Convective drying behavior of sawdust-sludge mixtures in a fixed bed

This work aims at comparing the temporal evolution of 3D characteristics of the sample bed as well as the drying mechanism of sewage sludge and sawdust-sludge mixtures during the drying process. The first step are characterizing the drying behavior of sawdust-sludge mixtures during the convective drying. The influences of the mixing step (no mixing against 30 s at 40 r/min) and of the mass fractions of sawdust (10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% on a dry basis) have been investigated. X-ray tomography, a non-invasive imaging technique, was used to assess changes in the volume and total exchange surface during the drying process. Drying experiment results show that sawdust addition has a positive impact on the drying process from a mass fraction of sawdust of 20%. The X-ray tomography experiment results show that the volume and total exchange surface of the sample bed both increase with increasing amounts of sawdust during the entire drying process. Moreover, a linear decrease of both the total exchange surface and volume with the decreased normalized moisture content is observed for sludges, while a plateau is reached after a linear phase for sawdust-sludge mixtures. As expected for sludges, the drying rate decreases nearly linearly with the decreased total exchange surface during the entire drying process. However, for the sawdust-sludge mixtures, at first the drying rate decreases nearly linearly with the decreased total exchange surface, and then the total exchange surface does not change but the drying rate still decreases until it reaches zero. These promising results open the way to new management ways, especially for very pasty sludge.     

Use of X-ray microtomography to study the homogeneity of carbon nanotube aqueous suspensions and carbon nanotube/polymer composites

X-ray microtomography was used to study the stability and homogeneity of concentrated carbon nanotube (CNT) aqueous suspensions and CNT/resorcinol–formaldehyde gel composites. Various CNT distribution states were achieved by modifying the CNT concentration, sonication time and resting time. X-ray microtomography is able to discriminate between zones with different CNT concentration levels and can be used as a non-destructive and fast tool to characterize the homogeneity of suspensions and composite systems at the micron scale.     

Studies of Microstructure of Kernels of Macadamia integrifolia and Its Hybrids through MRI, X-Ray Tomography and Confocal Microscopy

The aim of this study was to apply the existing techniques that enable examination ofmacadamia kernels to provide a better understanding of physico-chemical properties of kernels during postharvest processing. These techniques, such as X-ray tomography, could be applied for quality monitoring in the macadamia industry. The objectives of this study were to investigate the browning centre symptoms that usually occur in macadamia nuts-in-shell. The applied techniques included confocal microscopy, X-ray tomography and magnetic resonance imaging （MRI）. Five different varieties of macadamia nuts （A38, 246, 816, 842 and Daddow） were selected to include distinct characteristics, such as drop pattern and growing location. Analysis of the microstructure of kernels by confocal microscopy showed the distribution of possible brown pigment compounds as well as the distribution of lipids, carbohydrates and proteins inside macadamia cells. Physical properties data, including shell density and seed to volume ratio, were obtained by X-ray tomography. Magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging used in this study showed marked differences in microstructure which indicate that different varieties exhibit different microstructures expressed as fraction ofanisotropy and apparent diffusion coefficient that appear to be related to the occurrence of the brown centre. Hence, the findings of this study have potential to improve the existing postharvest techniques used in the macadamia processing industry. They will be of benefit to the industry in terms of improved quality control and cost reduction.     

Polymeric foam deformation under dynamic loading by the use of the microtomographic technique

The mechanical behaviour of polymeric foams depends on several parameters such as temperature, material density and strain rate. This last point implies that compression tests on conventional testing machines are not sufficient. Study of the behaviour in practical situations requires special apparatus like fly wheels, drop towers or Hopkinson bars, allowing high compression speeds. The polypropylene foams studied are multi-scale materials; agglomerated beads (2–3 mm in diameter), visible to the naked eye, are composed of microscopic closed cells (a few tens of microns). The response of the material to a shock consists of three regions: an elastic phase, a plastic phase and densification. The plastic phase is of prime interest since a great part of the shock energy is dissipated there. Microtomography was used in order to better understand damage mechanisms during the stress plateau of the plastic phase. The final objective of this work is to determine the strain field of porous materials at several levels of shock. As tomography is not fast enough to directly follow the impact deformation, interrupted impact tests were carried out by controlling the levels of sample deformation. Between each impact step, a microtomographic analysis offers insight on the progressive deformation of the sample. The results of these impact tests completed by a microtomographic visualisation in 2D are presented and commented in this paper.     

Influence of sawdust addition on drying of wastewater sludges: Comparison of structural characteristics

ABSTRACT

This work aims to investigate the structural characteristics of wastewater sludges and sludge–wood mixtures, and how the addition of sawdust affects them in a positive way for the drying process. The study was performed for a fixed bed at the pilot scale, with sludges from three different wastewater treatment plants from the Liège province in Belgium, namely, Oupeye, Grosses Battes, and Embourg. X-ray tomography was chosen to evaluate variations in the structural characteristics before and after drying, which included volume, void fraction, and exchange surface of the bed. Results first confirm that the drying rate is raised after the sawdust addition operation for all three sludges, but the increase amount is smaller while the moisture of the sludge is high. With sawdust, the average drying rates increase by factors of 1.475 (Oupeye), 1.342 (Grosses Battes), and 1.162 (Embourg), respectively. It also increases initial volume as well as void fraction and surface exchange, however after drying this addition leads to less shrinkage and void fraction, and higher exchange surface. The initial void fraction increases by 7.25 (Oupeye), 8.30 (Grosses Battes), and 14.01% (Embourg), but the final void fraction decreases 1.56 (Oupeye), 10.83 (Grosses Battes), and 25.61% (Embourg). With high initial moisture content, we observed lower porosity and higher shrinkage.