HICK. (Horizontal Industrial Combustion Kiln)

HICK (Horizontal Industrial Combustion Kiln) is a horizontal ceramic lined kiln for combustion investigations of various powder (such as wood powder), liquid (such as bio-oil) and gaseous (such as hydrogen) fuels. The HICK is one of RISE's most-used facilites. Typical applications for customers are investigating new types of biofuel that can replace fossil fuels. Some customer investigate renewable fuels combined with fossil fuels with the ambition of being able to phase out the fossil fuel component of the fuel mix. The HICK has a decisive role in Sweden's and the world's work with the transformation to a fossil-free society.

One of the HICK's advantages is that it is flexible--it can be configured or rebuilt for different types of fuels and for different types of analyses. With an output of up to 150 kW, it is also large enough to simulate large-scale industrial combustion processes. You can for example preheat the combustion air to mimic industrial applications. It is even possible to evaluate the combustion of several fuels simultaneously feeding the kiln. The HICK is equipped with many different kiln access points  where probes can be installed, for example coating probes to check ash formation or study corrosion, erosion and coatings on the furnace's construction materials.

Different types of fuels that have been researched in HICK::

• Wood powder
• Pyrolysis oil
• Bio-Oil
• Hydrogen
• Rice husks 
• Brewer's spent grain
• Iron powder
• Coal powder

Different types of analyses that have been performed

• Combustion characteristics
• Ash composition
• Flue gas characterization
• Flue gas as a drying media
• Deposits on refractory lining
• Precipitation of inorganics
• Mass and energy balance