Determination and numerical analysis of moisture content movement for porous urea particle pile

For the hygroscopic porous urea particle, due to the existence of a lot of interstitial pores and its volatility, thermogravimetric method is inapplicable to determinate its moisture content. The objective of this paper is to construct an experimental apparatus and apply Karl Fischer Titration(KFT) method to determine the real moisture content of a urea particle pile at laboratory. A numerical model for correlating the vapor diffusion and liquid film movement is also presented to simulate moisture migration. Good agreement was demonstrated between the simulation and measured data. It was found that KFT method is a feasible way to determine moisture content of a storage particle pile. The presented model is expected to be a practical tool to predict interior moisture transport within a porous urea particle pile.