Heat and mass transfer in granular potash fertilizer with a surface dissolution reaction

摘要

Potash is a widely used granular fertilizer and when exposed to high humidities it readily adsorbs water forming a liquid lectrolyte solution on each particle. Heat and mass transfer due to air flow through granular potash beds is studied experimentally and numerically. A one dimensional experimental experimental set-up is used to measure the temperature and air humidity response and mass gain of a potash bed subject to a step change in air flow. A porous media mathematical model is developed to predict the transient temperature and moisture content distributions.