Experimental research on shape and size distribution of biomass particle

Abstract Particle shape and particle size distribution are both important factors which could influence the physical properties of granular materials. Due to the high content of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, biomass material is anisotropic in spatial structure, which induces the evident difference in mechanical property in different directions. In this paper, we studied the particle shape of four kinds of biomass quantitatively by images analysis, and researched the particle size distributions by sieving method. The results showed that biomass particles have large aspect ratio which decreases with particle size. In the larger size, aspect ratios of different kinds of biomass are obviously different. But all decrease to 2.50 with the decrease of particle size. Moreover, the cumulative mass fraction has a distinct linear relationship with particle size, and different kinds of biomass particles are coincident well in size distributions.

[1]  G. Reddy,et al.  Effect of coal particle size distribution on agglomerate formation in a fluidized bed combustor (FBC) , 1999 .

[2]  Kurt A. Rosentrater,et al.  Flowability and handling characteristics of bulk solids and powders – a review with implications for DDGS , 2008 .

[3]  H. Kurz,et al.  The influence of particle size distribution on the flow properties of limestone powders , 1975 .

[4]  Fridrun Podczeck,et al.  The influence of particle size and shape on the angle of internal friction and the flow factor of unlubricated and lubricated powders , 1996 .

[5]  M. Kula,et al.  The influence of particle size distribution and operating conditions on the adsorption performance in fluidized beds. , 1997, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[6]  C. Scholz,et al.  Dilatancy in the fracture of crystalline rocks , 1966 .

[7]  A. Bridgwater.  The technical and economic feasibility of biomass gasification for power generation , 1995 .

[8]  M. J. Negro,et al.  Production of fuel ethanol from steam-explosion pretreated olive tree pruning , 2008 .

[9]  J. Lédé,et al.  Properties of bio-oils produced by biomass fast pyrolysis in a cyclone reactor , 2007 .

[10]  A. Demirbas,et al.  Potential applications of renewable energy sources, biomass combustion problems in boiler power systems and combustion related environmental issues , 2005 .

[11]  P. Horbaj.  Model of the kinetics of biomass pyrolysis. , 1997 .

[12]  Paul W. Cleary,et al.  The effect of particle shape on simple shear flows , 2008 .

[13]  J. Stražišar,et al.  Influence of Particle Size Distribution, Moisture Content, and Particle Shape on the Flow Properties of Bulk Solids , 2007 .

[14]  Henrik Thunman,et al.  Combustion of wood particles—a particle model for eulerian calculations , 2002 .

[15]  Mohammad Asadullah,et al.  Biomass Gasification to Hydrogen and Syngas at Low Temperature: Novel Catalytic System Using Fluidized-Bed Reactor , 2002 .

[16]  V. K. Srivastava,et al.  Studies on pyrolysis of a single biomass cylindrical pellet—kinetic and heat transfer effects , 1999 .

[17]  D. Robinson,et al.  Observations of the effects of particle shape and particle size distribution on avalanching of granular media , 2002 .

[18]  Arcady Dyskin,et al.  Mechanisms of brittle fracture of rock with pre-existing cracks in compression , 1994 .

[19]  T. Liliedahl,et al.  Heat transfer controlled pyrolysis kinetics of a biomass slab, rod or sphere , 1998 .

[20]  Larry L. Baxter,et al.  Effects of particle shape and size on devolatilization of biomass particle , 2010 .

[21]  M. Wey,et al.  The effect of particle size distribution on minimum fluidization velocity at high temperature , 2002 .

[22]  P. U. Foscolo,et al.  Catalytic gasification of biomass to produce hydrogen rich gas , 1998 .

[23]  G. N. Richards,et al.  Gasification of biomass chars in carbon dioxide: dependence of gasification rate on the indigenous metal content , 1990 .

[24]  Peter McKendry,et al.  Energy production from biomass (Part 3): Gasification technologies. , 2002, Bioresource technology.

[25]  J. J. Saastamoinen,et al.  Simplified model for calculation of devolatilization in fluidized beds , 2006 .