Granular Flow of Corn Stover Particles in a Helical Ribbon Stirred Tank

Abstract

Abstract The flow characteristics and power consumption of corn stover particles in a helical ribbon stirred tank was investigated in the context of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of corn stover at high solids loading. It was found that the particles in the tank can be divided into conveyed material and core material according to their flow characteristics. The flow of the former materials was frictional regime and the latter was intermediate flow; the conveyed material avalanched into the core at the top of granular bed. The granular bed dilated when the impeller was rotating, which was beneficial for the entrance of liquid enzyme into the solid phase and for the successful proceeding of the saccharification of the corn stover. The power of granular mixing was linearly proportional to the impeller rotational speed due to the discrete characteristic of the particles and flow dynamics of the conveyed material. The ratio of power consumption to the impeller rotational speed (P/N) was linear proportional to loading ratio and the dimensionless torque (M/mgR) was 0.48. The power consumption increased first and then decreased as the corn stover particles evolved from granular/wet granular to paste/slurry. The maximum power consumption was at 83 % (w/w) moisture content.