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Journal of Wood Science

Official Journal of the Japan Wood Research Society

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Inorganic elements in typical Japanese trees for woody biomass fuel

Journal of Wood Science volume 56, pages 53–63 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

The inorganic element contents of trees were measured to evaluate the safety of using wood biomass as thermal power generation fuel. Twelve species of typical conifer trees and 17 species of typical broad-leaved trees in Japan plus 9 species of commonly imported trees were selected and analyzed for the main inorganic elements and several trace elements that are potentially harmful in combustion ash. The ash content in bark, especially in the inner bark, was higher than that in wood, but the highest concentration was in the leaves. In almost all parts of the trees, the order of inorganic element concentration was calcium ≥ potassium ≥ magnesium ≥ sulfur ≥ phosphorous. Among the trace elements, the boron content was high and the mercury content was recorded as being high in conifer bark.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Science Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, 1646 Abiko, Abiko, Chiba, 270-1194, Japan

    Yooko Tsuchiya & Hisashi Shimogaki

  2. Department of Wood Properties, Forestry and Forest Research Institute, Ibaraki, 305-8686, Japan

    Hisashi Abe & Akira Kagawa

Authors
  1. Yooko Tsuchiya
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  2. Hisashi Shimogaki
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  3. Hisashi Abe
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  4. Akira Kagawa
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Correspondence to Yooko Tsuchiya.

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Tsuchiya, Y., Shimogaki, H., Abe, H. et al. Inorganic elements in typical Japanese trees for woody biomass fuel. J Wood Sci 56, 53–63 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10086-009-1055-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10086-009-1055-z

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