Wolfgang Stelte

Recent Developments in Biomass Pelletization - A Review

The depletion of fossil fuels and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has resulted in a strong growth of biomass utilization for heat and power production. Attempts to overcome the poor handling properties of biomass, i.e. its low bulk density and inhomogeneous structure, have resulted in an increasing interest in biomass densification technologies, such as pelletization and briquetting. The global pellet market has developed quickly, and strong growth is expected for the coming years. Due to an increase in demand for biomass, the traditionally used wood residues from sawmills and pulp and paper industry are not sufficient to meet future needs. An extended raw material base consisting of a broad variety of fibrous residues from agriculture and food industries, as well as thermal pre-treatment processes, provides new challenges for the pellet industry. Pellet production has been an established process for several decades, but only in the past five years has there been significant progress made to understand the key factors affecting pelletizing processes. A good understanding about the pelletizing process, especially the processing parameters and their effect on pellet formation and bonding are important for process and product optimization. The present review provides a comprehensive overview of the latest insights into the biomass pelletization processes, such as the forces involved in the pelletizing processes, modeling, bonding, and adhesive mechanisms. Furthermore, thermal pretreatment of the biomass, i.e. torrefaction and other thermal treatment to enhance the fuel properties of biomass pellets are discussed.

Fuel Pellets from Wheat Straw: The Effect of Lignin Glass Transition and Surface Waxes on Pelletizing Properties

The utilization of wheat straw as a renewable energy resource is limited due to its low bulk density. Pelletizing wheat straw into fuel pellets of high density increases its handling properties but is more challenging compared to pelletizing woody biomass. Straw has a lower lignin content and a high concentration of hydrophobic waxes on its outer surface that may limit the pellet strength. The present work studies the impact of the lignin glass transition on the pelletizing properties of wheat straw. Furthermore, the effect of surface waxes on the pelletizing process and pellet strength are investigated by comparing wheat straw before and after organic solvent extraction. The lignin glass transition temperature for wheat straw and extracted wheat straw is determined by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. At a moisture content of 8%, transitions are identified at 53°C and 63°C, respectively. Pellets are pressed from wheat straw and straw where the waxes have been extracted from. Two pelletizing temperatures were chosen—one below and one above the glass transition temperature of lignin. The pellets compression strength, density, and fracture surface were compared to each other. Pellets pressed at 30°C have a lower density and compression strength and a tendency to expand in length after the pelletizing process compared to pellets pressed at 100°C. At low temperatures, surface extractives have a lubricating effect and reduce the friction in the press channel of a pellet mill while no such effect is observed at elevated temperatures. Fuel pellets made from extracted wheat straw have a slightly higher compression strength which might be explained by a better interparticle adhesion in the absence of hydrophobic surface waxes.

Cross-Linked Amylose Bio-Plastic: A Transgenic-Based Compostable Plastic Alternative

Bio-plastics and bio-materials are composed of natural or biomass derived polymers, offering solutions to solve immediate environmental issues. Polysaccharide-based bio-plastics represent important alternatives to conventional plastic because of their intrinsic biodegradable nature. Amylose-only (AO), an engineered barley starch with 99% amylose, was tested to produce cross-linked all-natural bioplastic using normal barley starch as a control. Glycerol was used as plasticizer and citrate cross-linking was used to improve the mechanical properties of cross-linked AO starch extrudates. Extrusion converted the control starch from A-type to Vh- and B-type crystals, showing a complete melting of the starch crystals in the raw starch granules. The cross-linked AO and control starch specimens displayed an additional wide-angle diffraction reflection. Phospholipids complexed with Vh-type single helices constituted an integrated part of the AO starch specimens. Gas permeability tests of selected starch-based prototypes demonstrated properties comparable to that of commercial Mater-Bi© plastic. The cross-linked AO prototypes had composting characteristics not different from the control, indicating that the modified starch behaves the same as normal starch. The data shows the feasibility of producing all-natural bioplastic using designer starch as raw material.