Effects of Water Soaking on Biomass Particle Size in Cellulosic Biofuel Manufacturing

Cellulosic biofuels are an alternative to petroleum-based liquid transportation fuels. However, manufacturing costs of cellulosic biofuels are high partially due to low density and sugar yield of cellulosic biomass. Previous studies show that UV-A pelleting can increase the density and sugar yield of cellulosic biomass. A hypothesis for UV-A pelleting to increase the density and sugar yield of cellulosic biomass is that UV-A pelleting can reduce biomass particle size. To test this hypothesis, biomass particle sizes before and after UV-A pelleting need to be compared. Soaking pellets in water is an efficient and non-invasive method to separate pellets into particles. However, water soaking itself might change biomass particle size. This paper reports an investigation on effects of water soaking on biomass particle size. The biomass particle sizes before and after water soaking are measured and compared. Results show that effects of water soaking on biomass particle size are dependent on the initial particle size (particle size before water soaking) and time period of water soaking.