Effect of species and wood to bark ratio on pelleting of southern woods

Journal Article · Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1984 · For. Prod. J.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6712571

Bradfield, J; Levi, M P

Six common southern hardwoods and loblolly pine were pelleted in a laboratory pellet mill. The pellet furnishes were blended to test the effect of different wood to bark ratios on pellet durability and production rate. Included was a ratio chosen to simulate the wood to bark ratio found in whole-tree chips. This furnish produced good quality pellets for all species tested. Pelleting of the pure wood of hardwoods was not successful; furnish routinely blocked the pellet mill dies. Pure pine wood, however, did produce acceptable pellets. It was noted that, as lignin and extractive content increased above a threshold level, the precentage of fines produced in a pellet durability test increased. Thus, all pine and tupelo wood/bark mixes produces high fines. This reduces the desirability of the pellets in the marketplace. Further research is necessary to confirm this relationship. This study suggests that both tree species and wood/bark ratio affect the durability of pellets and the rate with which they can be produced in a laboratory pellet mill. 9 references.

• Research Organization: North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh
• OSTI ID: 6712571
• Journal Information: For. Prod. J.; (United States), Vol. 34:1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
BRIQUETS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
WOOD
PELLETIZING
WOOD WASTES
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
PINES
TREES
CONIFERS
FABRICATION
FUELS
MOLDING
PLANTS
SOLID FUELS
SOLID WASTES
WASTES
090400* - Solid Waste & Wood Fuels- (-1989)
140504 - Solar Energy Conversion- Biomass Production & Conversion- (-1989)