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Heating pellets from wood fiber
Raw material:
A large variety of bio materials can be used to manufacture fuel Pellets.
There are two grades of pellets in North America used for home heating,
1.) Premium Pellets.
These pellets are made from wood fiber and have no defined requirement on moisture content.
Self igniting appliances work best if the moisture content is in the 5 – 8 % range.
Most European pellet grades require moisture below 10%
Premium Pellets:
- Minimum bulk density ……….................................................…40 lbs/ ft3
- Maximum length …………………………………………………………........................1½”
- Diameter ……………………………………………….....................…………..1/4” – 5/16”
- Fines screen ………………………………………….......................…………………….1/8”
- Max fines……………………………………………….........................………………….0.5%
- Chloride salts …………………………………….................…..less than 300 p/million
- Ash content ……………..…………………………………….....................less than 1%
2.) Standard pellets:
These pellets are also made from wood fiber and have no defined requirement on moisture content. These pellets have an increased maximum ash content.
Some home appliances will require more frequent ash removal but are more often used for industrial applicaitons
- Minimum bulk density ……………………………….................…40 lbs/ ft3
- Maximum length …………..........……………………………………...……….1 ½”
- Diameter …………………………………..........……………………….1/4” – 5/16”
- Fines screen …………………………...........…………………………………....1/8”
- Max fines…………………………………..............………………………………0.5%
- Chloride salts …………………………......…………….less than 300 p/million
- Ash content …………………………….........………………………less than 3%
3.) Industrial Pellets
These pellets are made from clean bio mass, tree bark, and woody fiber.
Large portions of these pellets are going overseas to be burned for power generation along with coal or are used for heating commercial buildings and industrial processes.
They can content a large amount of ash and are often soled on the basis of BTU rather than weight.
If you are thinking of getting into making pellets some basics need to be answered.
Who is buying my pellets – what grade does the customer require?
What is the customer willing to pay?
What input material is available and what condition is it in - will it make the desired grade?
What do I have to pay?
Evaluation of raw material:
Small samples of your material can be tested to establish the possible grade to be manufactured.
WSTC at the University of New Brunswick offers material testing.
Wood Science and Technology Centre
University of New Brunswick
1350 Regent Street
Fredericton, NB, Canada
E3C 2G6
Test Standard Used Price per
Sample
Ash |
ASTM D1102 |
$45.00 |
BTU Heating Value |
ASTM E711 |
$60.00 |
Moisture Content (MC) |
ASTM E871 |
$29.00 |
Bulk Density |
ASTM E873 |
$25.00 |
Pellet Density (Group of 10) |
ASTM D143 (Modified Immersion Method) |
$200.00 |
Fines and Dimensions |
Pellet Fuel Institute |
$45.00 |
Elemental Analysis(Dry ash as an acid extract) TP-SSMA- 15.2.1, 5.3.3, 15.4 |
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$45.00 |
Total Nitrogen |
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$43.75 |
Water Soluble Sodium |
ASTM E776 |
$43.75 |
- Additional Consulting and reporting time as requested by client $103/hr
- Administration charge added to total 10%
- Prices include grinding of material in preparation for testing and brief report with tabular presentation of the results.
- Quantity of material needed depends upon type of test and number of tests requested.
Typically for all tests except for fines and bulk density, a large freezer bag or zip-
lock bag is sufficient.
- For fines and bulk density, a full bag (whatever size bag the product is sold in the market place) of material is required. In all cases the material should be randomly samples from each source.
If you like to get a material samples tested please fill out a form, define what you like to have tested, enclose payment and material.
Many other materials are suitable for the manufacture of Pellets.
Waste paper
Waste wood in land fills
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