Flow and Arching of Biomass Particles in Wedge-Shaped Hoppers

Lu, Yimin; Jin, Wencheng; Klinger, Jordan L.; Dai, Sheng

doi:10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c05628

Flow and Arching of Biomass Particles in Wedge-Shaped Hoppers

Journal Article · Wed Oct 27 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c05628· OSTI ID:1897969

Lu, Yimin ^[1]; ^[2]; ^[2]; ^[3]

Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)
Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)

Poor understanding of the flow behavior of granular biomass material poses great challenges for the bioenergy industry, as the equipment functioning time is significantly reduced by handling issues like screw feeder clogging and hopper arching. In this work, the flow behavior of loblolly pine chips, including the mass flow rate and the critical outlet width, in a wedge-shaped hopper is investigated by combining physical experiments and numerical simulations. Comprehensive characterization of the flow response affected by the two material attributes (initial packing, particle density) and the three operational parameters (hopper outlet width, hopper inclination, and surcharge) is conducted. The results show that the hopper outlet width linearly controls the mass flow rate while the hopper inclination angle controls the critical outlet size. The packing determines whether the flow is smooth or surging, and the surcharge-induced compaction creates flow impedance. The magnitude of these influences varies from a slender hopper with a low inclination angle to a flat-bottom silo. These findings provide guidance for hopper operation in the material handling industry and shed light on the construction of a novel design method for material handling equipment in biorefineries.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Building Technologies Office

Grant/Contract Number:: AC07-05ID14517

OSTI ID:: 1897969

Report Number(s):: INL/JOU-21-64062-Rev000

Journal Information:: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Journal Name: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Journal Issue: 45 Vol. 9; ISSN 2168-0485

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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