Previous studies have attempted to explain forces holding particles together in densified biomass pellets using theories of forces of attraction between solid particles, forces of adhesion and cohesion, solid bridges and mechanical interlocking bonds including interfacial forces and capillary pressure. This study investigated the bonding mechanism of primary biomass components in densified pellets through the use of advanced analytical instruments able to go beyond what is visible to the naked eye. Data obtained were used to predict how primary biomass components combine to form pellets based on the theory of functional groups and the understanding of structural chemistry. Results showed that hydroxyl and carbonyl functional groups played key roles in helping to identify the type of forces acting between individual particles, at a molecular level. At a microscopic level, morphological examination of the pellet clearly showed solid bridges caused by intermolecular bonding from highly electronegative polar functional groups linked to cellulose and hemicellulose.
The mechanism of bonding in biomass pellets is such a complex event to comprehend, as the nature of the bonds formed between combining particles and their relevance to pellet quality are not completely understood. In this study, pure and blended biomass pellets made from Norway spruce and pea starch were characterized using advanced analytical instruments able to provide information beyond what is visible to the human eye, with intent to investigate differences in bonding mechanism relevant to quality. The results, which were comprehensively interpreted from a structural chemistry perspective, indicated that, at a molecular level, the major disparity in bonding mechanism between particles of the pellets and the quality of the pellets, defined in terms of strength and burning efficiency, were determined by variation in the concentration of polar functional groups emanating from the major organic and elemental components of the pellets, as well as the strength of the bonds between atoms of these groups. Microscopic-level analysis, which did not provide any clear morphological features that could be linked to incongruity in quality, showed fracture surfaces of the pellets and patterns of surface roughness, as well as the mode of interconnectivity of particles, which were evidence of the production of pellets with dissimilarities in particle bonding mechanism and visual appearance.
This study conducted a comparative assessment of the gasification performances of torrefied and untorrefied bagasse with emphasis on feed size, gasifier design and operating conditions that would influence gasification efficiency. Torrefaction greatly improved the characteristics of bagasse and had significant impact on its gasification performance. The gasifier design parameters studied were throat angle and throat diameter. Temperature of input air and feed input were the gasifier operating conditions examined in the course of the gasification processes of both torrefied and untorrefied bagasse. These parameters were considered the most critical operating parameters that affect gasifier performance and, correlation between the parameters was established in the course of gasification. The results obtained showed higher gasification efficiency for torrefied bagasse in comparison to untorrefied bagasse under varied conditions of gasification, which was attributed mainly to changes in the characteristics of the torrefied material.
In a heat pump dishwasher, the whole dishwasher with the cabinet, dishware and process water is the heat sink, while a water tank, whose contents will freeze, is the heat source. The aim of the experimental concept study presented here was to evaluate a new drying method for a heat pump dishwasher. In this method, the drying of the dishware occurs as a fan circulates humid air in a closed system in which the water on the dishware evaporates inside the warm dishwasher cabinet and then condenses on a cold surface of the frozen water tank. The evaluation of drying performance was based on the European standard EN50242, which considers visible water drops left on the dishware after a completed dishwashing cycle. The results showed that this new closed drying method was more energy efficient compared to an existing open drying method, and that the drying start temperature and the drying time had a significant effect on the drying performance. Its lower electricity consumption and the fact that it does not vent humid air into the kitchen gives this heat pump dishwasher a competitive advantage over dishwashers using an open drying method.
For competitive purposes, manufacturers of household appliances need to produce appliances that use less electricity. One way of doing this for a dishwasher is to add a heat pump system. Previous studies using R134a as refrigerant have shown that the addition of a heat pump can reduce total electricity consumption by about 24%. This paper reports on the use of a capillary tube in a heat pump dishwasher during the transient heating period. Working with an available compressor, the mass of R600a and the length of a 0.9 mm capillary tube were varied in order to find the configuration with the lowest electricity consumption. Three methods of calculating the length of the capillary tube were used to determine five lengths for evaluation. The results show that using a single capillary tube throughout the transient heating period yields similar electricity consumption to a variable expansion device which occurred by switching the capillary tube between two or three different lengths during the heating period.
Electricity usage by a household dishwasher can be reduced by using a heat pump system to heat the dishwasher cabinet, dishware and washing water. The evaporator obtains the energy from an energy storage unit which consists of a container filled with water which freezes to ice. The majority of the heat transfer from the energy storage to the evaporator occurs when ice is created in the energy storage unit. A transient simulation model of a dishwasher with a heat pump system was developed and compared to an experimental setup with good agreement. A simulation study of the compressor cylinder volume and the compressor operating time was performed. The results showed a 24% reduction in total electricity use compared to a dishwasher cycle using a traditional electric element.
In the interests of competitiveness, manufactures of tumble dryers are seeking to reduce both their electricity use and the drying time. This study examines how the cylinder volume of the compressor and the total heat transfer of the condenser influence the drying time and electricity use in a heat pump tumble dryer. A transient simulation model was developed and compared to an experimental set-up with good similarity. The simulations show that increasing the cylinder volume of the compressor by 50% decreases the drying time by 14% without using more electricity.
In this thesis, I discuss experiences from designing, building and evaluating two research plants, which use circulating, atmospheric pressure superheated steam as drying medium for drying sawdust in a fluidized bed. The increased use of pellets has created a demand for new drying equipment at the Swedish pellet plants. The underlying cause is that almost all of the available dried material, such as wood shavings, is already in use. The remaining biofuel materials, primarily wet sawdust need drying before entering the pellet process. The primary demands on the drying process were an uncomplicated design and efficient energy use. A key aim was to improve the drying technique used in the Swedish wood fuel system with specially interest on the control system. Sawdust has been tested in both a full scale and a laboratory scale dryers. The tests were done in a spouted bed. The product of the steam mass flow and the enthalpy difference limits the drying capacity. The tests showed that it is possible to use the temperature after the dryer as a control parameter for the outgoing moisture content in a spouted bed dryer. The results and conclusions can be very useful when designing a similar full scale drying system.
Sverige är inte längre världsledande som pelletsproducent. USA producerar allra mest pellets i världen. Kanada och Ryssland producerar också allt mer pellets. Ingen av dessa länder har någon omfattande inhemsk konsumtion. I stort sett all pellets exporteras och det sker huvudsakligen till Europa. Sannolikt kommer det att leda till att priset på pellets i Europa sjunker, med följd att lönsamheten för svenska pelletsproducenter minskar.
In 2011, the total consumption of pellets in Sweden amounted to 1.9 million tons, which represents an energy value of 9 TWh. The pellets are used in large-scale as well as in small-scale applications, and increased demands on pellet quality are likely to force pellet producers to improve on the pellet properties. One way of increasing pellet quality is by using additives. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to examine kraft lignin as an additive. Pelletswere produced in a small industrial pellet press located at KarlstadUniversity, Karlstad, Sweden, and 1–4% of kraft lignin was added to the pellets. The results indicate that the addition of an increased amount of kraft lignin to the pellets increases their mechanical durability and their lengths. The results also indicate that dry kraft lignin yields pellets with higher durability as compared to wet kraft lignin. The energy demand was unaffected by the increased use of kraft lignin. The general results presented in this paper are useful for producers of lignin, pellet producers and end-users of pellets, who are interested in developing their products and/or improving the production processes.
Further increasing the production of processed biofuel also increases the demands on drying capacity. With the aim of increasing the heat capacity flow, experimental tests have been performed on the process of drying sawdust in a continuous spouted bed dryer with nine different draft tube designs. The results showed that a draft tube with an increased length and an increased disengagement height decreased the dry substances' flow rate throughout the dryer. The results also showed that the mass of the material in the dryer was approximately the same in all the tests. This means that the draft tubes, no matter their size, do not influence the amount of material in the dryer.
Spouted bed drying technology shows promising results for the drying of unscreened sawdust in superheated steam. In this paper, the experiences from designing, running and evaluating two spouted bed continuous feed dryers are presented. Stable running conditions and drying results have been achieved. This has been particularly important for sawdust that will be compressed into pellets or briquettes. The spouted bed superheated steam dryer also shows high potential for energy efficient integration into sawmills. Our recommendation is thus, to use the outlet steam temperature as the control parameter for the outlet moisture content. A drying rate above and one below the fibre saturation level, can be identified. Visual observations through the viewing glass in the drying zone in both the dryers clearly showed that not all of the material participated in the spout at all times; there were, however, no indications of dead zones. A heat transfer analysis indicated that only about 70% of the surface area of the material was in thermal contact with the steam. This paper sums up the experiences regarding drying properties, control and system properties obtained when sawdust is dried using superheated steam as the drying medium. Further work on standardised dryers in series or in parallel is necessary to increase the capacity in the spouted bed dryer.
The use of wood fuel pellets has increased worldwide in recent years, and pellet producers conclude that the lack of drying capacity is a barrier to increased production. In this study, we develop a concept of two different dryers called the two-step drying technique. The aim is to show the potential for increasing the drying capacity and improving energy efficiency when introducing a second dryer into the pellet plant. The study is theoretical and based on an industrial packed moving bed dryer. It shows that the drying capacity increased by 22% when a pneumatic second dryer was used.
The use of bioenergy has increased globally in recent years, as has the utilization of biomaterials for various new product solutions through various biorefinery concepts. In this study, we introduce the concept of using a mechanical dewatering press in combination with thermal drying in a pellet plant. The purpose of the study is to increase the understanding of the effects a mechanical dewatering press has in a pellet production chain and investigate whether a pellet plant could thus become a biorefinery. The evaluations in this study are based on industrial data and initial tests at the university. The results show that the concept of using the mechanical dewatering press together with a packed moving bed dryer reduces energy use by 50%, compared to using only a packed moving bed dryer. The press water could be used as a raw material for biogas, bioplastics, and biohydrogen. Hence, this study points out the possibilities of a pellet plant increasing the efficiency of the drying step, while moving towards becoming a biorefinery.
In this study, we pelletized four different pure polysaccharides represented cellulose - Avicel, hemicelluloses - locus bean gum mannan and beech xylan and other polysaccharides - apple pectin, and three woods - pine, spruce and beech. All were pelletized at 100° in a single pellet press unit with different level of moisture content from 0 to 15%. The maximal friction force and work required for compression and friction was analyzed together with the pellet density and hardness. The results showed that xylan pellets completely changed in color at 10% moisture content, and this also occurred to some extent with pectin pellets. The color of both Avicel and locus bean gum pellets were not affected at all. During compression, the results showed that water does not affect compression up to 5 kN, while above 5 kN water decreases the energy need for densification of Avicel, locus bean gum and woods. Above 5 kN the energy needs for compressing xylan and pectin increases with increased moisture content. The hardest pellets were produced from Avicel, while locus bean gum produced the weakest pellets. The study concludes that there is a significant difference in how water affects the two hemicelluloses, glucomannan and xylan, during densification.
Solid fuel for heating is an important product, and for sustainability reasons, it is important to replace nonrenewable fuels with renewable resources. This entails that the raw material base for pellet production has to increase. A broader spectrum of materials for pelleting involves variation in biomass substances. This variation, due to lack of knowledge, limits the possibilities to increase the pellet production using new raw materials. In this study, pellets were produced with a single pellet press from 16 different pure biomass substances representing cellulose, hemicellulose, other polysaccharides, protein, lignin, and extractives, and five different wood species, representing softwoods and hardwoods. All pellets were analyzed for the work required for compression and friction, maximum force needed to overcome the backpressure, pellet hardness, solid density, and moisture uptake. The results showed that the hardest pellets were produced from the group of celluloses, followed by rice xylan and larch arbinogalactan. The weakest pellets were from the group of mannans. Conclusions are that the flexible polysaccharides have a greater impact on the pelletizing process than previously known, and that the differences between xylan and glucomannan may explain the difference in the behavior of pelletizing softwoods and hardwoods.