Facilitization slurry handling

Reduction in physical size is often required before biomass is used as a fuel or feedstock. Size-reduction techniques are employed to prepare biomass for direct fuel use, fabrication into fuel pellets, cubes, and briquettes, or conversion. Smaller particles and pieces of biomass reduce its storage volume, facilitate handling of the material in the solid state and transport of the material as a slurry or pneumatically, and sometimes permit ready separation of components such as bark and whitewood. The size of the pieces or particles can be critical when drying is used because the exposed surface area, which is a function of physical size, can determine drying time and the methods and conditions needed to remove moisture. There are a few exceptions where size reduction is not needed, such as in whole-tree burning. 

As noted earlier, when crystallization is employed as a crude fractionation step earlier in the purification train, larger particles are desired to facilitate centrifugation or filtration of the slurries. Control of particle size during these crystallizations, therefore, is of great importance due to its influence on subsequent handling steps. 

---