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Sorption behaviour of torrefied wood and charcoal determined by dynamic vapour sorption

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An Erratum to this article was published on 29 September 2015

Abstract

The most important variable of biomass-based fuels is moisture, because it affects the entire logistic chain by creating problems related to transport, handling, storage, and combustion. Recently, there has been a growing interest in thermal pre-treatment of biomass-based fuels by torrefaction. Torrefaction is intended to overcome the moisture-related problems by significantly reducing hygroscopicity and thus the logistics of solid biofuels could be improved. In order to gain a deeper insight on the changes induced by torrefaction, the sorption properties of Finnish birch and spruce wood were investigated. The sorption isotherms, hysteresis, accessibility, and surface area were investigated with dynamic vapour sorption. Also the particle size distributions and the clustering behaviour of water molecules were examined. As a result of the thermal pre-treatment, accessibility, adsorption of water vapour, and hysteresis were reduced. Particle size distribution was shifted towards smaller particles and the surface area measured with the BET method was reduced. Hysteresis was also reduced, which may be linked to the overall reduction in material’s hygroscopicity, as well as changes in porosity. The particle size affects sorption by increasing the surface area, but has a dual effect on accessibility, as it also blocks access to pores through agglomeration. In practice, the most important result is the increased hydrophobicity, but also the increased porosity and reduced particle size are to be considered as they can affect the handling and storage properties of torrefied and charred material negatively.

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Acknowledgements

Maija Kymäläinen is grateful for the financial support of Walter Ahlström foundation and Niemi foundation, and for the help of Juha Solio and colleagues for preparation of the material. Furthermore, the authors would like to thank BSc Anna Hämäläinen, Mrs Marja Kärkkäinen, Mrs Rita Hatakka, and MSc Tiina Belt for technical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 27, 00014, Helsinki, Finland

    Maija Kymäläinen

  2. Department of Forest Products Technology, School of Chemical Technology, Aalto University, P.O. Box 16300, 00076, Aalto, Finland

    Lauri Rautkari

  3. Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute, PO Box 115, 1431, Ås, Norway

    Callum A. S. Hill

  4. Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK

    Callum A. S. Hill

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  1. Maija Kymäläinen
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Correspondence to Maija Kymäläinen.

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Kymäläinen, M., Rautkari, L. & Hill, C.A.S. Sorption behaviour of torrefied wood and charcoal determined by dynamic vapour sorption. J Mater Sci 50, 7673–7680 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-9332-2

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