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Qualitative assessment of heavy metals sources in pitcoal/biomass briquettes combustion using multivariate statistical analysis

T. FRENTIU1, M. PONTA1, A. MIHALTAN2, E. CORDOS2, M. FRENTIU2, G. LAZAROIU3, L. TRAISTA4, R. INDRIES4

Affiliation

  1. Babes-Bolyai University, Department of Chemistry, Arany Janos 11, 400028 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
  2. National Institute for Research and Development of Optoelectronics Bucharest, Research Institute of Analytical Instrumentation, Donath 67, 400293 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
  3. University Politehnica of Bucharest Department of Electrical Engineering, Splaiul Independetei 313, 060042 Bucharest, Romania
  4. University of Petrosani, Universitatii Street 20, 332006 Petrosani, Romania

Abstract

The study based on multivariate statistical approach revealed new information about source of elements during the combustion of pitcoal/biomass(sawdust) briquettes. The Principal Components Analysis showed that the pattern of total element contents was defined by four latent factors explaining more than 92 % of the total variance of the system. According to their source these factors were associated to species coming from: sedimentary minerals from pitcoal (33.9%); biomass (37.8%); silicates from pitcoal (11.5%); reducible species from pitcoal (9.2 %). Four latent factors with variance over 85 % explained the sources of water available species: free metal ions (32.5 %); adsorbed on secondary Al minerals (24.4 %); reducible species retained on oxides (14.5%); biomass (14.2 %). The contribution of variance to element pattern was higher from pitcoal than biomass, since the latent factors attributed to pitcoal explained 54.6% of the variance for the total and 71.4% for the water leachable content, respectively. Results were confirmed by the cluster analysis that highlighted three groups of elements according to their affinities as well as samples clustering according to their nature. The Pearson’s positive correlations among Fe and Al and most of trace elements attested their natural origin in both pitcoal and biomass, free from anthropogenic input..

Keywords

Pitcoal/biomass briquettes, Principal components analysis, Cluster analysis, Pearson’s correlation.

Submitted at: March 5, 2009
Accepted at: May 28, 2009

Citation

T. FRENTIU, M. PONTA, A. MIHALTAN, E. CORDOS, M. FRENTIU, G. LAZAROIU, L. TRAISTA, R. INDRIES, Qualitative assessment of heavy metals sources in pitcoal/biomass briquettes combustion using multivariate statistical analysis, Journal of Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials Vol. 11, Iss. 5, pp. 697-710 (2009)