Abstract
Over 500 million tonnes of wheat straw are produced annually worldwide, the majority of which are burnt in the field causing significant environmental and health problems as well as serious traffic accidents in addition to loss of a valuable resource. Wheat straw is abundantly available and renewable and can be used as an energy source in gasification and combustion systems. Proper understanding of the physical properties of wheat straw is necessary for utilizing these materials in thermochemical conversion processes. Wheat straws were collected from Egypt (Africa), Canada (North America) and Guyana (South America) and ground using medium size Wiley Mill. The physical properties (moisture content, particle size, bulk density and porosity) of wheat straws were determined using standard procedures. The moisture contents of wheat straws were in the range of 5.02-7.79%. The majority (56.87-93.36%) of the wheat straws particles were less than 0.85 mm and the average particle sizes were in the range of 0.38-0.69 mm. The average bulk density of the wheat straws were in the range of 97.52-177.23kg m-3. A negative linear relationship between the bulk density and the average particle size was observed for the wheat straws. The average porosity of the wheat straws were in the range of 46.39-84.24%. A positive linear relationship between the porosity and the average particle size for the wheat straws was also observed. The wheat straw varieties collected from different countries had different physical properties due to variations in climatic conditions, soil type and used fertilizer. Also, significant differences were observed among the varieties grown under same climatic and cultivation conditions.
Highlights
Wheat is a staple food for 2.45 billion people (35 percent of the world’s population) and about 30 million people are engaged in wheat cultivation (Lumpkin, 2011)
The moisture contents of wheat straws were in the range of 5.02-7.79%
The majority (56.87-93.36%) of the wheat straws particles were less than 0.85 mm and the average particle sizes were in the range of 0.38-0.69 mm
Summary
Wheat is a staple food for 2.45 billion people (35 percent of the world’s population) and about 30 million people are engaged in wheat cultivation (Lumpkin, 2011). The world population increased from 6.16 to 6.92 billion (12.34% increase) during the period of 2001-2011 (USCB, 2012) and the global wheat production fluctuated during the same period and lacked behind the population growth, it increased from 589.3 to 694.5 million tonnes (17.84% increase) as shown in Fig. 1 (FAO, 2011). Egypt and Guyana (countries used in this study) ranked 6th, 13th and 100th of the global production, respectively. The per capita wheat production, wheat consumption and wheat exports of the top 10 counties are presented, respectively The per capita wheat production, wheat consumption and wheat exports of the top 10 counties are presented in Fig. 2-4, respectively
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