Behavior of Beech Sawdust during Densification into a Solid Biofuel

Peter Križan,Miloš Matú,Juraj Beniak,Ľubomír Šooš

doi:10.3390/en8076382

Peter Križan, Miloš Matú + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/en8076382

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Journal: Energies	Publication Date: Jun 25, 2015
Citations: 54	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava

Abstract

In solid biofuel manufacture technological and material variables influence the densification process and thus also the final briquette quality. The impact of these technological variables, especially compression pressure and compression temperature, and also of the material parameters (particle size and moisture content) can generally be observed during biomass densification in the quality indicators, where the abovementioned variables have a significant influence, especially on the mechanical indicators of quality (briquette density, mechanical durability, etc.). This paper presents the results of experimental research dealing with determining the relationship between the technological and the material variables during densification of beech sawdust. The main goal of the paper is to determine the mutual interaction between compression pressure, compression temperature and material particle size. Research findings were obtained using single-axis densification. The influence of the particle size interacting with compression pressure and compression temperature on the final briquette density was determined. The research findings obtained should prove valuable in briquette production and also in the engineering of densification machines.

Highlights

The Institute of Manufacturing Systems’ main interest in the environmental area is the engineering and design of densification machines and equipment
Briquette stabilization time takes approximately 24 h depending on the type of compressed material and the densification technology used, but it can take longer
Research into beech sawdust densification as a wood waste was investigated in this research

Summary

Introduction

The Institute of Manufacturing Systems’ main interest in the environmental area is the engineering and design of densification machines and equipment. This technology is a suitable option in the treatment of biomass prior to energy recovery [1]. The Institute is attempting to develop new progressive densification machines, and trying to optimize the biomass treatment process prior to densification. The development of new machines is more effective if information about the discrete densification process is available. Requirements of biofuel production demonstrate that another important factor to take into consideration is the possibility of variable changes in the material for compression. Not every densification machine can produce biofuels to the required quality according to technical standards [2]

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Results

Conclusion