Making wood pellets

[Tooljunkie]

Im determined, but moisture and weather is not quite on my side. The other issue is im doing contract mechanical work away from home 3 days a week. So my spare time is filled with preparing yard for winter as well as storage business is about to fill the building i use for pelleting. Weekend is looking nice though.
Humidity is down so its helping some.

 

[Tooljunkie]

Well, have no choice but to run through wood chips a couple times to dry them out. So set it up and running. Fan cooling and drying some overnight. Will post video shortly.

 

[ShaunBlake]

Well, have no choice but to run through wood chips a couple times to dry them out. So set it up and running. Fan cooling and drying some overnight. Will post video shortly.

TJ, is this decision a result of your conversation with your friend with the wild rice processing plant? I'd dearly love to hear what you learned from talking to him (her?)!

 

[Tooljunkie]

I see the old feller about once a week, but working away from home has made it a little difficult to connect.
My ground up brush consisting of hard and sof wood doesent seem to be panning out like i hoped. Will know better tomorrow when i run one last time.

Found a local firewood guy, only does softwood. May be an pppurtunity to pick up some decent material. Win/win. He gets rid of waste, i get biomass.

I have been researching binders, but there isnt much info out there regarding it.

Lignin is the natural binder,under heat and pressure. As pellets cool, they get solid.

 

[skeets]

Frank,, for a while one coal prep plant i inspected, had a syatem set up to make bricketts out of recovered coal fines and the process was like what your doing, and they added a binding agent that as i recall was some kind of latex I was told it was the same as cheap latex paint. I dont know how that would work in an application like yours, but I would think something like maybe rice water sprayed in to the mix might bid it up. But that to may make the moisture content to high as well,,, oh well just a thought

 

[Tooljunkie]

Third round. Got it figured out, my problem is moisture. Too wet.
So tomorrow im going to experiment, and waste some propane.
Heres todays result
http://youtu.be/ZYjEL813vdM

Turns out it prefers a slow feed, if hopper runs full it traps steam, compounding my moisture issue.
And i cant run mill slow enough,im guessing pto speed was 200 rpms.discovered this about 1 hour into it. Slower it passes through die plate the more it cooks the biomass. Releasing more moisture.

 

[Daren Todd]

Tj, are you gonna try to rig up a gear reduction for the press?

 

[ShaunBlake]

Third round. Got it figured out, my problem is moisture. Too wet...

Wait a sec, you crazy Canoodian! You said that {how many times} before! T.h.e. . . p.r.o.b.l.e.m. . . i.s. . . t.o.o. . . m.u.c.h. . . m.o.i.s.t.u.r.e. . .

Heres todays result...

Wow, lots of steam at the top, but those pellets look good. Terrible shame they aren't any good!

...
Turns out it prefers a slow feed, if hopper runs full it traps steam, compounding my moisture issue.
And i cant run mill slow enough,im guessing pto speed was 200 rpms.discovered this about 1 hour into it. Slower it passes through die plate the more it cooks the biomass. Releasing more moisture.

Man, TJ, I can't thank you enough for posting and updating this thread! You've inspired me to rip out my gas furnace w/elec blower, and get a multi-fuel wood-burner furnace, and start recycling my garbage and sewage into fuel.

Well, perhaps I exaggerate, but it is inspiring, and it is 'fuel for thought', for the possible future opportunity to be able to incorporate your discoveries into a practical application, eh.

Thank you again, and yet again.

{Can't wait for tomorrow -- feel like a kid on Christmas Eve!}

 

[ShaunBlake]

Tj, are you gonna try to rig up a gear reduction for the press?

I hope you aren't thinking of heating up the biomass before processing it -- that seems to be a horribly expensive avenue to take, and an approach that would have to be adjusted for every type of material that you processed.

Or maybe do you plan to heat up the press before you start feeding it?

I suppose the mass of the die helps hold the heat and apply it to the material as it is extruded. Not sure if heating it more would help... would it be possible to apply more pressure to the slug before it's expelled?

Surely there is a way that any biomass can be extruded into well-formed pellets by using the size die and pressure appropriate to the material. Eh?

 

[Tooljunkie]

Going to set a pipe in a metal tub, cover it with wet chips and attempt to cook off some moisture. Its 20%,if i can get it to 12% it should go in one pass.

If i gear reduce speed i may try going electric.tried when i first got mill and was aiming for 400 rpms,about 8:1 at 3450 with 3 hp. It stalled motor the moment it started to make decent pellets.
So with what i learned today, 20:1 may be achievable with same 3hp motor.

Pre-heating die speeds up the start process, but pellets happen in only a couple minutes anyway.
The die will stay hot as long as an hour after shutting it down, 180 degrees or more.
**note**For anyone getting into this, find a farmer and get a couple pails of wheat. I run it at end of pelleting to clean out die. If it cools with wood in die holes it will be nasty to get out. Punch and hammer for 200 holes isnt fun.

Glad you all are getting a kick outta this. I know i am.

 

[ShaunBlake]

...
Glad you all are getting a kick outta this. I know i am.

I am confident that I speak for everyone else: we are very grateful for the info, and entertained by the armchair experience you're providing. I am certain that I'm not alone in being delighted to know that you are getting a kick out of your adventure.

You're a keckovaguy, Frank, and I am very grateful for your generosity sharing your experiences and insights. Eh.

 

[Tooljunkie]

Thanks, i appreciate your input also. The last run of pellets are useable, so i have some ready to burn.
If time permits i will carry on with my next attempt.

Work is keeping me from pelleting, yet i keep trying. I will get there, its just not going to happen instantly.

 

[phaser]

Perhaps this is not feasible, or has already been suggested, but is there a way to harvest the heat from the tractor exhaust to assist in drying while the tractor is running?

.

 

[Tooljunkie]

It may be an idea, but the exhaust cannot be in direct contact with wood chips. It contains harmful chemicals and water.

If i ran exhaust through a void below pellets it would certainly warm them to assist with drying.

Will have to revisit the project, winter storage is here and i need time to install my new overhead door.

 

[Tooljunkie]

Wild rice hulls and wood chips mixed seem do make a decent pellet.
Hulls were zero moisture, chips were a little damp. One compliments the other.

 

[skeets]

Well now ya gota do a burn heat test and burn rate test and keep it all scientific an al dat stuff I never get over the wealth of knowledge in here

 

[Tooljunkie]

They burned. They made heat. Need more. Rain and cooler now. Got kicked out of building i used for making pellets. Its for winter storage. So now i run just under a roof. Will see how the following week goes.

 

[RCW]

Frank -

You saw my pellet stash pic in the other thread. Use 5+ ton/year.

My other option is fuel oil boiler.

Buddy just bought oil for $2.01/gal. I'm paying $265/ton for pellets.

I figure a "normal" winter day is about 5 gallons of oil, or about 60lbs of pellets.

Getting close to a break on price.....$10/day oil, $7.95/day pellets. 'Round here, $60/month one way or the other is immaterial in the dead of winter.

No idea what your other options are, if any, just tossin' this out.

My parents use coal, and probably pay more for it than their high-efficiency natural gas furnace. But they burn coal to 80 degrees in the house, and love it!!

I'm SO MUCH enjoying your thread. I will have my chipper out tomorrow, and have some ideas for myself down the road........

 

[RCW]

After my last post, was thinking I better check with Ollie first!!

He's a BIG fan of wood pellets. We tell him he has a pet Dragon!

 

[Tooljunkie]

After my last post, was thinking I better check with Ollie first!!

He's a BIG fan of wood pellets. We tell him he has a pet Dragon!

Is that dragon thermostat controlled? And does it auto light? A stove with those features can save you a significant amount in pellets. I learned running a pellet stove at idle continously is really inefficient.

Mine was dialed to burn a bag a day, heat output wasnt great.
Now its thermostat and cycling off-on through the day. Running about 2/3 throttle.