Palletizing Wood: Various Stages

1. Palletizing Wood: Various Stages As the search for a new source of fuel has increased, wood pellets are receiving high demands among consumers. It has emerged as a new source of energy for commercial as well as residential uses. Countries like US produce biomass wood pellets in large quantities and also export the product to other countries. The production and export is continuously increasing year by year, and is expected to grow tremendously in the next decade. Making of wood pellets Saw dust and wood chip scraps are the common raw materials for making wood pellets. These materials come in plenty from lumber industry. Other materials for making pellets include biomass such as cardboard, paper, and straw. Sizing Wood and biomass scrapes are generally bigger in size. Therefore, they have to be chipped and shredded first to reduce their size. Thereafter, they are sent through a hammer mill to reduce their size further. In fine forms, they are used to make pellets. Then, the material is passed through a conveyor with magnets to eliminate any metal particles that might be present in the wood. They are also screened to remove pieces that are not in the size to make pellets. Drying As several materials serve as a raw material for pellets, they may have different moisture content. Depending upon the material used, the

2. moisture content may vary from extremely dry to wet. While the materials used to making pellets must have a little moisture in them for the process to work correctly, but an excess of dryness or wetness may cause the pellets to not hold the desired shape. Achieving the right moisture level is essential. In order to do that the material is sent through a dryer. Achieving the high quality in final pellets also requires mixing the ground and dried material until uniform. If required, it may also have an additive or conditioner added to keep the pellet in shape. Manufacturers can get wood pallet elements at wholesale prices for making pellets. Final Pelletizing After the materials have been processed, dried, mixed and conditioned, the pulp is sent through the pellet mill. The woody pulp is fed to the pellet mill to compress the material and squeeze it. The mill has the roller that creates heat and compression causing the wood to fuse and bind the pellet together. Cooling When pellets are not formed correctly, or if they break during the process, these do not offer the desired efficiency. They require further processing. Source url- https://bit.ly/31PgUb0