Open Access
Factors affecting the quality of fuel pellets produced from waste biomass
Author(s) -
P. K. Pradhan,
Amit Arora,
Sanjay M. Mahajani
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
iop conference series. earth and environmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.179
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1755-1307
pISSN - 1755-1315
DOI - 10.1088/1755-1315/463/1/012013
Subject(s) - pellets , pellet , raw material , water content , pelletizing , environmental science , context (archaeology) , biomass (ecology) , pulp and paper industry , waste management , bulk density , moisture , bioenergy , tonne , renewable energy , materials science , biofuel , engineering , composite material , agronomy , chemistry , geography , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , archaeology , electrical engineering , soil water , soil science , biology
The production of wood pellets has more than doubled between 2010 and 2015 to over 30 million metric tons. It is expected to grow to even more than 50 million metric tons by 2025. Thus, increasing demand for wood pellets for its energy utilization has prompted researchers to search for non-woody feedstocks. In this context, a potentially huge underutilized biomass such as garden waste can be explored as an alternative feedstock. The key factors affecting the quality of fuel pellets were evaluated during the garden waste pelletization process. Experiments were performed using a flat die pellet mill to investigate the effect of feedstock moisture content, die size, and milling size on pellet quality. Quality parameters such as pellet moisture, pellet length, bulk density, and durability were measured as per ASABE standards. Feed moisture content had a significant effect on durability and bulk density, with high quality pellets produced at the low feed moisture content (< 20%). The quality parameters of produced pellets were evaluated as per standards. It is concluded from the investigation that pellets produced at 5-10% feed moisture content using 15 mm die and fine shredded biomass satisfies the ISO standard and other norms.