Making Wood Pellet

Today, wood pellets are been used by more home owners and business to provide complete heating solutions. Through pellet stoves for smaller properties and wood pellet boilers for large scale users, the wood pellet can provide a clean, convenient form of green heating. However, more and more people are also interested in the making of the wood pellet. How does the process work, what equipment is required, which materials can be compressed into pellet form are just a few of the questions. Well here at PelHeat, we specialise in pellet production and combustion solutions, providing consultation and information services. Before looking more into the process of making a wood pellet, it makes sense to look at where the market currently is situated, and the type of pellet fuel that is currently produced and its reasons.

Softwood Pellets and Hardwood Pellets

Wood pellets are produced both from softwood and hardwood residues, this may either be separate pellet fuels, or as in many cases a blend of the two. From the log burning community, there has always been a debate on which wood burns more efficiently producing more heat and less ash. In terms of burning logs, the opinion is clear than hardwood logs burn more efficiently, generating more heat and less ash. Some of these consumers who now own pellet stove, believe the same to be true, however this is not the case. In fact, there is evidence to support that softwood pellets produce more heat. The reason hardwood logs burn more efficiently is due to material density, as hardwood has a higher density, a more complete burn is achieved. However, when making wood pellets, the forces of compression are equal. This means a softwood and hardwood pellet have the same density, and therefore the same combustion characteristics. However there is some evidence to support that softwood pellets do in fact generate more BTU's.

Wood Pellet Equipment And Pellet Mills

There is a range of wood pellet equipment used in the making of pellet fuel. The three key areas of pellet making equipment are size reduction, drying and pellet compression. There are several other processes, up to 10 distinct factors, however these these are the core processes. Before the pellet mill can compress the wood particles, the must be small enough and dry enough. This means first processing through a chipper and hammer mill solution. The particle size required is smaller than the pellet that is to be produced. So for a 6mm fuel pellet, a particle size of 5mm is required. After size reduction, drying is the next step. Water needs to be removed not only for efficient pellet combustion, but also as water cannot be compressed, therefore the wood will not hold pellet form with a high percentage of moisture. Once dried the material is them placed into the pellet mill, where high pressure and temperature help form the material into a pellet.

How To Make Wood Pellets From Home

The Wood Pellet Production Guide © PelHeat Ltd - Making Wood Pellet