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Title: Effects of thermal treatment on energy density and hardness of torrefied wood pellets

Journal Article · · Fuel Processing Technology
 [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [3];  [4];  [1]
  1. Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver (Canada)
  2. Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver (Canada); Univ. of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing (China)
  3. Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver (Canada); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  4. Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver (Canada); Univ. of Toronto, Toronto (Canada)
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Here, three types of wood pellets samples, including two types of commercial pellets and one type of lab-made control pellets were torrefied in a fixed bed unit to study the effect of thermal pretreatment on the quality of wood pellets. The quality of wood pellets was mainly characterized by the pellet density, bulk density, higher heating value, Meyer hardness, saturated moisture uptake, volumetric energy density, and energy yield. Results showed that torrefaction significantly decreased the pellet density, hardness, volumetric energy density, and energy yield. The higher heating value increased and the saturated moisture content decreased after torrefaction. In view of the lower density, lower hardness, lower volumetric energy density, and energy yield of torrefied pellets, it is recommended that biomass should be torrefied and then compressed to make strong pellets of high hydrophobicity and volumetric energy density.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1335310
Journal Information:
Fuel Processing Technology, Vol. 129, Issue C; ISSN 0378-3820
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 41 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (8)

Pelletization of torrefied sawdust and properties of torrefied pellets journal May 2012
An Economical and Market Analysis of Canadian Wood Pellets journal April 2010
A Study of Particle Size Effect on Biomass Torrefaction and Densification journal May 2012
Study on Density, Hardness, and Moisture Uptake of Torrefied Wood Pellets journal February 2013
Torrefaction and densification of different species of softwood residues journal September 2013
Oxidative torrefaction of biomass residues and densification of torrefied sawdust to pellets journal January 2013
Quality effects caused by torrefaction of pellets made from Scots pine journal September 2012
Development of Torrefaction Kinetics for British Columbia Softwoods journal March 2012

Cited By (4)

Torrefaction of Maize Residue Pellets with Dry Flue Gas journal October 2019
Co‐pelletization of edible fungi cultivation residue and pine sawdust: The optimal variable combinations journal December 2019
Catalytic torrefaction of pelletized agro-residues with Cu/Al2O3 catalysts journal November 2019
An “In-Situ Binding” Approach to Produce Torrefied Biomass Briquettes journal September 2019

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Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
pellets
torrefaction
effect
quality