TY - GEN
T1 - Design and instrumentation of a large column container to study the off-gassing, gas stratification and physical properties of wood pellets during storage
AU - Shankar, Tumuluru Jaya
AU - Sokhansanj, Shahab
AU - Lim, Jim
AU - Bi, Tony
AU - Melin, Staffan
AU - Swaan, John
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Wood pellets when stored in warehouses results in emission of off-gasses like CO, CO2 and CH4 and simultaneously leads to depletion of O2 in the headspace. The emissions of these gases are potentially dangerous for pellet warehouse workers and can result in fatal accidents. To understand the emission of these gases under a real time scenario a large column container was designed, fabricated and installed in the Clean Energy Research Center, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of British Columbia, Canada. The dimensions of the container are 15′ in length and 4′ in diameter. The container was further insulated to prevent any loss of heat during the storage studies. Thirty thermocouple points and seven pressure transducers have been arranged at different levels of the container to record the temperature and pressure developed during the storage studies. The temperature and pressure data will help to understand the temperature distribution and pressure build up in the container due to stratification of gases. Gas sampling and pellet sampling ports are arranged to at different levels of the container to collect off-gases and pellets during storage studies. The off-gases collected will be further analyzed for their composition like CO, CO2 and CH4 and also for O2 concentration in the container which will help to understand the gas stratification during storage of wood pellets. The pellets collected during the storage period will be further studied to understand the changes in the physical properties like moisture content, length, diameter, durability, bulk density, pellet density, ash content and calorific value. Experiments will be conducted initially in a closed environment and latter with heating and ventilation. The date from the large column container will help to understand and design proper ventilation system for safe storage of wood pellets.
AB - Wood pellets when stored in warehouses results in emission of off-gasses like CO, CO2 and CH4 and simultaneously leads to depletion of O2 in the headspace. The emissions of these gases are potentially dangerous for pellet warehouse workers and can result in fatal accidents. To understand the emission of these gases under a real time scenario a large column container was designed, fabricated and installed in the Clean Energy Research Center, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of British Columbia, Canada. The dimensions of the container are 15′ in length and 4′ in diameter. The container was further insulated to prevent any loss of heat during the storage studies. Thirty thermocouple points and seven pressure transducers have been arranged at different levels of the container to record the temperature and pressure developed during the storage studies. The temperature and pressure data will help to understand the temperature distribution and pressure build up in the container due to stratification of gases. Gas sampling and pellet sampling ports are arranged to at different levels of the container to collect off-gases and pellets during storage studies. The off-gases collected will be further analyzed for their composition like CO, CO2 and CH4 and also for O2 concentration in the container which will help to understand the gas stratification during storage of wood pellets. The pellets collected during the storage period will be further studied to understand the changes in the physical properties like moisture content, length, diameter, durability, bulk density, pellet density, ash content and calorific value. Experiments will be conducted initially in a closed environment and latter with heating and ventilation. The date from the large column container will help to understand and design proper ventilation system for safe storage of wood pellets.
KW - Bulk density
KW - Durability index
KW - Gas chromatography
KW - Off-gas
KW - Pellet density
KW - Wood pellets
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/77649096233
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:77649096233
SN - 9781615673629
T3 - American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting 2009, ASABE 2009
SP - 4424
EP - 4441
BT - American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting 2009, ASABE 2009
T2 - American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting 2009
Y2 - 21 June 2009 through 24 June 2009
ER -