Automated Manufacture of Fertilizing Agglomerates from Burnt Wood Ash

Abstract: In Sweden, extensive research is conducted to find alternative sources of energy that should partly replace the electric power production from nuclear power. With the ambition to create a sustainable system for producing energy, the use of renewable energy is expected to grow further and biofuels are expected to account for a significant part of this increase. However, when biofuels are burned or gasified, ash appears as a by-product. In order to overcome the problems related to deposition in land fills, the idea is to transform the ashes into a product – agglomerates – that easily could be recycled back to the forest grounds; as a fertilizer, or as a tool to reduce the acidification in the forest soil at the spreading area. This work considers the control of a transformation process, which transforms wood ash produced at a district heating plant into fertilizing agglomerates. A robust machine, built to comply with the industrial requirements for continuous operation, has been developed and is controlled by an industrial control system in order to enable an automated manufacture.