Some experimental observations on the pressure driven flow of biomass suspensions

M. Massoudi, G. Sanchez, S. Soltau, A. Vaidya, J. Varner

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the experimental investigation of the pipeline flow of low volume fraction suspensions. Our experimental observations of low volume fraction biomass suspensions such as mulch, coffee powder, crushed leaves, in water, show an unusual, non-linear relationship between flow rate and pressure drop which is not observed in homogeneous systems. While it is well known that in Newtonian liquids, the flow rate increases monotonically with the pressure drop, our experiments indicate that increasing pressure drop across the pipe can cause the flow rate to drop at an exponential rate. The observations are seen to be consistent for the varying concentrations and for different kinds of solute particles.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)58-65
Number of pages8
JournalInternational Journal of Engineering Science
Volume85
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2014

Keywords

  • Biomass
  • Pipeline transport
  • Pressure drop
  • Suspension flow

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Some experimental observations on the pressure driven flow of biomass suspensions'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this