Thermochemical Conversion of Biomass in Smouldering Combustion across Scales: the Roles of Heterogeneous Kinetics, Oxygen and Transport Phenomena

AbstractThe thermochemical conversion of biomass in smouldering combustion is investigated here by combining experiments and modeling at two scales: matter (1mg) and bench (100g) scales. Emphasis is put on the effect of oxygen (0–33vol.%) and oxidation reactions because these are poorly studied in the literature in comparison to pyrolysis. The results are obtained for peat as a representative biomass for which there is high-quality experimental data published previously. Three kinetic schemes are explored, including various steps of drying, pyrolysis and oxidation. The kinetic parameters are found using the Kissinger–Genetic Algorithm method, and then implemented in a one-dimensional model of heat and mass transfer. The predictions are validated with thermogravimetric and bench-scale experiments and then analyzed to unravel the role of heterogeneous reaction. This is the first time that the influence of oxygen on biomass smouldering is explained in terms of both chemistry and transport phenomena across scales

Two-component Fermi gas with a resonant interaction

We consider a two-component Fermi gas interacting via a Feshbach molecular state. It is shown that an important energy scale is $E_g=g^4m^3/(64\pi^2)$ where $g$ is the Feshbach coupling constant and $m$ the mass of the particles. Only when $E_g\gg \epsilon_{\rm F}$ where $\epsilon_{\rm F}$ is the Fermi energy can the gas be expected to enter a universal state in the unitarity limit on the atomic side of the resonance where there are no molecules present. The universal state is distinct from the molecular gas state on the other side of the resonance. We furthermore calculate the energy of the gas for this universal state and our results are related to current experiments on $^{6}$Li and $^{40}$K.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Weak gravity conjecture constraints on inflation

We consider the gravitational correction to the coupling of the scalar fields. Weak gravity conjecture says that the gravitational correction to the running of scalar coupling should be less than the contribution from scalar fields. For instance, a new scale $\Lambda=\lambda_4^{1/2}M_p$ sets a UV cutoff on the validity of the effective $\lambda_4 \phi^4$ theory. Furthermore, this conjecture implies a possible constraint on the inflation model, e.g. the chaotic inflation model might be in the swampland.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figs; monor corrections; some clarifying remarks added and the final version for publication in JHE