Fatal Accidents During Marine Transport of Wood Pellets Due to Off-Gassing: Experiences from Denmark

Pollutant emission from a heat station supplied with agriculture biomass and wood pellet mixtureTests for combustion of hay and sunflower husk pellets mixed with wood pellets were performed in a horizontal-feed as well as under-feed (retort) wood pellet furnace installed in boilers with a nominal heat output of 15 and 20 kW, located in a heat station. During the combustion a slagging phenomenon was observed in the furnaces. In order to lower the temperature in the furnace, fuel feeding rate was reduced with unaltered air stream rate. The higher the proportion of wood pellets in the mixture the lower carbon monoxide concentration. The following results of carbon monoxide concentration (in mg/m3presented for 10% O2content in flue gas) for different furnaces and fuel mixtures (proportion in wt%) were obtained: horizontal-feed furnace supplied with hay/wood: 0/100 - 326; 30/70 - 157; 50/50 - 301; 100/0 - 3300; horizontal-feed furnace supplied with sunflower husk/wood: 50/50 - 1062; 67/33 - 1721; 100/0 - 3775; under-feed (retort) furnace supplied with hay/wood: 0/100 - 90; 15/85 - 157; 30/70 - 135; 50/50 - 5179; under-feed furnace supplied with sunflower husk/wood: 67/33 - 2498; 100/0 - 3128. Boiler heat output and heat efficiency was low: 7 to 13 kW and about 55%, respectively, for the boiler with horizontal-feed furnace and 9 to 14 kW and 64%, respectively, for the boiler with under-feed furnace.

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Black carbon, particulate mass and non-volatile particle number emissions from marine transport in comparison to road transport and consideration of uncertainty

10.26226/morressier.5e4fe9c16bc493207536f8f0 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Päivi Aakko-Saksa ◽

Kati Lehtoranta ◽

Niina Kuittinen ◽

Timo Murtonen ◽

Hannu Vesala ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Black Carbon ◽

Particle Number ◽

Road Transport ◽

Marine Transport ◽

Particulate Mass ◽

Volatile Particle ◽

Carbon Particulate

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Solid biofuels - Safety of solid biofuel pellets - Safe handling and storage of wood pellets in residential and other small-scale applications

10.3403/30313629 ◽

2018 ◽

Keyword(s):

Small Scale ◽

Wood Pellets ◽

Safe Handling ◽

Solid Biofuels ◽

Solid Biofuel ◽

And Storage

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Comparative Study of the Properties of Wood Flour and Wood Pellets Manufactured from Secondary Processing Mill Residues

Polymers ◽

10.3390/polym13152487 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (15) ◽

pp. 2487

Author(s):

Geeta Pokhrel ◽

Yousoo Han ◽

Douglas J. Gardner

Keyword(s):

Moisture Content ◽

Bulk Density ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Wood Flour ◽

The United States ◽

Red Maple ◽

Wood Pellets ◽

Secondary Processing ◽

Material Costs ◽

Mill Residues

The generation of secondary processing mill residues from wood processing facilities is extensive in the United States. Wood flour can be manufactured utilizing these residues and an important application of wood flour is as a filler in the wood–plastic composites (WPCs). Scientific research on wood flour production from mill residues is limited. One of the greatest costs involved in the supply chain of WPCs manufacturing is the transportation cost. Wood flour, constrained by low bulk densities, is commonly transported by truck trailers without attaining allowable weight limits. Because of this, shipping costs often exceed the material costs, consequently increasing raw material costs for WPC manufacturers and the price of finished products. A bulk density study of wood flour (190–220 kg/m3) and wood pellets (700–750 kg/m3) shows that a tractor-trailer can carry more than three times the weight of pellets compared to flour. Thus, this study focuses on exploring the utilization of mill residues from four wood species in Maine to produce raw materials for manufacturing WPCs. Two types of raw materials for the manufacture of WPCs, i.e., wood flour and wood pellets, were produced and a study of their properties was performed. At the species level, red maple 40-mesh wood flour had the highest bulk density and lowest moisture content. Spruce-fir wood flour particles were the finest (dgw of 0.18 mm). For all species, the 18–40 wood flour mesh size possessed the highest aspect ratio. Similarly, on average, wood pellets manufactured from 40-mesh particles had a lower moisture content, higher bulk density, and better durability than the pellets from unsieved wood flour. Red maple pellets had the lowest moisture content (0.12%) and the highest bulk density (738 kg/m3). The results concluded that the processing of residues into wood flour and then into pellets reduced the moisture content by 76.8% and increased the bulk density by 747%. These material property parameters are an important attempt to provide information that can facilitate the more cost-efficient transport of wood residue feedstocks over longer distances.

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Evaluating the Economic Viability of Agricultural Pellets to Supplement the Current Global Wood Pellets Supply for Bioenergy Production

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14082263 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (8) ◽

pp. 2263

Author(s):

Mahmood Ebadian ◽

Shahab Sokhansanj ◽

David Lee ◽

Alyssa Klein ◽

Lawrence Townley-Smith

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Western Europe ◽

Small Scale ◽

Economic Activities ◽

Wood Pellets ◽

Logistics System ◽

Global Marketplace ◽

Biomass Logistics ◽

Production And Distribution ◽

The Cost

In this study, an inter-continental agricultural pellet supply chain is modeled, and the production cost and price of agricultural pellets are estimated and compared against the recent cost and price of wood pellets in the global marketplace. The inter-continental supply chain is verified and validated using an integration of an interactive mapping application and a simulation platform. The integrated model is applied to a case study in which agricultural pellets are produced in six locations in Canada and shipped and discharged at the three major ports in Western Europe. The cost of agricultural pellets in the six locations is estimated to be in the range of EUR 92–95/tonne (CAD 138–142/tonne), which is comparable with the recent cost of wood pellets produced in small-scale pellet plants (EUR 99–109/tonne). The average agricultural pellet price shipped from the six plants to the three ports in Western Europe is estimated to be in a range of EUR 183–204 (CAD 274–305/tonne), 29–42% more expensive that the average recent price of wood pellets (EUR 143/tonne) at the same ports. There are several potential areas in the agricultural pellet supply chains that can reduce the pellet production and distribution costs in the mid and long terms, making them affordable supplement to the existing wood pellet markets. Potential economic activities generated by the production of pellets in farm communities can be significant. The generated annual revenue in the biomass logistics system in all six locations is estimated to be about CAD 21.80 million. In addition, the logistics equipment fleet needs 176 local operators with a potential annual income of CAD 2.18 million.

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