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The Log Pile Website >
Wood Pellets > Production
Wood
Pellet Fuel Production
Introduction
Pellet equipment sales
in the UK are increasing and tied to its rate of growth is the price
and availability of pellet supply. There is now an emerging wood
pellet fuel industry in parts of the UK-focussed around pellet production.
There are a growing number of medium and small size plants now starting
production.
Pellet production options in the UK
There are currently three main routes
to setting up pellet production.
1. Purpose built 'large scale' wood pellet
facility
Large scale pellet production plants
may only be appropriate in a limited number of situations in the
UK due to variations in local supplies of biomass material suitable
for pelletising. Reliable supplies of local, good quality sawdust
or other waste wood suitable for processing are essential.
2.
Conversion of animal feed or grass mills
This option represents
a relatively low cost way to set up pellet production since most
of the machinery and auxiliary equipment (including driers) already
exists.
Grass has similar characteristics to wood for pelletisation and
as grass mills are used only from April to October they offer a
good opportunity for wood pellet production during the winter.
Other advantages to this approach are that it would need a relatively
low capital cost - especially as production of wood pellets could
start modestly and increase as market demand grows. Some
disadvantages could be that grass/animal feed pelletising equipment
has a lower output rate than machinery specially designed to pelletise
wood.. Modifications to method and material handling would be needed.
3. Small scale pellet machines
A good example of the process of setting
up a small scale pellet production plant is the Somerset Pellet
Mill. This is a joint venture between Renewable Heat and Power Ltd
and a local wood recycling company.
The partnership purchased
a small scale pellet machine from Sweden (SPC AB) which is capable
of producing 300kg per hour.
(Annual production capability 2000 tonnes).
The machine is designed for 24 hour operation.
The typical cost for fully installed and commissioned system 'pellet
factory' is between £75k-95k depending on options.
The advantages of this approach to pellet production are that it
allows for relatively low capital cost, there is a fairly low power
requirement (50kVA supply) and there is a short project set up period.
Delivery is 10-12 weeks, commissioning 2-6 weeks. Total project
12-18 weeks from order.
Quality
considerations
The growth of the wood
pellet market will be relative to customer confidence in availability
and quality of supply. A number of
European Pellet Standards exist. A pan European standard
CEN/TC
335 for biomass is also being developed and will replace the
voluntary UK standard for premium pellets as developed by British
Biogen before it merged with the Renewable
Energy Assocation.
At present the categorisation
for premium pellets are:
- Size between 4 & 20mm
- Ash content either <1% (Low), <3% (Standard) or <6%
(High) to be clearly labelled
- Moisture content below 10% Calorific value > 4.7kWh/kg
- Bulk density > 600kg/m Sulfur content < 300ppm, Chlorine
<800ppm
- Only additives lignin and trace amounts of vegetable oil as
a die lubricant
Initiatives
The growth of the wood
pellet fuel industry is based on the simultaneous establishment
of
- Local pellet supplies
- Availability of high quality burning equipment
- Availability of trained service engineers
All within a 50 mile or
1 hour radius.
One possible way forward
is to establish the local market using purpose built small scale
pelletising equipment.
Grants
The second round of DEFRA's
Bio-energy Infrastructure Scheme should provide grants to farmers,
foresters and businesses to help develop the supply chain required
to harvest, store, process and supply energy crops and woodfuel
to energy end-users. The scheme was due to be re-launced
in the Autumn of 2007, but no announcement has been made yet.
To register your interest in the scheme follow the link from the
DEFRA website.
Suppliers
of Pelletising Equipment
Small Scale
Equipment
Cornwell Heat Ltd of Bells
Lane, Hawstead, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP29 5NW. Tel 01284
386447.
E-mail: cornwellheatltd@btopenworld.com
PelHeat Ltd of Lask Edge
Farm, Lask Edge, Leek, Staffordshire ST13 8QS
Tel: 07841660598 (Christopher
Scott)
E-mail: chris.scott@pelheat.com
Web: www.pelheat.com
(website also contains useful information about the pellet making
process and the properties of different raw materials. Company
developing a small-scale mobile pellet manufacturing plant)
Wood Energy Ltd of Pinkworthy
Barn, Oakford, Tiverton, Devon EX16 9EU. Tel 01398 351349.
E-mail: info@woodenergyltd.co.uk
Web: www.woodenergyltd.co.uk
Large Scale
Equipment
Amandus Kahl of Germany
( http://www.environmental-expert.com/technology/amandus/amandus.htm
)
Buhler Ltd of 20 Atlantis
Avenue, London, E16 2BF
Tel 0207 055 6650
This year exhibiting at
the European Biofuels Exhibition & Conference in Newark, Nottingham,
on the 15th - 16th October, stand 50. Further information
can be found on: www.biofuels-expo.co.uk
E-mail: buhler.london@buhlergroup.com
Web: www.buhlergroup.com
Sprout-Matador through
its sister company , UMT Ltd of Stockholm Road Sutton Fields, Hull,
HU7 0XL.
Tel 01482 825119.
E-mail: sales.equipment.hull@umt-group.com
Web: www.umt-group.com
For a list of pellet
production equipment suppliers as compiled by the Biomass
Energy Centre please click here.
Pellet
Handling & Storage Equipment
Large
Scale Equipment
Alvan Blanch, Chelworth
Malmesbury, Wiltshire SN16 9SG
Tel 01666 577339
E-mail: info@alvanblanch.co.uk
Web: www.alvanblanch.co.uk
(company also manufacture briquetting machinery)
E. Collinson & Co.
Ltd, Riverside Industrial Park, Catterall, Preston, Lancashire PR3
0HP
Tel 01995 606 451
E-mail: info@collinson.co.uk
Web: www.collinson.co.uk
MAFA I ÄNGELHOLM
AB
Fratidsgatan 3, S.262 73 ÄNGLEHOLM, Sweden
Tel: 0046 431 881 40
E-mail: mafa@mafa.se
Web: www.mafa.se
Manufacturers of silos suitable for small and large scale storage
of wood pellets
Saxlund International
Ltd, 11 Freemantle Business Centre, Millbrook Road East, Southampton
SO15 1JR.
Tel 023 8063 6330
E-mail: frankboyles@saxlund.co.uk
(Managing Director)
Web: www.saxlund.co.uk
(company also offer complete turnkey plant installation and commissioning)
Bagging
Large
Scale Equipment
BTH (UK) Ltd
Tel: 01773 570570
E-mail: info@bth-bv.co.uk
Web: www.bth-bv.com
Pellet
Testing
TES Bretby, PO Box 100,
Bretby Business Park, Ashby Road, Burton upon Trent DE15 0XD.
Tel 01283 554451
E-mail: jonathan.clay@tes-bretby.co.uk
Web: http://www.esgl.co.uk/tesbretby/
Please note that
inclusion in these lists is not an indication of endorsement, nor
is exclusion an indicator of disapproval. If you are a supplier
to the pellet industry and consider you ought to be included in
one or more of these lists, then please contact Sandra
Hayes
Page last updated
12/2/08
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