DECREASE OF ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF OLEAGINOUS FLAX RESIDUES BY DECORTICATION

Abstract

Harvesting of oleaginous flax seeds creates a biomass of stem residues that needs to be processed or utilized. Many methods of processing this biomass into various products (fiber, fuel, composites, etc.) have been offered. The first step in processing oleaginous flax residue is spinning it into rolls. However, oleaginous flax stems have highly elasticity properties and quick recovering abilities which make residue processing difficult. This paper suggests methods of decreasing the elasticity properties of oleaginous flax residue by destroying the higher layer of stem – decortication. Elasticity properties are influenced by layer thickness, humidity, and the amount of flax breakage as it passes through the roller pairs of a roller machine (decorticator). An increase in humidity and in the number of passes through the decorticator makes elasticity properties decrease. It allows making rolls that will keep their shape for a long period without any additional influences. In the future, these rolls can be used as a fuel or for a longer processing. The research results show a correlation with the rational number of machine roller pairs which can be used to develop new engineering designs for oleaginous flax harvesting.