title: Fluid mechanics relevant to flow through pretreatment of cellulosic biomass.
abstract: The present study investigates fluid mechanical properties of cellulosic feedstocks relevant to flow through (FT) pretreatment for biological conversion of cellulosic biomass. The results inform identifying conditions for which FT pretreatment can be implemented in a practical context. Measurements of pressure drop across packed beds, viscous compaction and water absorption are reported for milled and not milled sugarcane bagasse, switchgrass and poplar, and important factors impacting viscous flow are deduced. Using biomass knife-milled to pass through a 2mm sieve, the observed pressure drop was highest for bagasse, intermediate for switchgrass and lowest for poplar. The highest pressure drop was associated with the presence of more fine particles, greater viscous compaction and the degree of water absorption. Using bagasse without particle size reduction, the instability of the reactor during pretreatment above 140kg/m(3) sets an upper bound on the allowable concentration for continuous stable flow.
authors.affiliation: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, United States; DOE BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, United States. Electronic address: Veronique.Archambault-Leger@Dartmouth.edu.
authors.forename: Véronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Archambault-Léger
authors.affiliation: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, United States; DOE BioEnergy Science Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, United States; Mascoma Corporation, Lebanon, NH 03766, United States. Electronic address: Lee.R.Lynd@Dartmouth.edu.
authors.forename: Lee R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Lynd
mesh_terms: D065966:Absorption, Physicochemical; D018533:Biomass; D019149:Bioreactors; D002482:Cellulose / Q000378:metabolism*; D010316:Particle Size; D011312:Pressure; D012212:Rheology; D013997:Time Factors; D014783:Viscosity; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D014867:Water; D002482:Cellulose
keywords: Bagasse; Flow through; Fluid mechanics; Pressure drop; Pretreatment