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Ma, et al.

of CO. Although this process releases comparatively to cellulose density, was measured as 1.54 g/cm .
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less energy, it sustains combustion over an extended Before experimentation, the flocs were mechanically
duration, contributing to prolonged heat output. processed by cutting into shorter segments and
Biomass materials undergo complex chemical aerodynamically disentangled to ensure structural
reactions in the three stages above, releasing a uniformity.
significant amount of heat. Particularly in the oxidation 2.2. Deflagration test
stage, the heat is released instantaneously, making it The deflagration test apparatus comprises a 1 L reaction
highly susceptible to deflagration.
chamber, a high-voltage spark igniter (0.5 kV), a high-
1.3. Deflagration process speed industrial area-array camera (100 frames/s) for
The deflagration process of cotton floc can be analyzed observing flame morphology and combustion pressure,
using experimental data obtained from pipeline testing a halogen moisture analyzer for measuring the moisture
and high-speed camera recordings of the complete content of biomass materials, an electronic balance
(precision of 0.0001 g), a Machine Vision Software
combustion process. 35-38 data acquisition system, and an experimental rack
Pipeline testing is a well-established method for (Figure 3).
measuring flame propagation speed in gas mixtures, For the deflagration test, the required amount of
particularly in industrial combustion and safety studies. cotton floc was first weighed using an electronic
The experimental setup primarily consists of a high- balance, and the weight was recorded before placing the
speed camera, a 100 mm diameter, 200 mm long cotton floc at the bottom of the reaction chamber. The
pipeline, and a high-voltage electric spark generator, as equipment power was turned on, and the high-voltage
illustrated in Figure 2. igniter was activated by the timer controller to ignite the

2. Materials and methods cotton floc inside the reaction chamber. The combustion
process was recorded using a high-speed camera, while
2.1. Materials the details were simultaneously captured by the data
acquisition system. After the reaction was complete, the
The cotton floc samples were obtained from Xinjiang ignition was stopped, and the power to all equipment
Province in northern China. The cotton floc samples was turned off. The remaining biomass after the reaction
exhibited a moisture content of approximately 3%, was removed and weighed using the balance. The
a bulk density of 0.12 – 0.16 g/cm in the loosely biomass utilization rate was then calculated according
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packed state, and fiber morphological parameters, to Equation I:
including lengths of 28 – 36 mm and diameters of
approximately 20 μm. The true density, corresponding Residual mass
Utilizationrate ̵1 ) 100% (I)
Input mass

2.3. Experimental procedure
1. Weigh the required amount of cotton fluff using an
electronic balance and record the weight, then place
it at the bottom of the reaction chamber
2. Turn on the equipment power and use the timer
controller to activate the high-voltage igniter to
ignite the cotton fluff inside the reaction chamber
3. Use a high-speed camera to record the combustion
process while simultaneously using the data
acquisition system to record the details
4. After the reaction is complete, stop the ignition and
turn off the power to all equipment
5. Remove the remaining biomass after the
Figure 2. Schematic diagram of the pipeline test reaction and weigh it using the balance. Then,
apparatus calculate the biomass utilization rate according
Abbreviation: MVS: Machine Vision Software. to Equation I.

Volume 22 Issue 4 (2025) 208 doi: 10.36922/AJWEP025240193