Numerical Investigation on Flowability of Pulverized Biomass Using the Swelling Bed Model

Numerical investigations on the flowability of pulverized biomass are crucial for agriculture, aiding in optimizing biomass use, crop residue management, soil health improvement, and environmental impact mitigation. Rising interest in biomass and conversion processes necessitates deeper property und...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mateusz Przywara, Regina Lech-Przywara, Wojciech Zapała
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-05-01
Series:AgriEngineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2624-7402/6/2/78
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850196121846022144
author Mateusz Przywara
Regina Lech-Przywara
Wojciech Zapała
author_facet Mateusz Przywara
Regina Lech-Przywara
Wojciech Zapała
author_sort Mateusz Przywara
collection DOAJ
description Numerical investigations on the flowability of pulverized biomass are crucial for agriculture, aiding in optimizing biomass use, crop residue management, soil health improvement, and environmental impact mitigation. Rising interest in biomass and conversion processes necessitates deeper property understanding and technological process optimization. Moisture content is a key parameter influencing biomass quality. In this paper, computer simulations of shear tests depending on the moisture content using the discrete element method were carried out and compared with experimental results. An experimental study and modeling for Jenike’s direct shearing apparatus was carried out. A swelling bed model was proposed to account for the effect of moisture. The swelling bed model assumed an increase in biomass grain vorticity proportional to the moisture content. The model was solved using the discrete element method (DEM). The model considers the effect of moisture on the values of Young’s and Kirchoff’s moduli for biomass grains. The model assumed that moisture is not present in surface form, the total amount of moisture is absorbed into the interior of the material grains, and the volume of a single grain increases linearly with an increase in the volume of the absorbed moisture. The tested materials were pulverized sunflower husks, apple pomace, distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), meat and bone meal (MBM), and sawdust. Samples with moisture contents of 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% were tested. The best agreement of the model with the experimental data was observed for the most absorbent materials in which moisture was not present in surface form, such as apple pomace, DDGS, and sawdust. Research data are important for the proper design of biomass storage, transportation equipment, and utilization as feedstock for bioenergy production or soil enrichment.
format Article
id doaj-art-8b6905e2c64f4da8b2cc15c834703d01
institution OA Journals
issn 2624-7402
language English
publishDate 2024-05-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series AgriEngineering
spelling doaj-art-8b6905e2c64f4da8b2cc15c834703d012025-08-20T02:13:32ZengMDPI AGAgriEngineering2624-74022024-05-01621349136410.3390/agriengineering6020078Numerical Investigation on Flowability of Pulverized Biomass Using the Swelling Bed ModelMateusz Przywara0Regina Lech-Przywara1Wojciech Zapała2Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Chemical Faculty, Rzeszów University of Technology, Powstańców Warszawy 6, 35-959 Rzeszów, PolandDoctoral School of the Rzeszów, University of Technology, Powstańców Warszawy 12, 35-959 Rzeszów, PolandDepartment of Chemical and Process Engineering, Chemical Faculty, Rzeszów University of Technology, Powstańców Warszawy 6, 35-959 Rzeszów, PolandNumerical investigations on the flowability of pulverized biomass are crucial for agriculture, aiding in optimizing biomass use, crop residue management, soil health improvement, and environmental impact mitigation. Rising interest in biomass and conversion processes necessitates deeper property understanding and technological process optimization. Moisture content is a key parameter influencing biomass quality. In this paper, computer simulations of shear tests depending on the moisture content using the discrete element method were carried out and compared with experimental results. An experimental study and modeling for Jenike’s direct shearing apparatus was carried out. A swelling bed model was proposed to account for the effect of moisture. The swelling bed model assumed an increase in biomass grain vorticity proportional to the moisture content. The model was solved using the discrete element method (DEM). The model considers the effect of moisture on the values of Young’s and Kirchoff’s moduli for biomass grains. The model assumed that moisture is not present in surface form, the total amount of moisture is absorbed into the interior of the material grains, and the volume of a single grain increases linearly with an increase in the volume of the absorbed moisture. The tested materials were pulverized sunflower husks, apple pomace, distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), meat and bone meal (MBM), and sawdust. Samples with moisture contents of 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% were tested. The best agreement of the model with the experimental data was observed for the most absorbent materials in which moisture was not present in surface form, such as apple pomace, DDGS, and sawdust. Research data are important for the proper design of biomass storage, transportation equipment, and utilization as feedstock for bioenergy production or soil enrichment.https://www.mdpi.com/2624-7402/6/2/78biomassflowabilitydiscrete element methodDDGSmeat and bone mealsawdust
spellingShingle Mateusz Przywara
Regina Lech-Przywara
Wojciech Zapała
Numerical Investigation on Flowability of Pulverized Biomass Using the Swelling Bed Model
AgriEngineering
biomass
flowability
discrete element method
DDGS
meat and bone meal
sawdust
title Numerical Investigation on Flowability of Pulverized Biomass Using the Swelling Bed Model
title_full Numerical Investigation on Flowability of Pulverized Biomass Using the Swelling Bed Model
title_fullStr Numerical Investigation on Flowability of Pulverized Biomass Using the Swelling Bed Model
title_full_unstemmed Numerical Investigation on Flowability of Pulverized Biomass Using the Swelling Bed Model
title_short Numerical Investigation on Flowability of Pulverized Biomass Using the Swelling Bed Model
title_sort numerical investigation on flowability of pulverized biomass using the swelling bed model
topic biomass
flowability
discrete element method
DDGS
meat and bone meal
sawdust
url https://www.mdpi.com/2624-7402/6/2/78
work_keys_str_mv AT mateuszprzywara numericalinvestigationonflowabilityofpulverizedbiomassusingtheswellingbedmodel
AT reginalechprzywara numericalinvestigationonflowabilityofpulverizedbiomassusingtheswellingbedmodel
AT wojciechzapała numericalinvestigationonflowabilityofpulverizedbiomassusingtheswellingbedmodel