Densification of Corn Stover

Abstract

Densification characteristics of corn stover under single and multiple compression cycleswas studied. Under single compression at 100 to 150 MPa pressures, pellets with relaxed densitiesof 830 to 1000 kg m-3 were produced at 10 to 15% moisture contents. The durability of pellets rangedfrom 52 to 84%. Moisture content (10 to 15%) and corn stover-grind particle size (0.66 to 0.8 mm)affected the density, durability and specific energy consumption during single-compression pelletingof corn stover. Multiple compression with two to four compression cycles at 100 to 150 MPaproduced 5 to 10% more dense, and 11 to 27% more durable pellets than single compression of cornstover with geometric mean particle size of 0.8 mm at 10% moisture content. Specific energyrequired for pelleting corn stover ranged from 0.08 to 0.22%, and 0.22 to 0.47% of the energycontent of the corn stover for single compression, and multiple (two to four) compression pelleting,respectively. Multiple-compression pelleting appears to be a promising pelleting technique toproduce high quality pellets with less energy than conventional pelleting.