Year: 2026 | Month: May | Volume: 13 | Issue: 5 | Pages: 19-38
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20260503
Coal-Biomass Cofiring Beyond Feasibility: Compatibility Mapping, Ash Chemistry, Corrosion Control, and Digital Plant Optimization: A Literature Review
Romi Djafar1, Weni J.A. Musa2, Marike Mahmud3
1Doctoral Program in Environmental Science, Universitas Negeri Gorontalo, Gorontalo, Indonesia
2,3Postgraduate Program, Universitas Negeri Gorontalo, Gorontalo, Indonesia
Corresponding Author: Romi Djafar
ABSTRACT
Coal-biomass cofiring is no longer best understood as a simple fuel-substitution measure; it has become a multi-criteria engineering problem in which feedstock compatibility, ash chemistry, combustion dynamics, corrosion, digital control, logistics, and environmental accounting interact across scales. Building upon recent studies on coal-biomass cofiring, this article develops a publication-oriented synthesis of the current evidence base with emphasis on advances reported between 2020 and 2026. The review shows that the decisive question is not whether cofiring can reduce fossil dependence, but under what coal-biomass combinations, blending windows, and operating conditions those benefits can be realized without unacceptable penalties in slagging, fouling, corrosion, derating, or cost. Across the new literature, several important shifts are evident: compatibility screening is moving from generic biomass categories toward species- and residue-specific assessment; ash-risk diagnosis is increasingly based on integrated indices, thermodynamic modeling, and post-combustion characterization; digital tools such as flame-image convolutional neural networks and recurrent-neural-network optimization are entering plant practice; and environmental evaluation is expanding from stack emissions to life-cycle and circular-economy perspectives. The updated evidence further shows that some biomasses improve ash behavior or emissions, whereas others promote low-melting phases, chlorine-driven corrosion, unstable milling, or moisture-related derating. This review organizes the available studies into a decision framework for fuel qualification, blend-ratio selection, ash and corrosion management, and plant-level optimization. It argues that the next phase of cofiring research should move toward compatibility-based fuel approval, dynamic and data-rich control, and integrated metrics that jointly assess emissions, reliability, economics, and downstream ash utilization.
Keywords: coal-biomass cofiring; ash chemistry; slagging and fouling; boiler corrosion; digital combustion optimization; pulverized coal-fired power plants; decarbonization transition
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