Pellet fuel is a heating fuel made from recyclable biomass residues – generally, sawmill residues and agriculture waste. These pellets are small pieces and are environment-friendly, renewable, cost-stable and carbon-neutral fuel. Millions of tons of biomass residues can be converted into energy which is a powerful replacement to conventional fossil fuels like Diesel, LPG, PNG, etc. These pellets are widely used in residential and industrial heating applications across developed countries like Europe and America.
Pellets are produced by compressing the wood material which has first passed through a hammer mill to provide a uniform dough-like mass.
This mass is fed to a press, where it is squeezed through a die having holes of the size required (normally 6 mm diameter, sometimes 8 mm or larger). The high pressure of the press causes the temperature of the wood to increase greatly, and the lignin plasticizes slightly, forming a natural “glue” that holds the pellet together as it cools.
Pellet burners feature the lowest particulate matter emissions of all solid fuels burners. Given the proper Sustainable Forest Initiatives and agricultural management, biomass is virtually limitless and has proven to be price stable in comparison with fossil fuels.
Many pellet manufacturers take by-products (like a wood waste) and refine them into pencil-sized pellets that are uniform in size, shape, moisture, density and energy content. Why not simply burn raw biomass? First, the moisture content of pellets is substantially lower (4% to 8% water–compared to 20% to 60% for raw biomass).
