Comparative Analysis of Sorption Isotherms for Wood Pellets and Solid Wood

Abstract

Abstract.The published data on equilibrium moisture content vs. equilibrium relative humidity (EMC-ERH) for wood pellet do not cover the range of temperature and relative humidity to which a pellet is exposed to during its storage and handling. A few published EMC-ERH relations covering a wider range of temperatures and relative humidity are available for solid wood (lumber) and wood chips. The question is whether the data for solid wood is applicable to wood pellets. For this research, we examined the sorption isotherms of wood pellets and solid wood. The analysis shows that EMC for solid wood is higher than the EMC for wood pellet for a relative humidity larger than 30%. The slope of EMC-ERH isotherm for solid wood in the range of 30%-70% is slightly steeper than the slope of isotherm for wood pellet, indicating the pellet’s EMC is less sensitive to ERH when compared to EMC-ERH for solid wood. Keywords: EMC, ERH, Densified biomass, Equilibrium moisture content, Equilibrium relative humidity, Solid wood, Wood pellets.