Numerical Study of the Pyrolysis of Wood Chips for Biocharcoal Production: Influence of Chips Geometry and Initial Moisture Content
Ablain Tagne Tagne,
Merlin Simo-Tagne,
Razika Kharchi,
Macmanus Chinenye Ndukwu,
Nidhoim Assoumani,
Aboubakar Compaoré,
Lyes Bennamoun,
Yann Rogaume,
André Zoulalian
Affiliations
Ablain Tagne Tagne
Faculty of Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé P.O. Box 812, Cameroon
Merlin Simo-Tagne
Team of Modeling and Simulation in Mechanics and Energetic, Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University, Av Ibn Battouta, P.O. Box 1014, Rabat 10000, Morocco
Razika Kharchi
Centre de Développement des Energies Renouvelables, CDER, P.O. Box 62, Alger 16340, Algeria
Macmanus Chinenye Ndukwu
Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umuahia P.M.B. 7267, Nigeria
Nidhoim Assoumani
Team of Modeling and Simulation in Mechanics and Energetic, Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University, Av Ibn Battouta, P.O. Box 1014, Rabat 10000, Morocco
Aboubakar Compaoré
Laboratoire de Physique et de Chimie de l’Environnement (LPCE), Ecole Doctorale Sciences et Technologie (ED-ST), Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo, Ouagadougou 03 BP 7021, Burkina Faso
Lyes Bennamoun
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of New Brunswick, P.O. Box 4400, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, Canada
Yann Rogaume
INRAE, LERMAB, ERBE-F, University of Lorraine, 27 Rue Philippe Seguin, CS 60036, 88026 Epinal, France
André Zoulalian
INRAE, LERMAB, ERBE, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, University of Lorraine, P.O. Box 70239, 54506 Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France
This study presents the modeling of wood chips pyrolysis, considering the initial moisture content and taking into account the near-parallelepiped geometry of common wood chips, which is not available among the simulated shapes of wood in the literature. The goal is to extend the research and generate useful data on how different varieties of shapes and initial moisture contents influence wood chips pyrolysis. The effects of temperature and thickness variation on the pressure of volatile products, core temperature, and densities of pyrolysis products were studied. The model was validated with the mass fraction of experimental data obtained from beechwood chips with a density of 700 kg/m3 and thickness of 10 mm–30 mm at 973.15 K–1273.15 K. The mean absolute error (MAE) and mean relative error (MRE) values were, respectively, 0.066 and 10.376% at 973.15 K, and 0.065 and 22.632% at 1273.15 K. High temperature favored the rate of biocharcoal production from the surface to the core, though part of the biocharcoal was lost at the surface.
