Influence of Input and Control Parameters on the Process of Pelleting Powdered Biomass

Iuliana Gageanu, Dan Cujbescu, Catalin Persu, Paula Tudor, Petru Cardei, Mihai Matache, Valentin Vladut, Sorin Biris, Iulian Voicea and Nicoleta Ungureanu
Additional contact information
Iuliana Gageanu: The National Institute of Research—Development for Machines and Installations Designed for Agriculture and Food Industry—INMA Bucharest, 013811 Bucharest, Romania
Dan Cujbescu: The National Institute of Research—Development for Machines and Installations Designed for Agriculture and Food Industry—INMA Bucharest, 013811 Bucharest, Romania
Catalin Persu: The National Institute of Research—Development for Machines and Installations Designed for Agriculture and Food Industry—INMA Bucharest, 013811 Bucharest, Romania
Paula Tudor: Department of Management and Entrepreneurship, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania
Petru Cardei: The National Institute of Research—Development for Machines and Installations Designed for Agriculture and Food Industry—INMA Bucharest, 013811 Bucharest, Romania
Mihai Matache: The National Institute of Research—Development for Machines and Installations Designed for Agriculture and Food Industry—INMA Bucharest, 013811 Bucharest, Romania
Valentin Vladut: The National Institute of Research—Development for Machines and Installations Designed for Agriculture and Food Industry—INMA Bucharest, 013811 Bucharest, Romania
Sorin Biris: Department of Biotechnical Systems, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania
Iulian Voicea: The National Institute of Research—Development for Machines and Installations Designed for Agriculture and Food Industry—INMA Bucharest, 013811 Bucharest, Romania
Nicoleta Ungureanu: Department of Biotechnical Systems, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 14, 1-22

Abstract: This paper presents theoretical and experimental research studying the influence of process parameters on the quality of biomass pellets. A validated mathematical model was developed, expressing the density of biomass pellets as determined by moisture content, compression pressure, process heat, the initial density of the material, pelleting speed and initial volume of the material. The experiments for determining the influence of these parameters on the compression of biomass into pellets and optimizing the process were conducted on a heated single pellet compression device, using fir sawdust as raw material. To describe and study the process, four input and control parameters were varied—raw material moisture, pelleting speed, maximum force applied and pelleting die temperature. From the experiments, it was noticed that overall, moisture and pressure have the most important effect on the compression process and pelleting speed, and heat applied also affected the process. Pellet density decreased when pelleting speed and material moisture increase and the density increased with a higher compression pressure and higher heat during the process.

Keywords: fir sawdust; pelleting; compaction model; pressure; process heat (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:14:p:4104-:d:590146

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