Analytical Model for Predicting the Heat Loss Effect on the Pyrolysis of Biomass Particles

Abstract

This paper presents the combined influence of heat-loss and radiation on the pyrolysis of biomass particles by considering the structure of one-dimensional, laminar and steady state flame propagation in uniformly premixed wood particles. The assumed flame structure consists of a broad preheat-vaporization zone where the rate of gas-phase chemical reaction is small, a thin reaction zone composed of three regions: gas, tar and char combustion where convection and the vaporization rate of the fuel particles are small, and a broad convection zone. The analysis is performed in the asymptotic limit, where the value of the characteristic Zeldovich number is large and the equivalence ratio is larger than unity (i.e. φu ≥ 1). The principal attention is made on the determination of a non-linear burning velocity correlation. Consequently, the impacts of radiation, heat loss and particle size as the determining factors on the flame temperature and burning velocity of biomass particles are declared in this research.