Atmosphere-dependent combustion of Ganoderma lucidum biomass toward its enhanced transformability into green energy

Globally, the circular efficiency of biomass resources has become a priority due to the depletion and negative environmental impacts of fossil fuels. This study aimed to quantify the atmosphere-dependent combustion of Ganoderma lucidum (GL) biomass and its thermodynamic and kinetic parameters toward enhancing its circularity and transformability characteristics. The GL combustion occurred in the three stages of moisture removal, volatile release, and coke combustion. Combustion performance characteristics were more favorable in the N₂/O₂ atmosphere than in the CO₂/O₂ atmosphere under the same heating rates. The rising heating rate facilitated the release of volatiles. According to the model-free methods of Ozawa-Flynn-Wall and Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose, the activation energies essential for the primary reaction were 283.09 kJ/mol and 288.28 kJ/mol in the N₂/O₂ atmosphere and 233.09 kJ/mol and 235.64 kJ/mol in the CO₂/O₂ atmosphere. The gaseous products of the GL combustion included CH₄, H₂O, C = O, CO, CO₂, NH₃, C = C, and C-O(H). Ash prepared in both atmospheres exhibited a tendency for slag formation, with oxy-fuel combustion lowering its risk. This study thus provides a theoretical and practical basis for transforming GL residues into a sustainable energy source.