Densification of Wood—Influence on Mechanical and Chemical Properties when 11 Naturally Occurring Substances in Wood Are Mixed with Beech and Pine

Stefan Frodeson, Anthony Ike Anukam, Jonas Berghel, Magnus Ståhl, Rasika Lasanthi Kudahettige Nilsson, Gunnar Henriksson and Elizabeth Bosede Aladejana
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Stefan Frodeson: Environmental and Energy Systems, Department of Engineering and Chemical Science, Karlstad University, SE-651 88 Karlstad, Sweden
Anthony Ike Anukam: Environmental and Energy Systems, Department of Engineering and Chemical Science, Karlstad University, SE-651 88 Karlstad, Sweden
Jonas Berghel: Environmental and Energy Systems, Department of Engineering and Chemical Science, Karlstad University, SE-651 88 Karlstad, Sweden
Magnus Ståhl: Environmental and Energy Systems, Department of Engineering and Chemical Science, Karlstad University, SE-651 88 Karlstad, Sweden
Rasika Lasanthi Kudahettige Nilsson: Environmental and Energy Systems, Department of Engineering and Chemical Science, Karlstad University, SE-651 88 Karlstad, Sweden
Gunnar Henriksson: Division of Wood Chemistry and Pulp Technology, Department of Fiber and Polymer Technology, Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
Elizabeth Bosede Aladejana: Electron Microscopy Unit, Central Analytical Laboratory, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 18, 1-16

Abstract: The need to increase the use of renewable biomasses for energy supply, such as fuel pellets is significant. However, different types of biomasses have different mechanical properties to be pelletized, which entails a limitation in available raw materials for pellet producers. Within this study eleven different pure substances from biomasses were separately mixed with European beech and Scots pine, to identify its impact on the densification process. Beech and pine pellets were used as control materials against their corresponding pellets mixed with substances representing: cellulose, hemicelluloses, other polysaccharides, lignin, protein, and extractives. The mechanical properties were investigated as well as FT-IR and SEM analyses on the pellets. The results showed that the addition of the substances xylan and galactan created the hardest pellets for both pine and beech and that adding extractives to wood affects pine more than beech in relation to hardness. The FT-IR data could not provide clear explanations as to the variation in hardness and springback behavior through the identification of major functional groups in each pellet. It can be concluded that biomass residues rich in xylan and galactan increase pellet quality in terms of strength and durability without affecting the production process.

Keywords: pellets; single pellet press; chemical composition; pelletization (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
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