Modified Ergun Equation for Airflow through Packed Bed of Loblolly Pine Grinds

Abstract

Biomass grinds are typically non-spherical and are composed of particles with wide range of sizes that may vary up to 10× between the smallest and largest particle. Since fluidized bed system is often used to convert biomass into fuels, chemicals and products, the viscous and kinetic energy losses’ coefficients in the Ergun equation were determined to incorporate these unique characteristics of biomass grinds. The revised Ergun’s equation, validated using loblolly pine wood grinds, and data from other published work resulted in estimated Ergun’s K1 and K2 coefficients of 201 and 2.7 respectively. In addition, the relative mean deviation between experimental and predicted pressure drop was in general better with the modified Ergun’s equation when compared to the original Ergun’s equation.

Keywords

• biomass
• fluidization
• physical properties
• ergun equation
• pressure drop