| Abstract: | Slurries of finely milled Irish peat in Shell White Spirit (100F) were prepared and their rheological behaviour was evaluated in terms of shear rate, solids concentration, moisture content and particle size distribution of the solids. The moisture content of the peat was found to be of crucial significance in determining both the effective solids concentration and the stability of the suspensions. The viscosity of slurries composed of 7% moisture peat solids were almost independent of solids concentration and displayed Newtonian rheological behaviour, with a viscosity of approximately 0·012 N s m−2. The viscosity of the suspending medium was 1·006×10−3 N s m−2 at 20±1°C. The viscosity of the slurries composed of 55% moisture peat solids was observed to rise sharply, up to about 0·10 N s m−2 with solids concentration. The shear rate dependence of these suspensions was more complex and their flow characteristics were evaluated in terms of empirical non-Newtonian models. It proved difficult to confidently distinguish between the Bingham Plastic and Casson models as each gave best fit regression curves which were almost identical. Particle size distribution analysis of the suspensions indicates the formation of peat aggregates in the 55% moisture samples which exhibited more rapid settling of the solid. © 1997 SCI |
