Make Your Own Wood Pellets

Wood pellets are made by pressing wood or other forms of biomass into pellet sized holes. These holes called dies are tapered at the top like a funnel so as the wood is pushed in it gets compressed into a dense pellet. The compression of the material creates heat. This heat melts natural compounds in the wood called lignins. When the pellet cools the lignins harden and act as a glue to hold the pellet together.

Pellets can be made from other biomass like straw, yard wastes, corn stalks, alfalfa, grain, cardboard, paper and much more. Some materials don't have enough natural lignins to bind them so additional binding agents like vegetable oil may need to be added.

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Most wood pellets are made by large commercial mills but now small portable mills are becoming more available. These small mills allow small wood manufacturing businesses, small woodland owners or any producers of wood wastes to turn their wood wastes into a valuable product.

There are two basic types of wood pellet mill, flat die and round die. Flat die pellet mills have a roller that rolls across the top of a flat die and pushes the pellets out the bottom. Ring die pellet mills have a ring shaped die and the roller rolls around the inside surface of the ring and the pellets are extruded from the outside of the ring.

Dies can be made of different metals. Steel or iron cost less than stainless steel but stainless steel can be lower maintenance.

Learn more about wood pellet mills.

Wood pellets are a renewable source of energy and is considered carbon neutral. Pellets for home heating provides the practical convenience of gas or electric heat with the comfort of wood heat. Pellets are efficient, economical and clean burning.

Pellets can be used for commercial boilers, electric generators and other large commercial heating applications.

Learn more about the advantages of wood pellets as a source of fuel.

Wood pellets have only been commercially available since the late 70's. Since then it's had to compete with cheap and widely available fossil fuels. Now that fossil fuel prices continue to rise and people are looking to renewable green sources of energy wood pellets are being looked at more as an alternative to non renewable energy sources.

With more pellet manufacturers coming on line and with personal pellet mills available pellet supplies will likely become more reliable.

Learn more about how to make your own wood pellets