The Issues With Flat Die Pellet Mills

There are various different designs of pellet mills. The two core designs that most pellet machine revolve around is either the flat die or ring die design. The flat die design was the first design of pellet mill to emerge at the beginning of the 20th century. Pellet mills were originally focused on the animal feed industry, and this was the case up until the 1970's, when the first experiments producing wood pellet fuel were conducted. However it is only within the last decade that wood pellet fuel has been taken seriously as a heating option, due the rising costs of oil and gas, and their effects on global warming and climate change.

Summary of Flat Die Pellet Mill Design

Flat die pellet mills are the simplest design of pellet mill, and as such have certain advantages and disadvantages. Flat die pellet mills work on a vertical design, using gravity as the main force for feeding the material through the machine. Flat die pellet mills have a horizontal die, with a series of rollers above the die. As material falls in from the top, it is compressed between the rollers and die to form the pellets.

There are various different designs of flat die pellet mill, with two key differences. Some designs of flat die pellet mill have a rotating die with stationary roller shaft, and others have a stationary die with a rotating roller shaft. The later design being more popular for larger flat die pellet mills. In general however due to their simple design and lower weight, flat die pellet mills are normally used in small scale pellet production. With ring die pellet mills generally used in larger scale production, but some are small presses.

Biomass Fuel Covers Many Forms

Biomass is simply any form of organic matter which can be used to produce energy. This obviously includes wood, and wood waste, however it also includes agricultural residues such as straws and grasses. Another growing biomass energy area is purpose grown energy crops such as miscanthus, switchgrass and hemp. All of these biomass materials can be converted into biomass pellets.

Pellet Making For Fuel Pellets

Making pellets is a skilled process, it needs the right equipment and operator knowledge. To produce quality durable pellets, the material must have a certain moisture content, and the necessary binding qualities. Lignin is the natural binder contained within all biomass. However some materials during pellet production require an additional binder.

The PelHeat Pellet Equipment Guide

To help more people understand the pellet production process, and to encourage more individuals and organizations to consider making pellets, we have developed the Wood Pellet Production Guide. At PelHeat we offer small pellet mills and pellet plants, and we are generally interested in biomass energy. The Wood Pellet Production Guide has been broken up into a ten step process, with concise points and illustrations to explain the core details of the process, and the various equipment required. If you click the link at the bottom of this page you will be able to enter your details to download five free guides on making pellets and how the pellet mill actually works. This will help you understand the benefits of the ring die pellet mill over the cheap flat die pellet mills from China.

The Wood Pellet Production Guide © PelHeat Ltd - The Issues With Flat Die Pellet Mills