High moisture corn stover pelleting in a flat die pellet mill fitted with a 6 mm die: physical properties and specific energy consumption

Tumuluru, Jaya Shankar

doi:10.1002/ese3.74

Cited by 43 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Use a laboratory scale flat die pellet mill equipped with a 10 HP motor for carrying out the pelleting tests (Figure 1) 21,28,38 . .…”

Section: Pellet Millmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…without any binder addition resulted in lower durability values at higher feedstock moisture content 21,28 . Improving the durability of high moisture pellets after cooling and drying is important as it helps to prevent the disintegration of the pellets (loss of pellet quality) during handling, storage and transportation.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The frictional heat developed in the pellet die also helps reduce the feedstock moisture content by about 5-8% (w.b.) 21,28 . In the highmoisture pelleting process, the pellet mill not only compresses the biomass, but also helps to reduce the moisture content during compression and extrusion.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, PFI recommends a diameter in the range of 6.35-7.25 mm, whereas CEN recommends a diameter ranging from 6-25 mm and a pellet length less than or equal to 4 times the diameter 41 . Smaller diameter pellets (6 mm) are preferred for transporting longer distances considering they have higher packing densities 28 . For conventional pelleting processes, it is recommended to pellet biomass at low moisture contents to meet these density specifications desirable for transporting the pellets long distances 41 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both CEN and PFI have additional pellet grades 41 . Tumuluru 28 and Tumuluru and Conner 40 indicated that high moisture pelleting processes developed at Idaho National Laboratory help to produce corn stover and wood pellets with different quality attributes (bulk density and durability) and specific energy consumption making them suitable for different transportation and logistics scenarios.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Method to Produce Durable Pellets at Lower Energy Consumption Using High Moisture Corn Stover and a Corn Starch Binder in a Flat Die Pellet Mill

Tumuluru

Conner

Hoover

2016

JoVE

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A major challenge in the production of pellets is the high cost associated with drying biomass from 30 to 10% (w.b.) moisture content. At Idaho National Laboratory, a high-moisture pelleting process was developed to reduce the drying cost. In this process the biomass pellets are produced at higher feedstock moisture contents than conventional methods, and the high moisture pellets produced are further dried in energy efficient dryers. This process helps to reduce the feedstock moisture content by about 5-10% during pelleting, which is mainly due to frictional heat developed in the die. The objective of this research was to explore how binder addition influences the pellet quality and energy consumption of the high-moisture pelleting process in a flat die pellet mill. In the present study, raw corn stover was pelleted at moistures of 33, 36, and 39% (w.b.) by addition of 0, 2, and 4% pure corn starch. The partially dried pellets produced were further dried in a laboratory oven at 70 °C for 3-4 hr to lower the pellet moisture to less than 9% (w.b.). The high moisture and dried pellets were evaluated for their physical properties, such as bulk density and durability. The results indicated that increasing the binder percentage to 4% improved pellet durability and reduced the specific energy consumption by 20-40% compared to pellets with no binder. At higher binder addition (4%), the reduction in feedstock moisture during pelleting was <4%, whereas the reduction was about 7-8% without the binder. With 4% binder and 33% (w.b.) feedstock moisture content, the bulk density and durability values observed of the dried pellets were >510 kg/m 3 and >98%, respectively, and the percent fine particles generated was reduced to <3%.

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“…Use a laboratory scale flat die pellet mill equipped with a 10 HP motor for carrying out the pelleting tests (Figure 1) 21,28,38 . .…”

Section: Pellet Millmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 98%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Method to Produce Durable Pellets at Lower Energy Consumption Using High Moisture Corn Stover and a Corn Starch Binder in a Flat Die Pellet Mill

Tumuluru

Conner

Hoover

2016

JoVE

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Optimal blending management of biomass resources used for biochemical conversion

Roni

Thompson

Hartley

et al. 2018

Biofuels Bioprod Bioref

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This research develops an optimization model to describe the tradeoff among blend components in the least‐cost biomass blend, based on resource availability, quality requirements, and logistics cost for a biochemical conversion. A mixed‐integer linear programming model is developed to determine the least‐cost blend from a set of candidate feedstocks. A case study – based on a biorefinery located in western Kansas that uses three‐pass corn stover, two‐pass corn stover, switchgrass, miscanthus, and municipal solid waste fractions to meet biochemical conversion specifications and feedstock demand – shows that the delivered cost of an optimal blend that meets carbohydrate and ash specifications is 12.12% higher than the delivered cost of optimal blend that meets a carbohydrate specification only. The results indicate that a least‐cost blend that meets both carbohydrate and ash specifications consists of miscanthus (48.2%) and switchgrass (29.4%) whereas the least‐cost blend meeting carbohydrate specification only comprises three‐pass corn stover (55.4%) and two‐pass corn stover (20.4%). An optimal blend uses a low‐cost municipal solid waste fraction in all cases, implying that blending could be a potential strategy to reduce delivered feedstock cost. Published 2018. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Industrial Chemistry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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High‐moisture pelleting of corn stover using pilot‐ and commercial‐scale systems: Impact of moisture content, L/D ratio and hammer mill screen size on pellet quality and energy consumption

Tumuluru

2023

Biofuels Bioprod Bioref

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High‐moisture pelleting of corn stover was tested in pilot‐ and commercial‐scale systems. For the pilot‐scale study, a 6.35 mm screen size hammer mill ground corn stover was reconditioned to moisture between 14 and 29.6% (w.b.), and 5, 7 and 9 L/D ratio pellet die were used. At 29% corn stover moisture content and L/D ratios of 5 and 9, the bulk density and durability of the pellets were ≤450 kg/m3 and <90% and >540 kg/m3 and >90%, respectively. Increasing the feedstock moisture and L/D ratio increased the pelleting energy. Increasing the hammer mill screen size to 11.11 mm reduced the bulk density but not the durability. The response surface models adequately described the pelleting process (R2 ≥ 0.88), and analysis of variance showed a strong interaction between the process variables and pellet properties. Commercial‐scale testing of high‐moisture pelleting using 6.35 mm ground corn stover bales in the moisture range 24–26% (w.b.) produced pellets with a density of >675 kg/m3 and durability of >98%, whereas increasing the hammer mill screen size to 11.11 mm reduced the bulk density by about 100 kg/m3 but not the durability. The energy consumption of the commercial‐scale unit operations for the high‐moisture pelleting process was in the range 98–124 kW h/ton, which is 64–72% less energy than conventional pelleting that requires energy about 350 kW h/ton for biomass drying from 30% (w.b.) to 10% (w.b.) moisture content before pelleting. Pellets produced using high‐moisture pelleting met International Organization for Standardization and Pellets Fuel Institute international standards.

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High moisture corn stover pelleting in a flat die pellet mill fitted with a 6 mm die: physical properties and specific energy consumption

Cited by 43 publications

References 35 publications

Method to Produce Durable Pellets at Lower Energy Consumption Using High Moisture Corn Stover and a Corn Starch Binder in a Flat Die Pellet Mill

Method to Produce Durable Pellets at Lower Energy Consumption Using High Moisture Corn Stover and a Corn Starch Binder in a Flat Die Pellet Mill

Optimal blending management of biomass resources used for biochemical conversion

High‐moisture pelleting of corn stover using pilot‐ and commercial‐scale systems: Impact of moisture content, L/D ratio and hammer mill screen size on pellet quality and energy consumption

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