Fuel and material utilization of a waste shiitake (Lentinula edodes) mushroom bed derived from hardwood chips I: characteristics of calorific value in terms of elemental composition and ash content
2021
Noboru Sekino | Zhuoqiu Jiang
Abstract To understand the fuel characteristics of a waste shiitake mushroom bed derived from hardwood chips, the moisture content at the time of disposal and after 1 month, as well as its calorific value, ash content, and elemental composition, were investigated. The moisture content on a wet basis (MCw) was 78% at the time of disposal and was as high as 63% even 1 month after disposal. It is considered that the slow drying process is caused by the low moisture permeability of the skin of mushroom bed, and therefore, it is preferable to crush the waste mushroom bed before drying. Comparing the gross calorific value on a dry basis of the waste mushroom bed with that of the cultivation bed wood chips, the value inside of the waste mushroom bed was similar, while that of its skin was significantly lower (by 11%). The reason for this lies in the significantly higher ash content and nitrogen content compared to those of wood. When analyzed from the combustion heat of the contained elements, it was found that both the cultivation bed wood chips and the waste mushroom bed had almost no hydrogen contributing to combustion due to their high oxygen content, and they were dependent on the heat generation of carbon. As a result of finding the relationship between the net calorific value that can be used as a boiler fuel and MCw, for example, the value at an MCw of 50% was calculated to be 7.6 MJ/kg, which was almost the same as that of sugi (Cryptomeria Japonica) sapwood and bark. The ash content of the waste mushroom bed was about 7%, which is close to that of bark and about ten times that of the wood used for the cultivation bed. When the waste mushroom bed is used as boiler fuel, appropriate ash treatment is required as in the case of using bark.
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