Page 213 - AJWEP-22-4

Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution. Vol. 22, No. 4 (2025), pp. 205-218.
doi: 10.36922/AJWEP025240193

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Porosity-driven combustion behavior in fluffy biomass
waste: Toward safer and smarter energy utilization

Zhiyuan Ma , Zhuoying Chen , Qingchun Wang , Xiangyue Yuan* ,
and Zhongjia Chen

Biomass Laboratory, School of Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
*Corresponding author: Xiangyue Yuan (yuanxiangyue@bjfu.edu.cn)

Received: June 10, 2025; 1st revised: July 4, 2025; 2nd revised: July 9, 2025; Accepted: July 10, 2025;
Published online: July 31, 2025

Abstract: Biomass fractions within municipal solid waste present significant fire hazards and environmental
pollution risks, amplified by their distinct physical architectures. Discarded cotton wadding and poplar fluff,
characterized by porous, fluffy morphologies and high specific surface areas, readily form combustible air-
premixed systems during storage and transport, posing risks of uncontrolled fires and associated pollutant release.
Understanding the combustion kinetics of such waste streams is critical not only for fire safety but also for assessing
their potential for efficient energy conversion and minimizing incomplete combustion emissions. This study
focused on a representative elongated fibrous biomass: waste cotton floc. By integrating microscopic structural
characterization with theoretical combustion modeling, we systematically uncovered the unique deflagration
behavior and latent hazards associated with this class of materials, linking them to potential environmental impacts.
A custom setup with high-speed imaging quantified flame spread (1.5 m/s in confined conditions vs. 0.8 m/s in open
conditions) and reaction times. Confined burning, which mimics common waste accumulation scenarios, such as
containers or piles, displayed 85% faster propagation but lower combustion efficiency (stabilizing at ~20% with
higher fuel loads) and ultra-short combustion durations (0.2 s at peak loading); these conditions favor incomplete
combustion and elevated pollutant generation. The proposed structural fuel theory identified porosity as the key
control parameter, linking fiber network topology to combustion dynamics and pollutant formation potential.
These insights are vital for advancing strategies to mitigate combustion-related pollution events, optimize waste
biomass energy recovery efficiency, and enhance fire safety protocols within the waste management sector to
protect environmental quality.

Keywords: Biomass waste; Biomass energy; Long fibers; Porosity; Deflagration

1. Introduction through photosynthesis and subsequently transformed
into liquid biofuels, solid biochar, and gaseous biogas
The unsustainable exploitation of fossil fuels accelerates through thermochemical or biochemical pathways.
2-4
resource depletion and intensifies climate change through Such systems are critical to supporting global
greenhouse gas emissions and persistent pollutant decarbonization efforts and may enable transitions to
3
accumulation. As a promising alternative, bioenergy carbon-negative power systems when integrated with
1
systems enable solar energy to be stored in biomass carbon capture and storage technologies. 2

Volume 22 Issue 4 (2025) 205 doi: 10.36922/AJWEP025240193