The internal heat transfer within wheat straw particles is essential to
the pyrolysis yield and energy consumption of wheat straw. To
investigate this pyrolytic property, the paper first investigates the
shape of particles after crushing and show a very pronounced platy
structure, especially in the particle size range of 3 - 20 mm.
Therefore, a thin rectangular model is more appropriate to describe the
particle. On this basis, a mathematical model of heat transfer during
pyrolysis of particle is developed and the thermal behavior of the
interior of particles is analyzed with the heat of pyrolysis as a heat
sink for the interior. The results of the calculations show the
importance of platy structural features for heat transfer processes as
well as for particle fragmentation. Finally, the residence time of the
wheat straw in the pyrolysis reactor is slightly greater than the
heating time of the wheat straw particle.