The Importance of Humidity on Agricultural and Forestry Biomass in the Process of Pellets and Agri-Pellets Production

Vlăduț, V.; Danciu, A.; Militaru, Mirela; Lehr, Carol Blaziu

doi:10.15835/buasvmcn-agr:5101

Cited by 2 publications

References 4 publications

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Influence of biomass moisture content on pellet properties - review

Ungureanu

Vlăduț

Voicu

et al. 2018

Engineering for Rural Development

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Seeking to become more climate-friendly and less energy-consuming, the European Union has pledged to cut its greenhouse gas emissions and milestones to achieve this are set to 20 % by 2020, 40 % by 2030, 60 % by 2040 and 80 % by 2050. Due to its abundance, biomass is gaining more and more importance both for the production of thermal energy by direct combustion or gasification of vegetal materials, for electricity and for the production of biofuels. Direct combustion of biomass generates CO 2 , but the process is neutral in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, because the same amount of CO 2 was absorbed by plants from the air during their life cycle. Ecological solid fuels such as pellets have become rapidly a viable alternative to fossil fuels, due to their high energy content, which makes them suitable for use by both small households and industrial consumers. Pellets are obtained from a variety of raw materials such as: agricultural residues, energy crops, forestry and wood residues, used exclusively or mixed and having different physical-chemical properties. This paper presents a summary of literature on the effect of the moisture content on the properties of pellets obtained from various types of biomass. Moisture content of raw material is one of the most important factors that influence negatively the properties of pellets, such as bulk density or mechanical durability during storage and transportation. Energy consumption increases during pelletizing of high moisture biomass, as moisture is a lubricant that lowers friction in the die. Other studies found a positive correlation between pellets durability and optimal moisture (10 %), because water together with the die temperature, pressure and chemical composition of raw material acts like a binding agent that increases pellet quality. Pellets with 5 % moisture have low strength, become brittle, and large amounts of dust are produced during their storage and transportation. Moisture higher than 15 % damages pellets during storage.

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Influence of biomass moisture content on pellet properties - review

Ungureanu

Vlăduț

Voicu

et al. 2018

Engineering for Rural Development

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Influence of Fraction Particle Size of Pure Straw and Blends of Straw with Calcium Carbonate or Cassava Starch on Pelletising Process and Pellet

et al. 2020

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The aim of this study was to investigate the pressure agglomeration process of wheat straw (WS) and the blends of WS with calcium carbonate (CC) or cassava straw (CS) with a ratio of 6% wt./wt. from seven separate fractions with sizes in the range of 0.21–2.81 mm. The agglomeration was performed at a moisture of 30% wb and a material temperature of 78 °C, with a dose of 0.1 g, in a die of diameter 8 mm and height 80 mm. The effects of the process were evaluated based on the compaction parameters and the pellets’ density, tensile strength, and water absorption. The incorporation of additives into the WS improved the pellet process and quality. Refined results were achieved after adding CC, as compared to those achieved after adding CS, and the preferred particle size was in the range of 1.00–1.94 mm. This was because, under the given conditions, the back pressure in the die chamber significantly increased, allowing the achievement of a single pellet density of 800 kg·m−3. The pellets were resistant to compressive loads and cracked only at tensile strength of 6 MPa and a specific compression work of 6.5 mJ·mm−2. The addition of CC to the WS improved the strength of the adhesive and the cohesive bonds between the particles. The water absorption for the uncrushed pellets was considerably less than that for crushed pellets, which results in the safer storage of uncrushed pellets and excellent moisture absorption of crushed pellets. The addition of CC to the WS offers benefits in the form of pellet strength with a high water absorption capability. Notably, a study of crushed pellet litter under broiler rearing conditions and an analysis of the operational costs of using WS additives are required for implementing this study.

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The Importance of Humidity on Agricultural and Forestry Biomass in the Process of Pellets and Agri-Pellets Production

Cited by 2 publications

References 4 publications

Influence of biomass moisture content on pellet properties - review

Influence of biomass moisture content on pellet properties - review

Influence of Fraction Particle Size of Pure Straw and Blends of Straw with Calcium Carbonate or Cassava Starch on Pelletising Process and Pellet

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