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Feedstock particle size distribution and water content dynamic in a pellet mill production process and comparative sieving performance of horizontal 3.15-mm mesh and 3.15-mm hole sieves

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Abstract

Pellet feedstock particle size distribution is the main factor affecting pellet quality. Feedstock samples were obtained from different places in the production process of a commercial pellet mill. Particle size distribution and water content of the sieved particle fractions were analyzed. The results showed an alternation of particle size distribution and water content of the feedstock induced by the processing in the mill. Storage had a balancing effect on the water content distribution between the different particle size classes. Further experiments evaluated the reason for the underrepresentation of the 2.8–3.15-mm fraction in the feedstock. It was found that the major sieving factor for non-spherical wood particles was their width rather than their length, though the aspect ratio was important for the sorting between the 2.8–3.15-mm and the 2.0–2.8-mm sieve fractions. The significant differences between the particle width in the sieve fractions and the distribution of the particle aspect ratio improved when using a 3.15-mm mesh sieve instead of the 3.15-mm hole sieve. This indicates the better sieving performance of the 3.15-mm mesh sieve, which should be considered by pellet manufacturers and researchers investigating pellet feedstock.

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Acknowledgments

The authors want to thank the technical staff of the University of Applied Science Rottenburg, Dr. Rainer Kirchhof, Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Carola Lepski, B.Sc. Peter Grammer, and B.Sc. Jodok Braun for their technical support.

Funding

The work of Dr. Sebastian Paczkowski and M.Sc. Michael Russ was funded by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Germany (Project BiCoLim, grant number 01DN16036), respectively. The work of B.Sc. Christian Sauer was funded by the University of Applied Science Rottenburg, Germany, and the work of Anja Anetzberger was funded by the sawmill Haisch GmbH & Co. KG, Germany.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Applied Science Rottenburg, Schadenweilerhof, 72108, Rottenburg, Germany

    Sebastian Paczkowski, Anja Anetzberger, Marta Paczkowska, Michael Russ & Stefan Pelz

  2. Department of Conversion Technologies of Biobased Resources, Institute of Agricultural Engineering, University of Hohenheim, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany

    Christian Sauer

  3. Schellinger KG, Schießplatzstraße 1, 88250, Weingarten, Germany

    Marius Wöhler

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  1. Sebastian Paczkowski
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Correspondence to Sebastian Paczkowski.

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Highlights

• Particle size distribution of pellet feedstock alternates during the processing in a pellet mill

• The water content in the particle fractions alternates during the processing in a pellet mill and is balanced between large and small particles by the storage time after drying

• The fractionation of wood flakes with a horizontal sieving machine depends on the particle width and the particle aspect ratio

• Using a 3.15-mm mesh sieve instead of a 3.15-mm hole sieve improves the sieving process by homogenizing both the dry mass distribution between the sieve fractions and the aspect ratio of the wood flakes

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Paczkowski, S., Sauer, C., Anetzberger, A. et al. Feedstock particle size distribution and water content dynamic in a pellet mill production process and comparative sieving performance of horizontal 3.15-mm mesh and 3.15-mm hole sieves. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 11, 1621–1632 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-019-00544-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-019-00544-9

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