Moisture Adsorption Characteristics of Various Biomasses

Abstract

Lignocellulosic materials are considered to be an alternative energy source for the bioethanol industry to reduce the use of fossil fuels. Biomass is found to offer an abundant and inexpensive source of renewable resources. Moisture adsorption of various biomasses is important because they are stored prior to use, awareness of the moisture content helps in preventing fungus and mold growth. Therefore, the objective of this study was to understand the moisture adsorption properties of various biomasses such as corn stover, big blue stem, switchgrass, and prairie cord grass at various temperatures from 20 to 40C and relative humidities ranging from 10 to 90%. Saturated salt solutions were used to create the desired environment for various relative humidities. The results showed that there was a relative increase in the moisture content as the exposure time increases and was constant after a certain period of time. Moisture adsorption characteristics were found to decrease and increase with corresponding increase in temperature and relative humidities, respectively. Corn stover was found to possess the highest water adsorption characteristics, where as prairie cord grass and big blue stem were found to possess the lowest water adsorption behaviors at lowest and highest RH conditions, respectively. Experimental data was modeled using Peleg, Pilosof, and Singh-Kulshrestha models and the suitability of these models to predict moisture adsorption characteristics were studied. The results showed that the Peleg and Pilosof models were found to be a better fit for the experimental moisture adsorption data collected in the current study.