Independent production of pellets. Do-it-yourself sawdust pellets

Wood pellets are characterized by:

• high heat output during combustion (4.5 - 5 kW / h, which is higher than dry firewood);
• low ash content (fuel burns almost without residue);
• a small amount of harmful emissions (sulfur, carbon dioxide);
• environmental cleanliness (manufacturing technology does not provide for the use of binders and other components);
• ease of use (from the bunker of a solid fuel boiler, pellets are fed into the furnace without human intervention);
• compactness during storage (packages with pellets stacked in piles take up much less space compared to firewood).

Types of granulated biofuels

The production of fuel pellets involves the use various kinds raw materials, primarily:

• woodworking waste (chips, sawdust, substandard wood);
• agricultural product processing waste (grain husk, sunflower husk, straw, etc.);
• waste from poultry farms (chicken manure);
• peat.

Compared to wood pellets, pellets made from straw and other raw materials lose in terms of heat transfer, ash content and emissions. However, their manufacture makes it possible to use waste with maximum benefit.

• "Premium class" - are made from highly refined raw materials, i.e., dry sawdust and small chips, the bark content is minimal. Differ in high cost.
• Industrial grade - a higher percentage of bark content, inclusion of impurities in the form of needles, foliage is allowed. Such fuel is cheaper. Its use is associated with the need to regularly clean the boiler and chimney due to the relatively high ash content.

To minimize the cost of heating the house, some owners of solid fuel boilers make pellets with their own hands. However, making pellets at home requires unlimited access to free (or very inexpensive) raw materials. suitable quality. Preference should be given to wood raw materials, since it is undesirable to use pellets from straw and other waste as fuel for domestic boilers.

Raw material requirements

The production of sawdust pellets includes several stages, one of which is the drying of raw materials. Its moisture level should be brought to 8-12% before pressing, this required condition. Otherwise, during pressure granulation, insufficient lignin will be released from the wood raw material and the granules will turn out to be crumbly.

Moreover, fuel pellets with a final moisture content of more than 15% are not suitable for burning in boilers, since this significantly reduces the efficiency of boiler units and leads to excessive soot formation.

In this way, technological process requires the use of well-dried raw materials. And if the initial moisture content of chips and sawdust is high, serious financial costs for drying will be required, since it is carried out using electrical equipment.

Attention! Before planning the installation of a pellet production line, you should determine the moisture content of the raw materials available to you. The cost of energy for drying can make pellet production uneconomical.

Wood raw materials high humidity suitable for the manufacture of home-made fuel briquettes, since there the technology involves the use of water during the preparation of the mixture for pressing and drying "semi-finished products" in the open air.

It should also be noted that high-quality do-it-yourself pellets are obtained from their wood. conifers thanks to high content pitches. Granulation of sawdust obtained during the processing of poplar, willow, linden does not give very good result– pellets have low strength.

Pellet production technology

The production of pellets at home is carried out according to the same principles as in production conditions. The main difference lies in the performance of the hardware.

Pellets are made as follows:

1. The raw materials are crushed before drying - this allows you to quickly remove excess moisture from the material. The length and width of wood particles should not exceed 25 mm, thickness - 2 mm.
2. Crushed wood chips, shavings, sawdust are sent to the dryer to bring the percentage of moisture content to 12-14%.
3. Re-crushing - dried raw materials are crushed to a fraction of 4 mm.
4. Overdried (less than 8% moisture) or solid raw materials ( old wood or hard varieties wood) is steamed to improve lignin production.
5. Pressing. The machine for the production of pellets allows you to produce fuel pellets with a diameter of 6 to 25 mm. During pressing, the raw material is heated to 70-90 ° C and releases lignin. The result is dense pellets.
6. Finished products are cooled and dried.
7. Pellets are poured into a bunker for storage or packaged in plastic bags to keep the fuel dry.

Equipment for the production of pellets from sawdust

To make pellets at home, you need to purchase or make the appropriate equipment: a grinder, a dryer, a pellet granulator.

Press. You can purchase a ready-made small capacity pelletizer or use a unit made on your own. The industrial lines use a pelletizer with a cylindrical matrix, which ensures high performance. To make your own pelletizer, you need to buy or order from a turner a flat die with two rollers that push the raw material through the holes in the die. It is important that the parts are made of high-quality metal and have carefully fitted and polished surfaces. You can find out how to make a pellet press on the craftsmen's forums or by watching the video below.

chopper. This unit can be dispensed with if small dry wastes remaining from wood processing in production are used as raw materials. If the fraction of raw materials for the manufacture of pellets is large, you can mount a crusher using several dozen circular saws mounted on one shaft.

Dryer. By studying how a dryer is made, one can find simple design drum type. The long drum, made of metal barrels and equipped with mixing paddles inside, is supplied with heated air by means of a heat gun. The raw material moves inside the rotating drum and is dried. Rotation is provided by an electric motor connected through a belt drive or gearbox.

Economic expediency

Making pellets with your own hands can be beneficial in the following case:

• there is access to free or inexpensive raw materials of suitable quality;
• sawdust pellets are produced not only for themselves, but also for sale;
• the equipment is completely or almost completely manufactured independently, i.e., it did not require serious start-up investments.

It makes no sense to buy a pelletizer if you plan to produce granulated fuel for one boiler - the installation will pay off within ten years, even if you do not take into account the current maintenance of equipment and energy costs.

However, the current prices for a decent quality pelletizer allow several owners of automatic solid fuel boilers to buy the unit together and save on buying pellets in the future by making fuel on their own.

In recent years, the country's economy has been very shaky. Therefore, there is a sharp increase in prices for gas, electricity, heating, etc. A modern alternative was invented - pellets. There are many advantages to making pellets at home. This is an environmentally friendly material in the form of granules, which can be made by almost anyone.

• Manufacturing features and advantages of wood pellets
• Pellet manufacturing technology
• Step by step opening plan - Making wood pellets at home
• What equipment to choose for the production of pellets?
• room
• How much money do you need to start a business?

Chips, bark, sawdust and other waste from the forest are used as raw materials for the manufacture. Vegetable granules are also in demand; they are made from husks, straw and other crops. On sale there are pellets made from peat and chicken manure.

Manufacturing features and advantages of wood pellets

If you completely replace conventional fuel with pellets, you can significantly affect the environment. The greenhouse effect will be significantly reduced. This is due to the fact that the wood component of the pellet contains a small amount of carbon dioxide. During the combustion of the pellets, much less sulfur dioxide is released, which provokes the appearance of acid rain.

It is worth highlighting other significant advantages:

• when heating with pellets, the room heats up faster, unlike conventional firewood;
• they do not require large storage space;
• all pellets are heat-treated, so they do not contain biologically active products, which allows them to be stored near the house or production workshop;
• pellets can be made by yourself;
• fireproof, so you should not be afraid of accidental ignition;
• they are hypoallergenic, due to the dense structure they are considered safe;
• during the manufacture of pellets, no chemical components are added;
• any waste can be put into the pellet production line;
• using this type of fuel, you get more heat, and the level of carbon dioxide emissions is much lower than, for example, coal;
• at cost, the production of pellets is inexpensive.

Pellet manufacturing technology

Two types of wood pellets are currently in use. Each type is used only in its industry.. When heating houses, pellets are most often produced from wood with a low content of bark and ashes. And in the industrial sector, raw materials of lower quality are used.

It is better to burn pellets in special boilers. Combustion occurs with a constant supply of oxygen. Now on sale there are such boilers that do not often require fuel to be put into them. In general, it will take an average of 15-20 minutes to load one batch into the boiler. The production of pellets can be divided into several stages. They can be found in the table below.

Step by step opening plan - Making wood pellets at home

Most often, pellet manufacturers are not ready to give discounts to wholesale buyers. Therefore, it is not profitable for ordinary consumers to buy products in small quantities. The most advantageous option is the production of pellets in a "handicraft" way. But you may encounter such a problem: the above production technology is too complicated and requires special conditions and equipment. For example, in order to produce high-quality drying of raw materials, you need to incur serious expenses (equipment, electricity).

If, nevertheless, you are going to make pellets at home, then you should understand that all stages of production are not easy. Especially sorting and cleaning of raw materials from impurities. Therefore, the most profitable option is to purchase crushed raw materials of the desired moisture content. In this case, you only need a granulator, which you can make yourself. If you want to make "from scratch" you will also need a dryer and crusher. But the cost of finished pellets will increase greatly.

What equipment to choose for the production of pellets?

Before you start producing pellets, you need to carefully study the production process. Pellet production technology, if you understand it, is simple. It is worth thinking about what equipment you need to purchase, and what you can do yourself.

The dryer can be made by hand, using two metal barrels welded together. If you buy raw materials, you can save on the purchase of a crusher. For packaging, it is better to use canvas or paper bags with a volume of 20 kg. After you start producing pellets for own needs, you can consider options for selling surplus.

room

For the production of pellets, you will need a spacious room that will fit all the necessary units. There are certain requirements: the ceiling height must be at least 10 meters, the workshop area must be at least 150 square meters. m. In addition, consider a room for storing raw materials and finished products.

For such requirements, it is better to rent an industrial building outside the city. Or land plot, on which you can build a production building. An important condition is the availability of electricity and running water.

How much money do you need to start a business?

To summarize, in order to open such a business, you will have to invest a large amount of money. If such cash absent, attract third-party investors. For this it is worth making detailed business plan. This direction in entrepreneurship is very promising. All products can be manufactured, focusing on deliveries to Europe.

Constantly increasing environmental requirements, low price and energy efficiency make pellets an increasingly popular type of fuel. When burning a ton of pellets, the same amount of heat is released as 680 liters of fuel oil, 1500 kg of firewood, 485 cubic meters of gas. They are made by hand from wood processing waste (sawdust) on special equipment.

Types of pellets

Pellets are also called sawdust granules. There are many varieties containing pure sawdust, with the addition of bark, straw, seed or nut peelings, low-grade wood.

It is important to understand that the presence of impurities lowers the quality of the pellets by increasing the percentage of ash. The best fuel pellets are made by hand from sawdust without impurities!

First grade. The granules contain less than 1.5% ash. The granule diameter is from 6 to 8 mm. The heating capacity of a kilogram of pellets is 4.7 kilowatts per hour. They are suitable as fuel and also for cat litter.

Industrial grade. With an ash content of 1.5 - 5%, pellets are sold as a filler for trays. Only industrial-type boilers can be melted with their own hands. Their size can reach 12 mm, the heat output is 4 kilowatts per hour. Ash content above 5% is not allowed.

It takes about 6 cubic meters of raw materials to produce 1 ton of granules.

Pellet making process

The production of wood pellets consists of several stages.

1. Grinding of raw materials to a large fraction in crushers. The output is particles with a maximum diameter of 2.5 mm. Before drying, it is necessary to protect them from mixing with stones or earth. Scraper equipment mass is fed to the dryer.
2. Drying it to a moisture level of 7-12% in belt or drum dryers. The optimum output humidity is 10%.
3. Grinding of a semi-finished product to a fine fraction in hammer mills. The final particle diameter is 1.5 mm.
4. Wetting or water treatment of the mass with steam or water with constant mixing in screw installations and preparation for processing by a press. You can compress into the required shape a mass, brought to the required humidity with your own hands. Moisture is supplied to the mixing drum by a dispenser. Hot steam is applied to raw materials from hard rock, old or poor quality.
5. Pressing on a matrix of a cylindrical or flat shape. Are used various designs presses up to 500 kilowatts.
6. Cooling of granules. From the press come granules with a temperature of up to 90 degrees, here they are cooled and lose the remaining moisture.
7. Screening and packaging. Most often, fuel pellets are kept in large containers and transported in bulk. Product highest quality it is recommended to pack with your own hands in large-volume bags in order to avoid deterioration of properties. Such granules are sold in packages of 20 kilograms.

Auxiliary stages of production: cleaning of raw materials from stones and metal debris, transportation, storage and dosing.

All waste obtained during screening goes to recycling. Therefore, the production of wood pellets with their own hands is waste-free.

Machines and lines for the production of pellets

Do-it-yourself fuel pellets can be made on mini-granulators or production lines. Mini granulators are equipped with a diesel engine or an electric motor. The first one can be moved, which is very convenient for making pellets right at the sawmill. The second is very large and is installed permanently. The maximum productivity of the mini-granulator is 250 kg of finished products per hour.

The main equipment for pellet production:

• chipper-cutter;
• dryer for raw materials;
• press - granulator;
• cooler;
• conveyor.

Choppers

They can be disc or drum type. Drum grinders are used in large-scale industries, their second name is chip cutters. They can work with trunks up to 30 cm thick. The log is fed along the conveyor into a drum with several knives. During rotation, the log is cut, chips are fed to the conveyor. Chip size 5 - 30 mm.

Disc shredders are suitable for working with branches of different diameters and wood waste. They can be in the form of a trailer or a stationary device. Knives in such a chipper are mounted on a disk and cut off pieces of wood.

Dryers

In the production of fuel pellets, aerodynamic or drum dryers are used. Aerodynamic work with particles up to 3 mm in diameter. Used in large industries, the kit includes a heat generator.

Drum dryers dry coarse raw materials:

• sawdust;
• wood chip;
• peat;
• manure;
• reeds;
• herbal mass.

The dryer consists of a drum, an oven, a temperature controller, a fan, an air curtain and a control box. The operating temperature in drum-type equipment can reach 800 degrees Celsius.

Granulators

All granulation equipment is divided by performance. Presses with an hourly efficiency of less than 300 kg are usually equipped with a flat die and a motor up to 30 kilowatts. The press engine can be diesel or electric.

Presses with an efficiency of more than 300 kg per hour are equipped with cylindrical dies, their maximum productivity is 3.5 thousand kilograms of granules per hour. Such powerful presses work only on electric motors.

Coolers

The final stage of making pellets with your own hands is cooling. The production uses counterflow and louver coolers, different in performance. In louvered equipment, a stream of air is blown onto the granules through slots in the side walls. As soon as the cooling tank is full, a sensor is triggered and the sorting drive that moves the conveyor stops. The performance of louvered coolers is up to 2 tons per hour.

Counterflow coolers are more powerful - up to 20 tons per hour. They are a cooling hopper, an unloading mechanism, an electric lock and funnels. Air enters the bunker from below through an unloading funnel. Filling of the bunker is controlled by sensors.

Packing machines and conveyors

Finished granules are poured into bags of a certain capacity, which are sealed or sewn up. The process takes place automatically under the supervision of the operator.

Raw materials and finished products moves around the workshop by belt or screw conveyors. Screws produce less dust, but work slower than belt ones.

Details about the effectiveness of the use of pellets and their production in the video:

Many specialized research institutes are engaged in the search for new sources of fuel various countries. In parallel with the development of non-traditional types of energy in recent times energy-saving technologies began to be actively introduced. Among the promising areas in this area is the use of industrial and agricultural waste.

Pellets are a fuel product that has become an excellent tool in farms where wood and crops are actively processed.

Video review of a homemade pellet mill

Raw material base

Do-it-yourself pellet production is based on the principle of forming small cylindrical granules with a diameter of 5-10 cm and a length of 5-6 cm from the following types of raw materials:

• Substandard wood and woodworking waste (chips, sawdust, shavings)
• Waste of sowing crops (straw, husk)

Pellets– fuel is much cleaner than fuel oil or coal. The emission of CO2 into the atmosphere is negligible. However, when using raw materials for the production of pellets, attention should be paid to the possible presence of toxic substances in it.

Pellet manufacturing technology

The technological chain for the production of fuel pellets is very short. Making pellets with your own hands comes down to two main stages: preparatory and production.

Preparatory stage

This includes:

1. Sorting of raw materials by types
2. Removal of foreign objects from fractions
3. Screening
4. Drying

Humidity mass should be in the range of 8-12%. This indicator is kept for pellets in order to provide them with a high calorific value.

production stage

The finished fraction is poured into the receiving hopper, then it enters the granulator press. When pressing, the mass is heated to a temperature of 70-90 °C. Lignin becomes soft and sticks together sawdust. Under pressure, granules are formed. Then they are cooled and stored.

Equipment

The owner, who ventured to make pellets with his own hands, will face a dilemma: buy or make a granulator. Many will immediately reject the first option for three reasons:

1. High prices of branded equipment.
2. Low profitability.
3. Product scarcity.

The second remains. Before starting work, it is necessary to decide on the choice of the type of granulator. It happens with a flat matrix and with an annular one.

Flat die granulator is less expensive and easier to manufacture. Consider it as the preferred option.

Basically, the whole process comes down to assembly operations, and the individual components that make it up are bought. You will need to take care of the presence of the following modules:

1. electric motor
2. Reducer
3. Actuating mechanism
4. Transmission

Some details you can do yourself.

Frame manufacturing

The assembly of the unit is carried out in the presence of a strong and rigid platform. This is a welded structure made of profiled rolled products (channel, I-beam, corner). Apply, cutting with a grinder and a drill for drilling mounting holes. If the installation is planned to be mobile, then lugs for attaching wheels are welded in the corners of the frame base.

The working unit of the granulator

The actuator is a cylindrical container, consisting of two sections. In one of them, a matrix disk and a pair of special gears are mounted, sitting on a common horizontal shaft. The cylindrical tank is connected by a chain transmission to an electric motor through a gearbox.

The matrix is ​​cut out of a metal sheet thickness 8-10 mm. Through holes with a cone-shaped surface and a smaller diameter, equal to the diameter of the pellets, give them the shape of a cylinder when the raw material mass is compressed. The disc is mounted on the vertical shaft of the gearbox using a keyed connection. The creation of the necessary working pressure for the production of granules is provided by a worm pair installed in the cylinder.

How the installation works

When the unit is assembled, making pellets with your own hands is no longer a big deal. The finished mass is poured into the receiving part of the cylinder. Getting into working area, it is pressed through the matrix hole.

As a result, sawdust acquires the size and shape of cylinders of the required density. Then they are removed from the storage and sent for drying.

A granulator of this design can be successfully used in small woodworking and grain cleaning enterprises.

Video instructions for making pellets with your own hands

AT last years main alternative ordinary species fuel (coal, firewood, peat, gas, fuel oil) became pellets. The only competitor to pellets today is natural gas, which is supplied through the pipeline. It is superior to pellets in terms of price and ease of use, but gas reserves are not unlimited and experts believe that at current consumption it will last no more than a century. In addition, not every house or dacha has a gas main. Therefore, the production of alternative energy and heat sources is promising direction promising good profits.

Pellet business - a way to turn waste into income

Pellets are also attractive because they are made from waste. It can be used as waste from the woodworking industry (sawdust, shavings, wood chips, substandard products), and agricultural production (husks of sunflower, buckwheat, rice, straw different cultures etc.). Pellets have a cylindrical shape and are small in size, which allows you to automate the heating process. Under this type of fuel are being developed, into which fuel pellets are automatically fed.

In Europe, pellets have long been used for heating industrial and domestic premises. In addition to the automation of the process, their popularity is due to the environmental friendliness and economic feasibility of this fuel. They are produced from waste, improving the ecological situation and converting waste into income. Particularly suitable for woodworking enterprises or large or medium-sized agricultural producers due to the lack of costs for the purchase of raw materials. In addition, during combustion, emissions into the atmosphere are ten times lower than during combustion of gas or coal, which is very important for European environmentalists. The most active use of pellets is Sweden, Austria and Denmark. They are also leaders in the production of equipment that burns pellets.

Shapes, dimensions and standards

There are no uniform standards for the production of this type of fuel. Each of the producing countries uses its own. Generally speaking, pellets can be from 5 to 10 mm in diameter and from 6 to 75 mm in length. If you are going to focus your business on imports, you need to familiarize yourself with the standards of a particular country and purchase equipment that is able to produce products of the appropriate size and characteristics.

Pellet business is promising not only for implementation in the domestic market, but also in the external one

Standardize not only the size, but also the ash content of the product. This standard also has a certain range of parameters. So, for example, in the USA, pellets upper class should have an ash content of no more than 1%, in most European countries - no more than 1.5%. The "standard" class is limited to an ash content of 3%. A higher indicator is not allowed and is not used: it is unrealistic to conclude a contract for the supply of pellets with an ash content above 3% in Europe. Unless they are used as a filler for cat litter.

Pellets differ in composition and include both pure wood and wood with bark or sunflower husks. With an increase in the content of impurities, the percentage of ash content of such fuel also increases. Therefore, the issue of the quality of purchased raw materials must be given great importance- it depends on how much the company's products will be in demand.

Production scheme

The production of pellets takes place in several stages:

The cost of equipment for the production of pellets

Main production equipment for this type of business - granulators. These can be small plants with a capacity of 30 kg / h or a production unit that produces about 250 kg per hour. The cost of a set of equipment of average productivity is about $ 40,000, but you can purchase both more expensive and more budget installations:

• sheporez (or wood chipper plain language) costs about $4,000,
• dryer of raw materials - 7000 - 20.000 dollars,
• granulator - from 1000 dollars - 10.000 dollars,
• cooler - about $ 5,000.

If a we are talking about industrial lines, the cost of a line that has a capacity of about 700 kg per hour is up to 130,000 dollars, and with a capacity of 2000 kg per hour -200,000 dollars.

Business plan for the production of pellets

If the production of pellets will work in one shift, we take as a basis a standard working day: 8 hours, and a working month - 24 days. At the same time, production costs will amount to approximately 30% of gross profit.

The cost of raw materials is about 2 dollars per cubic meter, and 7.5 cubic meters of sawdust are needed to make a ton of pellets. So the raw materials for the production of one ton of fuel will cost $15. In the worst case, the cost of pellets of the first grade is $90 per m 3 , industrial - $ 60 per m 3 . Gross profit is calculated as the product of the number of working days and daily revenue.

After calculations, we conclude that mini-factories will be the most profitable, while it is most profitable to use an electric drive in production. The worst option is an industrial line with a capacity of up to 1000 kg per hour, because such production will pay off in 14-15 months. However, the advantages of such production are its capital and reliability. And you can reduce the payback period if you organize work in two shifts. With such an organization of labor, it will decrease by almost half.

Demand for pellets in Russia

Pellets in Russia are still consumed in small volumes due to the presence (at this moment) a large number natural gas and oil, especially since the issue of environmental friendliness of fuel in Russia is far from being the most important one. The high cost of pellet boilers plays a significant role. All this causes low demand for this type of fuel in the domestic market of Russia - at best, top-grade fuel can be sold at $100/m 3 . AT Western Europe similar pellets cost up to $180. Nevertheless, it makes sense to develop a business for the production of alternative fuel in order to sell this fuel abroad. And it is definitely worth organizing it for those who have sawdust or other raw materials - waste from the main production is relatively easy to turn into income.