Small Pellet Mill

Pellet mills come in various different shapes and sizes, including small pellet mills. There are various different designs of pellet mills, and some are more common than others in the design of small pellet mills. Also the size of the pellet mill can influence its ability to process various raw materials. Therefore a small pellet mill can struggle to produce pellets out of certain materials, particularly high density materials, such as wood pellets and particularly hardwood pellets.

Conditioning and Power

The reasons most small pellet mills struggle to produce wood pellets, is they lack sufficient power to compress the wood, and they also do not generate sufficient heat to melt the wood. As wood is a much harder material than grass for example, either more power is required in terms of a larger motor, or a lower gearing. Wood melting is crucial to the pellet process and pellet binding. Wood melts at a much higher temperature than grass, and the friction generated in a small mill is usually insufficient to reach the required temperatures. Larger pellet mills have a larger contact area, which generates more friction, and thus heat. Also large pellet machines usually have steam conditioners to raise the temperature of the wood before it enters the pellet mill.

Flat Die Pellet Mills

There are two core principle designs of pellet mills, which is either a flat die or ring die design. Flat die pellet mills work on a vertical process design, with raw material entering from above and dropping down into the process area. The die is horizontal, with a set of rollers rotating across the surface. As the raw material falls from above, the rollers compress the material through the die in a vertical motion. Flat die pellet mills are a much more popular design for small pellet mills, due to their more simple design and operation. To learn more about flat die pellet mills, their advantages and disadvantages, please click below to download the guide.

Ring Die Pellet Mills

Ring die pellet mills work in a different manor to flat die pellet mills. In a ring die pellet mill the die encompasses the rollers, hence the 'ring' description. The rollers apply pressure to the inner surface of the die, compressing material through the outer surface of the die. Material is forced fed horizontally into the centre of the ring, Pellets then fall vertically away from the ring. Small ring die pellet mills do exist, however they are not as popular due to their more complicated design and higher costs. However ring die pellet mills do have certain benefits over flat die pellet mills.

Pellet Mill Production Guide

We produce small mobile pellet mills here at PelHeat, and we receive many requests for information on how the process works. We therefore developed this guide, to provide some core background knowledge of the process. The guide is broken down into simple steps, with illustrations to indicate what is happening in the process, and how to address certain issues.

The Wood Pellet Production Guide © PelHeat Ltd - Small Pellet Mill