Sawdust as an effective binder for making torrefied pellets

Peng, Jie; Bi, Xiaotao; Lim, C. Jim; Peng, Hanchao; Kim, Chang Soo; Jia, Dening; Zuo, Haibin

doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.06.024

Cited by 101 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…According to the information provided by the supplier, the feed material was spruce/fir sawdust, and the torrefied material had undergone 30% weight loss on a dry mass basis. This mass loss (30%) upon oven drying is the same value that has been found to be suitable for production of good quality pellets from torrefied SPF (spruce, pine, fir) [13,17]. The SRM was supplied in dried, ground form by a local rendering industry.…”

Section: Materials and Chemicalsmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…Hence, significant research interest has focused on making the pelletization process easier and/or improving the durability of pellets without compromising fuel quality. The use of external binders in the pelletization process has been shown to reduce the energy required for pelletization and/or result in more durable pellets [3,[17][18][19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Through a detailed analysis of two different process schemes on producing biocoal, Ghiasi et al concluded that a binder is necessary for pelletization of torrefied wood with reasonable energy consumption [3]. The effect of additives/binders such as lignin, starch, saw dust, caster bean cake, peanut shell, calcium hydroxide, and sodium hydroxide on pelletization of torrefied biomass has been investigated [17][18][19][20]. However, in these studies, the binders/additives were used at much higher levels (up to 30%) than allowable by current International Organization for Standardization (ISO) guidelines (≤4%) for premium quality pellets made from thermally treated wood [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pelletization of Torrefied Wood Using a Proteinaceous Binder Developed from Hydrolyzed Specified Risk Materials

et al. 2019

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Pressing issues such as a growing energy demand and the need for energy diversification, emission reduction, and environmental protection serve as motivation for the utilization of biomass for production of sustainable fuels. However, use of biomass is currently limited due to its high moisture content, relatively low bulk and energy densities, and variability in shape and size, relative to fossil-based fuels such as coal. In recent years, a combination of thermochemical treatment (torrefaction) of biomass and subsequent pelletization has resulted in a renewable fuel that can potentially substitute for coal. However, production of torrefied wood pellets that satisfy fuel quality standards and other logistical requirements typically requires the use of an external binder. Here, we describe the development of a renewable binder from proteinaceous material recovered from specified risk materials (SRM), a negative-value byproduct from the rendering industry. Our binder was developed by co-reacting peptides recovered from hydrolyzed SRM with a polyamidoamine epichlorohydrin (PAE) resin, and then assessed through pelleting trials with a bench-scale continuous operating pelletizer. Torrefied wood pellets generated using peptides-PAE binder at 3% binder level satisfied ISO requirements for durability, higher heating value, and bulk density for TW2a type thermally-treated wood pellets. This proof-of-concept work demonstrates the potential of using an SRM-derived binder to improve the durability of torrefied wood pellets.

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Section: Materials and Chemicalsmentioning

confidence: 73%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pelletization of Torrefied Wood Using a Proteinaceous Binder Developed from Hydrolyzed Specified Risk Materials

et al. 2019

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“…In addition, binders, especially from synthetic sources, can lower the emissions rating for biocoal products. Peng et al [15] also discussed using untreated sawdust as a natural binder and other binders, such as starch and lignin, to improve the quality of torrefied sawdust pellets. They concluded that the torrefied pellets prepared with binders have a lower bulk density than un-torrefied pellets but with a comparable hardness, and that the natural binders (in the un-torrefied biomass) reduced the heating value of the torrefied pellets.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the high end of reactive and destructive regions (i.e., such as high-torrefaction temperatures), lignin breaks down and loses its ability to bind, which leads to poor densification and lower durability for the highly torrefied biomass.Different densification methods of the torrefied biomass have been proposed and investigated in the literature with the purpose of providing the necessary binding to the torrefied biomass. Some worked on increasing processing pressure, moisture content, and/or temperature, while others focused on preconditioning or using a binder, such as crude glycerol, gelatinized starch, lignosulfonate, molasses, and heavy pyrolysis oil [15][16][17]. Pellets and briquettes are the two forms of densified biomass available.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

An “In-Situ Binding” Approach to Produce Torrefied Biomass Briquettes

et al. 2019

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Biomass-derived coal or “biocoal” produced using a torrefaction process presents a carbon-neutral option of coal for power generation. While torrefaction delivers a carbon content and hydrophobicity comparable to coal, it lowers its density and creates material handling, storage, and transportation challenges. Densification into briquettes would help mitigate these challenges. However, the torrefied biomass is difficult to densify and may require the use of binders, which are expensive and can be incompatible with respect to material and emissions. A cost-effective approach to utilize lignin in-situ of the biomass to promote binding during densification was demonstrated using a pilot-scale briquetter unit during this study. Lignin, a cross-linked polymer, tends to break down and lose its binding ability under high-temperature conditions of torrefaction. In this paper, we investigated the use of a lightly torrefied material as a binder―LTM (biomass torrefied in the transition region of non-reactive and reactive temperature ranges of torrefaction). When mixed with torrefied biomass and densified together under suitable moisture and temperature conditions, the lignin is shown to mobilize and provide binding to the briquettes. The results showed that briquettes produced using LTM as binder and 10% to 11% moisture provided in-situ binding, improved density and durability, and produced hydrophobic briquettes.

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Heavy bio‐oils as bio‐binders for rice husk densification: Parameter optimization, binding mechanisms and subsequent pyrolysis and combustion performances

Yan

Song

et al. 2022

Biofuels Bioprod Bioref

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Densification is widely considered as a means to improve the bulk energy density and transportation efficiency of biomass, while the durability and fuel quality of densified biomass often need to be further improved by the addition of binders. In this study, the heavy fractions of bio‐oils from slow pyrolysis (HBO‐SP) and hydrothermal treatment (HBO‐HT) of rice husk (RH) are used as bio‐binders for RH densification. Optimal parameters are determined based on Taguchi methods. They are: densification temperature 130 °C, densification pressure 200 MPa, bio‐binder content 8%, particle size 0.4–0.6 mm, and using HBO‐HT as the binder. The obtained pellets showed a high drop resistance of 99.8% and the binding mechanism is governed by solid bridges between particles. Heavy bio‐oils are deformed and re‐solidified and function as a binder for RH densification. The RH/HBO‐HT pellets showed lower activation energy for pyrolysis as well as lower ignition temperature (292.81 °C compared with 298.34 °C for RH pellets). The higher heating value of pellets was increased from 14.99 to 16.29 MJ kg−1 with 8 wt% HBO‐HT. The co‐densification of heavy bio‐oils and RH provides an approach for producing more qualified solid biofuels from agriculture wastes. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

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Sawdust as an effective binder for making torrefied pellets

Cited by 101 publications

References 7 publications

Pelletization of Torrefied Wood Using a Proteinaceous Binder Developed from Hydrolyzed Specified Risk Materials

Pelletization of Torrefied Wood Using a Proteinaceous Binder Developed from Hydrolyzed Specified Risk Materials

An “In-Situ Binding” Approach to Produce Torrefied Biomass Briquettes

Heavy bio‐oils as bio‐binders for rice husk densification: Parameter optimization, binding mechanisms and subsequent pyrolysis and combustion performances

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