Computational assessment of biomass dust explosions in the 20L sphere
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Published version
Author(s)
Islas, Alain
Fernandez, Andres Rodriguez
Betegon, Covadonga
Martinez-Paneda, Emilio
Pandal, Adrian
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Determination of the explosion severity parameters of biomass is crucial for the safety management and dust explosion risk assessment of biomass-processing industries. These are commonly determined following experimental tests in the 20L sphere according to the international standards. Recently, CFD simulations have emerged as a reliable alternative to predict the explosion behavior with good accuracy and reduced labor and capital. In this work, numerical simulations of biomass dust explosions are conducted with the open-source CFD code OpenFOAM. The multi-phase (gas-solid) flow is treated in an Eulerian-Lagrangian framework, using a two-way coupling regime and considering the reactions of biomass conversion (moisture evaporation, devolatilization, and char oxidation), the combustion of volatile gases, and convective and radiative heat transfer. The model is validated with pressure-time and concentration-dependent experimental measurements of two biomass samples. Results suggest that the characteristics of the cold-flow (ı.e., turbulence levels, actual dust concentration, spatial distribution of the dust cloud, and turbophoresis effect) govern the course of the explosion process, and depend strongly on particle size, dust concentration, and ignition delay time effects. These findings may be relevant in the design of better dust explosion testing devices and to the reexamination of the guidelines for the operation of the experiment. Finally, a thorough discussion on the explosion pressures, degree of biomass conversion, flame temperature, flame propagation patterns, and the dust agglomeration effect is presented.
Date Issued
2022-09-01
Date Acceptance
2022-07-14
Citation
Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 2022, 165, pp.791-814
ISSN
0263-8762
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
791
End Page
814
Journal / Book Title
Process Safety and Environmental Protection
Volume
165
Copyright Statement
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Institution of Chemical Engineers. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Identifier
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2022.07.029
Subjects
Science & Technology
Technology
Engineering, Environmental
Engineering, Chemical
Engineering
Dust explosions
Biomass
CFD
OpenFOAM
OXY-FUEL COMBUSTION
PULVERIZED BIOMASS
COAL-DUST
DEVOLATILIZATION KINETICS
DEFLAGRATION INDEX
RADIATIVE-TRANSFER
CFD SIMULATIONS
HYBRID MIXTURES
IGNITION DELAY
PARTICLE-SIZE
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2022-07-18