions were characterised by mass concentration and emissions during start-up and stop phases were also presented in accumulated mass. The influence of start-up and stop phases on the emissions, average emission factors for the boiler and stove were analysed using the measured data from a six-days test. The share of start-up and stop emissions are significant for CO and TOC contributing 95% and 89% respectively at the 20kW boiler and 82% and 89% respectively at the 12 kW stove. NO and particles emissions are shown to dominate during stationary operation.

Gaseous and particulate emissions from six residential wood pellet heating systems are determined at a realistic six day operation sequence. The study aims to investigate the total emissions from a realistic operation of the heating systems including start-up and stop phases. Five combined solar and pellet heating systems and one reference boiler without solar system with an integrated DHW preparation was tested in a laboratory at realistic operation conditions. The investigated emissions comprised carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NO), total organic carbon (TOC) and particulate matter (PM2.5). In this study, the emissions are presented as accumulated total emissions from the whole six days period and the emissions from start-up and stop phases are also presented separately to evaluate the influence of the emissions from these phases on the total emissions. Emission factors of the measured systems from the six day period are between 192 and 547 mg MJ⁻¹ for the CO emissions, between 61 and 95 mg MJ⁻¹ for the NO, between 6 and 45 mg MJ⁻¹ for the TOC, between 31 and 116 mg MJ⁻¹ for the particulate matter and between 2.1 × 10¹³ and 4 × 10¹³ for the number of particles. The emissions from the start-up and stop phases are significantly high for the CO (63–95 %) and the TOC (48–93 %). NO and particles emissions are shown to dominate during stationary operation. However, 30–40 % of the particle emissions arise from the start and stop periods. It is also shown that the average emissions of CO, TOC and particles under the realistic annual conditions were higher than the limit values of two eco labels.

This work studies the amount of gaseous and particleemissions and deposits on heat exchanger surfaces in a boiler fired withcommercially available pellets and with pellets primed with magnesium oxide andmagnesium hydroxide. The combustion experiments were performed on a residentialboiler of 20 kW. Substrates placed in the heat exchanger was analysed withSEM-EDX-mapping to evaluate the chemical composition of the deposits. Theresults show that particle emissions (PM 2.5) using the additives increased byabout 50% and the mass of the deposits in the flue gas heat exchanger (excludingloose fly ash) increased by about 25% compared to the combustion of pelletswithout additives. The amount of additives was found to be eight times higherthan the amount of the main alkali metals potassium (K) and sodium (Na) whichleads to the assumption that the additives were overdosed and therefore causedthe problems reported. The SEM analysis of the substrates placed in the fluegas heat exchanger indicate that the deposits of sodium (Na), potassium (K),chlorine (Cl) and sulphur (S) decrease using the additives. If this was due tothe expected chemical reactions or due to the loose fly ash covering thesubstrates after the test, could not be determined in this study.

Gaseous and particulate emissions from three residential wood pellet boilers and a stove were characterized and quantified at start-up, steady (full, medium and low combustion power), and stop phases. The aim was to characterize the emissions during the different phases of boiler operation and to identify when the major part of the emissions occur to enable actions for emission reduction where the savings can be highest. The investigated emissions comprised carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NO), total organic carbon (TOC), and particulate matter (PM 2.5). In this study, particle emissions were characterized by both number and mass concentration. The emission characteristics at high combustion power were relatively similar for all tested devices while significant differences in CO and TOC were observed at lower combustion power. Highest CO and TOC emissions are produced by the bottom fed boiler at low combustion power. The accumulated start-up emissions of the tested devices varied in the ranges of 0.5−12 g CO, 0.1−0.7 g NO, 0.1−2 g TOC, 0.12−2.9 g PM2.5, and 2.4 × 1013 to 3.1 × 1014 particles PM2.5. The accumulated stop emissions varied in the ranges 4−15.5 g CO, 0.01−0.11 g NO, 0.02−1.6 g TOC, 0.1−1.3 g PM2.5, and 3.3 × 1013 to 1.4 × 1014 particles PM2.5. The bottom fed boiler B1 had higher start-up and stop emissions than the tested top fed boilers and more particle emissions were accumulated in start-up phase than in stop phases of boiler B1, B3, and stove S1. Number of particles emitted from residential wood pellet combustion is dominated by fine particles smaller than 1 μm and similar particle distribution both in number and mass were observed for the tested devices. The start-up phase generated higher accumulated particle mass than the stop phase.