Effects of Various Factors on the Durability of Pellets Fabricated with Larix kaempferi C. and Liriodendron tulipifera L. sawdust

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of sawdust size and moisture content, pelletizing temperature and time on the durability of the pellets fabricated with larch and tulip tree sawdust. The durability of larch-pellet was significantly higher than that of tulip tree-pellet. For the larch-pellets, the durability of the pellets fabricated with > 18 mesh sawdust was higher than that of 8∼18 mesh sawdust. With the increases of pelletizing temperature and time, the durabilities of larch-and tulip tree-pellets steadily improved. The durabilities of larch-and tulip tree-pellets also increased as the moisture content of sawdust increased. In the comparison of durabilities between commercial pellets and larch-or tulip tree-pellets, the pellets fabricated with larch and tulip tree sawdusts in our study were less denser than commercial pellets, but the durability of most larch-pellets was satisfied with the 1st-grade pellet standard designated by Korea Forest Research Institute. In addition, the durability of tulip tree-pellets were higher than that of the 3rd-grade pellet standard. From the scanning electron microscopic observation of larchand tulip tree-pellets, the gap between the sawdusts of each pellet was reduced with the increases of pelletizing temperature and time. In particular, it was visually confirmed that the surface of the pellets made with the pelletizing temperature of 180°C for 3 min did not differ from that of commercial pellets.

Preliminary Survey for Setting Evaluation Standards of Wood Pellet Safety

“…The present study is a preliminary survey for the (Lee et al, 2011, Kim et al, 2015, Yang et al, 2017, 국내에서 생산 또는 유통되고 있는 목재펠릿에 대한 성분 분석은 몇 차례 보고된 것에 불과하다 (Kang et al, 2010, Nam et al, 2011, Kim et al, 2013.…”

“…For wood pellets, the standards stipulate that the permissible amount of cesium radioactivity, sulfur, chlorine, nitrogen, arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, and zinc shall be determined and evaluated accordingly. Research in Korea on wood pellets have focused mainly on the manufacturing characteristics (Lee et al, 2011, Kim et al, 2015, Yang et al, 2017, and only a few studies have reported on the component analysis of wood pellets produced or currently distributed in the market in Korea (Kang et al, 2010, Nam et al, 2011, Kim et al, 2013.…”