Glossary
Waste-to-energy and biomass
Bagasse
Also known as sugarcane bagasse, bagasse fuel.
Bagasse is the fibrous residue left after juice extraction from sugarcane. Sugar mills burn bagasse in dedicated cogeneration boilers to produce steam (for the sugar process) and electricity (for sale to the grid). Bagasse is the dominant biomass fuel in sugar-producing countries — Brazil, India, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, the Caribbean and parts of Africa.
Fouling characteristics
- Silica-rich ash (often > 50% SiO₂) — abrasive, deposits as glassy films on cool surfaces
- Variable potassium content — higher in cane grown on sandy soils — drives alkali slagging
- Moisture variability — affects combustion stability and fouling rate
Cleaning
Bagasse boilers are well-suited to sonic-horn cleaning on the convective pass, air-heater cold end and downstream particulate-control hoppers. Brazil hosts a substantial installed base of sonic horns on sugar-mill cogeneration plants.
Related terms
Related terms
- Alkali metals in ashAlkali metals (Na, K) in biomass and waste-fuel ash form low-melting compounds that bond to boiler tubes as sticky deposits and poison SCR catalysts.
- Low-melt sticky ashLow-melt sticky ash forms when alkali-rich ash particles soften at typical convective-pass temperatures and bond to tube surfaces. Defeats steam sootblowers; primary target for sonic horns.
- BoilerA boiler is a vessel that converts fuel chemical energy into steam by heating water. Coal-fired, biomass, oil, gas and recovery boilers all foul; sonic horns clean heat-transfer surfaces.
- Sonic hornA sonic horn is a pneumatically-driven low-frequency sound emitter (typically 60–400 Hz at 140–180 dB SPL) used to dislodge particulate fouling from boilers, ESPs, baghouses and process vessels.