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Development of Size Reduction Equations for Calculating Energy Input for Grinding Lignocellulosic Particles

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

Citation:  Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 29(1): 93-100. (doi: 10.13031/2013.42523) @2013
Authors:   L.J. Naimi, S. Sokhansanj, X. Bi, C. J. Lim, A. R. Womac, A. K. Lau, S. Melin
Keywords:   Grinding, Size reduction, Rittinger, Bond, Kick, Energy consumption, Specific energy consumption, Particle size, Biomass

Size reduction is an essential and often first operation in preparing biomass for subsequent operations. Size reduction is energy intensive especially for cases where the target particle is small and precise in dimension. Mineral and food industries have developed empirical and semi-empirical equations to calculate energy input for grinding. It is uncertain if these equations can be applied to fibrous biomass. This research presents laboratory grinding data to evaluate the applicability of a set of generalized industrial-size reduction equations to the grinding of lignocellulose biomass. Batches of Douglas-fir (a soft wood) and hybrid willow (a hard wood) particles conditioned to 11.5% moisture content were ground in a rotary knife mill. Input and output particle sizes and the level of energy used to grind the material were acquired electronically and recorded. Specific grinding energy (J/g) was correlated with size parameters of three popular industrial equations: Kick, Rittinger, and Bond. All three equations fitted to the experimental data linearly but the best fitted lines did not go through the origin, i.e. the fitted lines had a slope and intercept. Rittinger equation had the best fit, followed by Bond equation and Kick equation.

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