Tag Archives: miscanthus

1191–1198 T. Schnabel, H. Huber, A. Petutschnigg and A. Jäger
Analysis of plant materials pre-treated by steam explosion technology for their usability as insulating materials
Abstract |

Analysis of plant materials pre-treated by steam explosion technology for their usability as insulating materials

T. Schnabel¹*, H. Huber¹, A. Petutschnigg¹² and A. Jäger³

¹Salzburg University of Applied Sciences. Department of Forest Products Technology & Timber Constructions. Marktstraße 136a, AT5431 Kuchl, Austria
²BOKU University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz-Straße 24, AT3430 Tulln, Austria
³University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Bio & Environmental Technology, Stelzhamerstr. 23, AT4600 Wels, Austria
*Correspondence: thomas.schnabel@fh-salzburg.ac.at

Abstract:

Raw materials of annual plants fibres are not easily usable for industrial production applications. Pre-treatment of the annual plant fibres is necessary to increase the homogeneity of the material and to improve the material properties. This study deals with the influence of steam explosion treatment on the quality of annual plant fibres used as insulating material.
Maize and wheat straw were selected for production of insulating panels. To clarify the changes within the structure of the plants due to the pre-treatment process material analysis was carried out using FT-IR spectroscopy and raster electron microscope. Furthermore, the bulk density and the thermal conductivity were analysed as important values for insulating materials.
The results showed that the pre-treatment process homogenizes the materials and the processes could be used for the production of bulk insulation.

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155–164 G. Karráa, T. Ivanova, M. Kolarikova, P. Hutla and V. Krepl
Using of high-speed mills for biomass disintegration
Abstract |

Using of high-speed mills for biomass disintegration

G. Karráa¹, T. Ivanova¹*, M. Kolarikova¹, P. Hutla² and V. Krepl¹

¹Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Department of Sustainable Technologies, Kamýcká 129, CZ165 21 Prague 6, Czech Republic
²Research Institute of Agricultural Engineering, p.r.i., Drnovská 509, CZ161 01 Prague 6, Czech Republic
*Correspondence: ivanova@ftz.czu.cz

Abstract:

The need for mechanical disintegration of biomass is very current topic with regard to the requirements of an agrarian sector, beside the importance of a material’s moisture content reduction to be used in further applications. The drawbacks of commonly applied devices are the limited use of moist biomass and high energy consumption for disintegration. In collaboration with LAVARIS company, there were tested two high-speed mills LAV 400/1R with single rotor (used for a first milling) and LAV 300/2R with double rotors (used for a second milling), which were primarily designed for crushing of concrete, rubber and construction waste. The goal of the new technical solution was a disintegration of biomass on example of pine sawdust and miscanthus together with examination of simultaneous drying in order to achieve a desired fraction (particle size) and moisture content of biomass material. Experimental tests on high-speed mills have shown the following results: in case of pine sawdust about 98% of output particle size after passing through the first and second milling was smaller than 1.5 mm, and smaller than 1 mm for miscanthus (sieve analysis method was used for determination), i.e. significant reduction was achieved comparing to initial particle size. Moisture content of the materials after disintegration (first and second) decreased from 37.08% to 8.55% for pine sawdust and from 24.43% to 7.19% for miscanthus. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the mechanical disintegration of biomass by high-speed mills has a great potential to become an effective part of raw materials’ pre-treatment technology, not only in agriculture, but also in production of different types of biofuels.

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