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Mechanical Properties of Selected Biomass Grinds

Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org

Citation:  Paper number  066175,  2006 ASAE Annual Meeting . @2006
Authors:   Mark Shaw, Lope Tabil
Keywords:   Friction, adhesion, relaxation, asymptotic modulus, calorific value, peat moss, wheat straw, oat hulls, flax shives

Feasible use of biomass for chemical and energy production is highly dependent on its handling characteristics. Often, densification processes are required to improve transportation and storage properties and improve the cost of low bulk density feedstocks. Knowledge of mechanical properties of biomass feedstocks is essential before efficient designs of compression and densification systems can be achieved. Mechanical properties such as coefficient of wall friction, adhesion coefficient, and asymptotic modulus were evaluated for four biomass grinds (peat moss, wheat straw, oat hulls, and flax shives). Physical and chemical properties were also determined, along with gross calorific value. Of the four samples, peat moss had the highest coefficient of wall friction (0.68) on a mild steel plate, and flax shives had the highest coefficient of adhesion (16.203 kPa). Peat moss had the highest asymptotic modulus values for preset loads of 2000, 3000, 4000, and 4400 N. Flax shives were also found to have the highest gross calorific value (17.71 MJ/kg).