Pellet Industry Research Articles

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF A NOVEL DESIGN OF FEED PELLETS VERTICAL COOLER

This work aims to report a novel design of feed pellets vertical cooler named as double bed vertical cooler (DBVC). The proposed DBVC is assessed experimentally using sinking fish feed pellets produced by a ring-die pelletizer under different operating parameters including the position air double vacuum fans, height of the feed pellets as a function of pellet retention time inside the cooler and different widths of sieve slit. The performance evaluation of DBVC was performed and compared to performance of the single bed vertical pellet cooler (SBVC) that used commercially in the feed pellets industry in Egypt. The comparison was carried out at constant cooler’s capacity of 2 Mg/h for both coolers in terms of the performance indicators such as; output pellets temperature and moisture content, cooling efficiency, pellet durability, required specific energy.. etc. Moreover, the two types of coolers have been analyzed from the economic point of view using the life cycle cost (LCC) method. Under the best operating conditions for both cooler, the obtained results showed that the temperature and moisture content for the outlet pellets were reduced by about 5.55% and 10.60%, respectively by using DBVC. Using DBVC gave slight increase in cooling efficiency and pellet durability by about 3.35% and 4.60%, respectively over SBVC with an explicit reduction in the required cooling energy by about 30.83%. From the economic aspect, the total capital cost and total cooling cost per unit of production for DBVC are lower than SBVC by 73.91% ( the price difference between them saving 4885.87$) and 61.26% ( saving 0.77 $/Mg), respectively. Ultimately, it is clear that the DBVC proved a high performance and saved the costs of feed pellet cooling process

Photomicrogrph Atlas of Wood Pellet Components

Concerns about climate change, energy security, and the diversification of energy supplies have made renewable resources increasingly more attractive and important sources of energy. As interest grows, bioenergy (energy from bio-based sources) is becoming more environmentally friendly and economically viable and has started to play a more prominent role in the global energy mix. In this changing market, wood pellets have emerged as a sustainable source of power with the potential to become a mainstream fuel in the future energy market. Pellets are currently the most economical way of converting biomass into fuel, and they are a fast-growing component of the energy sector. Pellets can be made from various types of biomass including industrial waste and co-products, food waste, agricultural residues, and virgin lumber, which are compressed under high pressure. Among these, wood pellets are the most common, and they generally are made from raw trees, wood shavings, compacted sawdust, industrial wastes from the milling of lumber, manufacture of wood products and furniture, and construction. The wood pellets available on the market are sold as fuel (heating and grilling) or as absorbents for animal bedding. But while the wood pellets are a fast-growing component of the energy sector and important tool in fight with global warming, it is important to understand influence of wood pellet quality on combustion emissions, and how their usage impacts human health and environment. Thanks to wood pellet industry efforts, especially in the North America and European Union, many of the wood pellets follow rigorous production procedures, and certification. However, there are still some manufacturers that do not use the same production scrutiny, which can result in poorer quality of their pellets. Our research show that in some extreme cases these uncertified wood pellets contain more than 20 percent of impurities. While some of those contaminants are so big that can be visible even without microscope the majority of the contaminants are of micrometer size and can be detected and identify only under a microscope. While the current standards test the quality of pellets based on a variety of physical and chemical properties, some impurities in pellets (glass, plastic, metal, ceramics, coal, and coke) are not easily identified this way. Our research shows that reflected light microscopy can be successfully used to identify and quantify those contaminants. Although reflected light microscopy technique is a well-known and widely used method allowing examination of various materials, this is a novel application for pellet fuels.

Industry Leaders’ Perceptions of Residential Wood Pellet Technology Diffusion in the Northeastern U.S.

Within a shifting climate of renewable energy options, technology innovations in the energy sector are vital in combating fossil-fuel-driven climate change and economic growth. To enter this market dominated by fossil fuels, renewable energy innovations need to overcome significant barriers related to cost, relative advantages compared to fossil fuels, and policy incentive programs. A better understanding of the innovation diffusion of new technologies in establishing the renewable energy industry can aid policy makers in designing and implementing other renewable energy support programs and improving adoption rates within existing programs. This study assessed industry leaders’ perceptions through semi-structured interviews. We explored the innovation diffusion process of wood pellet residential heating technology, as well as policy needs and barriers within this industry that are hindering successful long-term diffusion and sustainability. We show that while there is high potential to the wood pellet industry in terms of local resources and overall advantages to fossil fuels, it can be difficult to achieve sustainable economic growth with current cost barriers and further policy programs and incentives are needed in addition to improved communication to reduce adoption barriers for wood pellet technology.

A novel approach to improve the energy and cost efficiency of feedstock drying for pellet production

The success of the pellet industry depends on internal and external factors, comprising pellet quality, pellet production parameters and market variables. This study investigated the pellet production process from the raw material properties to the economic production parameters in order to quantify the feasibility of a new production concept. The proposed concept includes the sieving of the wet feedstock and successive selective drying of the fine fraction, while the coarse fraction is not dried. The impact of this energy saving measure is evaluated in terms of pellet quality, combustion emissions, and production / transport costs and energy consumption. Three sieve sizes were investigated (1.4 mm, 2.0 mm, 2.8 mm). The feedstock was separated and the fine and coarse fraction were equilibrated at 12 and 24% water content, respectively and mixed again for pelletization in a semi-industrial ring dye press. The pellets showed an improved durability and a higher water content, which had both positive and negative impacts on the combustion emissions. The bulk density decreased, which affected the transport parameters negatively. The economic benefit for medium and large scale production was high, mainly depending on the feedstock water content and the thermal efficiency of the dryer. The 2.0 mm sieve caused the best combination of improved durability, reduced emissions, increasing transport costs and thermal energy savings. A post-press reduction of the pellet water content can further improve the pellet quality and reduce combustion emissions, while the process of wet sieving has to be evaluated on industrial scale.

Feasibility Analysis of Compact-Mobile Biomass Pallet Technology as Renewable Fuel for Small and Medium Industries

Wood or biomass pallets as renewable energy are possible to use like B20 to meet small and medium industries (SMEs). This research aims to analyze the feasibility of the compact-mobile wooden pallet biomass production to meet the needs of a case study on Food SMEs. Specifically analyzed aspects of raw materials and supply chains, market and marketing, compact-mobile pallet technology, and financial feasibility. The data collected consists of primary and secondary data. Primary data is obtained through expert interviews related to recommendations, while secondary data is compiled from relevant company report results, production and consumption data, investment data, and operational costs. The compact-mobile wood pallet supply chain starts from raw materials, processing, transportation, and end-use. The compact-mobile wood pallet industry is designed to have 5 tons/hour with a defect rate of 5%. The capital cost requirement is projected to be IDR 30 billion. The BEP is at a minimum capacity of 2.82 tons of compact-mobile wood pellet per hour. Financially, the compact-mobile pallet industry deserves a WACC of 10.95%, NPV value of IDR 28.94 billion, IRR 21.82%, and 6-year PBP. The simulation results from the pallet's selling price at least IDR 1,038,145 per ton but the PBP increased to 11 years. The development of a wood pellet industry is related to the efforts of diversification and saving the use of fossil energy fuels; therefore, the form of infrastructure that must be prepared is not only physical needs.

Expansion of US wood pellet industry points to positive trends but the need for continued monitoring

Implementation of the European Union Renewable Energy Directive has triggered exponential growth in trading of pelletized wood fibers. Over 18 million tons of wood pellets were traded by EU member countries in 2018 of which a third were imported from the US. Concerns exist about negative impacts on US forests but systematic assessments are currently lacking. We assessed variability in fundamental attributes for timberland structure and carbon stocks within 123 procurement landscapes of wood pellet mills derived from over 38 thousand forest inventory plots in the eastern US from 2005 to 2017. We found more carbon stocks in live trees, but a fewer number of standing-dead trees, associated with the annual operation of large-scale wood pellet mills. In the US coastal southeast—where US pellet exports to the EU originate—there were fewer live and growing-stock trees and less carbon in soils with every year of milling operation than in the rest of the eastern US—which supplies the domestic market. Greater overlap of mills’ procurement areas exhibited discernible increments across selected carbon stocks. These trends likely reflect more intensive land management practices. Localized forest impacts associated with the wood pellet industry should continue to be monitored.

Mogućnosti povećanja obnovljivih izvora energije u Hrvatskoj, Sloveniji i Slovačkoj – drvni peleti

Energy from renewable sources is globally a very important issue. In order to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, many countries enact laws for enhancing the consumption of renewable energy sources. Sooner or later traditional non-renewable energy sources would have to be replaced with alternative energy sources that are already used in developed countries. According to the European Commission (2018), the EU is already a global leader in the sustainable use of natural resources within an efficient bio-economy. The wood pellet industry is becoming more important and the use of wood pellets is increasing as one of the most important contributors to the renewable energy goals of the EU. Wood pellet is an environmentally acceptable product and its production contributes to desirable rural development and sustainable approach to the management of timber resources. This paper focuses on the market of wood pellets used for heating, pinpointing differences in consumers point of view, and drafting the possibilities of future consumption enhancement. Results revealed a relatively low use of wood pellets in all the three surveyed markets. The highest share of consumers of wood pellets came from the areas with less than 5,000 inhabitants. Such households were mostly over 20 years old. The most important factors to decide to use such source of energy were space (required for the heating system) followed by price of wooden pellets.

Evaluation of the Thermal Behaviour of Agricultural Wastes for Possible Use in the Biomass Pellets Industry

Evaluation of the Thermal Behaviour of Agricultural Wastes for Possible Use in the Biomass Pellets Industry

Assessing the wood sourcing practices of the U.S. industrial wood pellet industry supplying European energy demand

BackgroundAs the demand for wood pellets has increased in EU member states, so has a multi-pronged examination of the environmental effects of establishing a transatlantic trade in wood pellets between the U.S. and Europe. However, the nature of industrial wood pellet supply chains is poorly understood or little known. This work aimed to understand the feedstock sourcing strategies being used by the wood pellet industry in the southeast U.S., commonly applied approaches to documenting sustainability of these feedstocks, and drivers operating behind related developments.MethodsThis study used structured interviews of sustainability managers and procurement staff at pellet mills comprising 75% of the U.S. industrial pellet sector. The industry was classified into types of supply chains, based on the role of loggers, wood dealers, sawmills, and other wood product facilities in the supply chains. Additional classifications examined feedstock types and origins, number and type of suppliers, contractual relationships with suppliers, applied procurement systems, risk assessment and due-diligence methodologies, risk mitigation procedures, and supply chain certifications.ResultsThree main types of supply chains were identified within the U.S. industrial pellet sector, differentiated based on features of feedstock procurement, risk assessment procedures, and risk management. The study observed a slight shift toward using a higher proportion of wood residuals as feedstock in some of the larger pellet mills. Policy requirements, customer orders, and external pressures were driving the sector’s adoption of sustainability programs, with risk assessments and wood procurement procedures aligned to policy requirements.ConclusionsThe strength of a risk-based approach to sustainability documentation depends on the quality of source data on risks within a sourcing area, scale of analysis, and integration of risk assessments into procurement practices. Some risk categories are more difficult to assess and control. Challenges increase with increasing number and diversity of supply chain actors and depend on the nature of agreements between these entities for the conveyance of feedstocks to pellet mills. Fiber procurement is similar to pulpwood-using industries, but extending the risk assessment to residuals is complicated and challenging to the sector. The study identified a number of strategies in use within pellet mill supply chains for dealing with these challenges.

Process simulation, techno-economic evaluation and market analysis of supply chains for torrefied wood pellets from British Columbia: Impacts of plant configuration and distance to market

Improving economic competitiveness is the key for sustainable development of the wood pellet industry. To support this development, we have carried out a comprehensive techno-economic evaluation of five possible process configurations for production of conventional (CWP) and torrefied (TWP) wood pellets in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC), based on process simulation with multi-scale models involved as illustrated in the graphical abstract. A novel heat integration strategy is proposed for the TWP production process to avoid the use of N2 and achieve auto-thermal operation. In comparison with CWPs, producing TWPs in the operating sequence drying, torrefaction, grinding, pelletization can reduce production costs by about 10% and reduce delivered costs to both domestic and overseas markets by about 20%. It is essential that the TWP plant is located in a region with abundant and low-cost feedstock, low electricity price, low labor cost, and efficient distribution logistics. Due to the low capital cost contribution (10%), torrefaction could be implemented by either building a new plant or upgrading an existing conventional pellet plant. The market analysis reveals that the future market for TWPs from BC is expected to lie outside Canada, in the Asia Pacific region, and Europe, unless significant domestic policy measures are introduced to promote Canadian use of TWPs.

Development of wood pellets processing industry for renewable energy

Wood pellets are environmentally friendly fuel with zero carbon emissions that have been recognized by the United Nations. This study aims to provide data and information to the development of wood pellets as a renewable energy. The study was carried out in Ciamis Regencies in 2017. These locations have a lot of potential for sawn timber and plywood industries, and wood pellet trading activities. The study employed descriptive analysis coupled with economic and financial analyses. The study shows that the wood pellet industry development needs to focus on the improvement and management of the value and supply chains. There are 5 stages in development wood pellet industries, comprising: 1) observation and identification, 2) regional planning and developing supporting infrastructure, 3) technology planning, building production and training facilities, 4) pelletizing, and 5) designing institution for production and marketing. A potential source of raw material for the processing of wood pellets are feasible to be developed in Ciamis.in terms of social, economic, environmental and policy aspects. The potential market for wood pellets in West Java are tempe and tofu industries, textile industries, farm and food industries. All of these illustrate the good prospect for developing wood pellets for the renewable energy business.

Environmental and economic assessment of torrefied wood pellets from British Columbia

With increasing international trade in wood pellets for use as fuel, the carbon footprint over the supply chain is of growing concern. The Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) is endowed with clean electricity and rich biomass resources, which are essential for developing a low-carbon wood pellet industry. This work aims to quantify the life cycle Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions of torrefied wood pellets in comparison with conventional pellets, derived from forest residues in BC and transported to replace coal at power plants in Europe, the Asia Pacific region and elsewhere in Canada. The GHG reduction costs in different markets are also quantified. Five possible production configurations are analysed with uncertainties taken into consideration. Torrefied wood pellets are found to have better environmental performance than conventional pellets. The best production process, which follows the sequence drying-torrefaction-grinding-pelletization, can reduce primary energy consumption and carbon footprint by about 30% compared to conventional pellets. Over the life cycle, transportation contributes most GHG emissions (>50%), while electricity use, including sawmilling and pellet production, represents the greatest energy consumption (~50%). Life cycle analysis reveals that GHG emissions from the supply chain offset at most 15% of the savings from using BC torrefied wood pellets to replace coal. GHG reductions are greatest when the pellets are used in overseas markets, especially the Asia Pacific region and the EU, rather than domestic Canadian markets. The current carbon taxation level cannot cover the abatement cost of BC pellets; other mechanisms are still needed to support the sustainable development of the industry.

The Wood Pellet Sector: Barriers to Growth and Opinions of Manufacturers in Poland

Biomass is a major source of renewable energy in the EU and Poland, stimulating the growth of the wood pellet sector. Wood pellet demand is stimulated by a complex interaction of market forces and policies including EU climate, energy, and environmental regulations, Poland’s program to improve air quality, and subsidies for the replacement of inefficient stoves used by households. This article focuses on the growth of the wood pellet industry, imports and exports in Poland, and wood pellet quality and use by households. The main issues faced by the EU wood pellet sector between 2013 and 2016 are further considered in the context of opinions of Polish wood pellet manufacturers. Industry opinions were collected in response to an open-ended question that probed for the main issues faced by wood pellet producers during the survey implemented by the authors in 2019. Respondents identified difficulties in obtaining raw material for pellet production and poor pellet quality as major problems. Although the majority did not feel concerned about competition from imported wood pellets, a small number of respondents viewed such competition as a problem reflecting the reversal of decreasing imports in 2017. Overall, the domestic wood pellet industry can be expected to grow because of increasing pressure to expand the use of renewable energy and will be driven by the household sector switching to more efficient, wood burning stoves. Additionally, the expanding area of private Polish forests may become a source of much-needed raw material for wood pellet manufacturing.

Comparison of combusting pellets of agro and wood biomass in different fluidized bed conditions

The rise in pellet consumption has resulted in a wider variety of materials for pellet manufacture. Thus, pellet industry has started looking for alternative products in relation to wood biomass, such as wastes from agricultural activities, and related industries, along with the combination thereof, obtaining a broad range of these products. The results of the experiment showed significant differences between the analyzed biomass fuels burned under different operating conditions in a laboratory reactor with a model circulating bed. These differences are mainly associated with problematic phenomena during combustion, including sintering of ashes.

Optimization in Critical Work Center Using Theory of Constraints

Many companies experience problems or problems in the production process. One of the problems disturb the production process is the bottleneck. The pellet industry has problems in pellets production. The capacity imbalance available between the drying station and the milling station causes the pellet making process to accumulate resulting in a bottleneck. Therefore, an analysis is carried can be done to overcome these problems by overtime. Overtime is carried out for 1 hour on each shift and 2 hours on certain shifts in July 2019 period and September 2019 and the number of working hours becomes 18 working hours and 19 working hours from the previous one which is only 16 working hours at the milling work station because it is seen from a negative variance value and the percentage of load is below 100%. This shows that overtime can be effective to eliminate constraints.

Industrial-scale Pelletization of Southern Pine Energy Pellets with Various Additives

Abstract. The energy pellet industry desires to improve processing techniques and the characteristics of fuel pellets by including additives with the feedstock. In this study, the industrial-scale pelletization of southern yellow pine (SYP) planer shavings was performed along with experiments involving the effect of production rate and moisture on the energy required for production (measured in kWh Mg-1). Multiple additives were investigated to determine their effects on southern yellow pine pelletization performance and pellet characteristics. These additives included southern-yellow-pine-derived biochar (BC), southern-yellow-pine-derived bio-oil (BO), corn starch (CS), vegetable oil (VO), sweet potatoes (SwP), microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), micronized rubber powder (MRP), and mixed hardwood planer shavings (HW). A control was compared to 20 different treatments at various additive concentrations, and the effect on pellet durability, bulk density, and higher heating value was determined. The production rate of the pellets with additives varied but were able to be compared with the baseline regression line (production rate vs. energy required for production per Mg) control trials so that the appropriate amount of energy required to produce one Mg of biomass could be compared to the control. The data for the additives, which outperformed the control using the economic study, are listed below. The control, HW10%, HW 25%, HW 50%, BC 0.5%, BC 1%, BC 2%, BC 4%, MRP 1%, and BO 0.5% had a mean pellet durability index (PDI) of 97.9%, 98.1%, 98.1%, 97.7%, 98.2%, 98.6%, 98.4%, 98.7%, 98.0%, and 98.0%, respectively. The control, HW10%, HW 25%, HW 50%, BC 0.5%, BC 1%, BC 2%, BC 4%, MRP 1%, and BO 0.5% had mean bulk density values of 703.0, 700.8, 704.8, 692.2, 693.9, 695.6, 695.6, 683.2, 658.8, and 684.6 kg m-3, respectively. The mean higher heating values (HHV) for the control, HW10%, HW 25%, HW 50%, BC 0.5%, BC 1%, BC 2%, BC 4%, MRP 1%, and BO 0.5% were 19.0, 18.9, 18.6, 18.2, 19.4, 19.5, 19.6, 19.6, 19.6, and 19.2, MJ kg-1, respectively. The normalized energy requirements for production for the control, HW10%, HW 25%, HW 50%, BC 0.5%, BC 1%, BC 2%, BC 4%, MRP 1%, and BO 0.5% were 112.0, 110.5, 112.1, 115.3, 110.7, 111.7, 112.1, 118.1, 108.5, and 111.1 kWh Mg-1, respectively. An economic feasibility analysis showed that the discounted net present value (NPV) at a rate of 12% could be improved when using certain pellet additives in the feedstock. The following additives could increase the profit of the mill over just using the control: hardwood planer shavings at 10%, 25%, and 50%, biochar at 0.5%, 1%, 2%, and 4%, MRP at 1% and bio-oil (with volatiles removed) at 0.5% (all on a dry basis). Keywords: Biochar, Biomass pellets, Bio-oil, Corn starch, Hardwood, Micronized rubber powder, Microcrystalline cellulose, Sweet potato, Vegetable oil.

목재펠릿 산업 인식제고 방안에 관한 연구

목재펠릿 산업 인식제고 방안에 관한 연구

Ignition sensitivity of different compositional wood pellets and particle size dependence

Partial or complete substitution of coal with renewable biomass like wood is a sustainable and effective solution to reduce the CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. Utilization of these woods in the form of compact pellets facilitates in its handling and transportation with higher energy density. However, for electric power generation the pellets are broken up into their constituent milled finer particles for burning as a pulverised biomass flame. There is a dust fire/explosibility hazards in the process handling facilities such as in storage, conveying and milling. In the present work, four commercial pellets were investigated, and each pellet sample was split into three size ranges <63 μm, 63–500 μm and <500 μm. The flame propagation characteristics and their lean flammability limit for each pulverised pellet was determined using modified Hartmann dust explosion tube. It was found that the fine particles, with lower lean flammability limits of 0.3–0.7 equivalence ratio, intensify the explosibility risk (dP/dt of 10–15 bar/s for most reactive concentration) of the dust due to fast volatile release rate. Comparison was also made between particle size distribution (PSD) of the finer fractions (<63 μm) of wood samples in comparison to crop residue samples that showed 70–80% larger size distribution for wood samples due to elongated particles as showed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Results showed that the ash + moisture content had a stronger effect on wood samples than on agricultural residue's samples. The results showed that the explosibility characteristics of the pellets industry's feed-stocks was variable and dependent on the pellet composition and this needs to be taken into account in explosion protection and in utilising the pellets in the main pulverised biomass combustion.

Analysis of pelletizing from corn cob waste

In recent years, biomass market has constantly increased. Pellet industry has started looking for new products with the potential to be used as biofuels. Among them are agricultural wastes, such as corn cob waste, which presents some characteristics that make its direct use in industrial facilities possible. However, these properties are not enough for its use in domestic stoves and boilers, where higher quality of fuel is needed. For this reason, densification is used. In the present research work a technical and energy analysis of corn cob waste pelletizing was carried out in a semi-industrial pelletizer. Some relationships between variables, such as moisture, bulk density and mechanical durability, were analyzed, as well as their influence on energy use and final productivity. The results were satisfactory, as the pellets manufactured fulfilled with most specifications that were consulted, with higher values than those recorded for similar kinds of pellets. Concerning the energy study, the increase in production justified a higher energy consumption of the process in order to get a higher productivity ratio.

Sourcing overseas biomass for EU ambitions: assessing net sustainable export potential from various sourcing countries

AbstractLow‐cost sustainable biomass availability in the European Union may not be able to meet increasing demand; exploring the option of importing biomass is therefore imperative for the years to come. This article assesses sustainable biomass export potential from Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Kenya, Ukraine, and the United States by applying a number of sustainability criteria. Only biomass types with the highest potential are selected, to take advantage of economies of scale, e.g. pulpwood, wood waste, and residues in the United States, and agricultural residues in Ukraine. This study found that, except for the United States, pellet markets in the sourcing regions are largely undeveloped. The export potential depends strongly on pellet mill capacity and assumed growth rates in the pellet industry. Results show that the United States, Ukraine, Indonesia, and Brazil offer the highest biomass export potential. In the Business As Usual 2030 scenario, up to 204 PJ could potentially be mobilized; in the High Export scenario this could increase to 1423 PJ, with 89% of the potential being available for costs ranging from 6.4 to 15 €/GJ. These potentials meet the European Commission requirements for a 70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions set in the Renewable Energy Directive. The total export potentials do not reflect the net possible import potentials to the European Union, as biomass could be imported to other countries where there is a demand for it, where less strict sustainability requirements are applied, and which are proximate to the sourcing regions, notably South Korea, Japan, and China. © 2018 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.