Making Wood Pellets

This article will give a short summary of the basics of how wood pellets are made. If you want to learn to make wood pellets yourself you can get a more in depth guide that will teach you in detail how to make wood pellets.

Wood pellets are simply wood that has been compressed and bound together with a binding agent. Pellets can also be made from other forms of biomass such as straw, grain, corn stalks, alfalfa, and even cardboard and paper. The process for pelletizing these other materials is basically the same but we will focus on pelletizing wood.

Pellets are made by taking the raw material that has been reduced to small pieces like sawdust and pressing them into a pellet die. The die is a metal surface that is full of pellet sized holes that are tapered on top like a funnel. This is usually done with a roller that rolls across the die and squeezes the material into the holes.

As the material gets shoved into the hole it gets compressed which makes it very dense and the compression produces heat. The heat melts the natural ligins in the wood which when cooled will act like a glue and bind the pellet together. Materials like softwoods usually have plenty of natural binding agents but some materials may need to have a binding agent like vegetable oil added before they are made into pellets.

After the pellets come out of the other end of the die they are cooled so they will harden. They are then finished pellets ready to be burned as fuel.

Read a detailed guide that will teach you how to make wood pellets.

Most wood pellets are made by large production commercial pellet mills. That has long been a disadvantage of pellet stoves is you can't make your own fuel like you can with a wood stove. But now that is changing as small scale wood pellets machines are becoming more available.

Now home owners can produce their own pellets to fuel their pellet stoves and even sell to produce income. Small scale pellet mills also give small wood products manufacturing businesses, hobbyists and small woodland owners a way to utilize their wood wastes and turn them into a valuable product.

Wood pellet machines can also be used for making pellets from other biomass materials like straw, grain, yard wastes and even paper and cardboard.

Making wood pellets is a several step process and there are different types of pellet mills. Before selecting one it's best to first learn exactly how the pellet making process works and how the different types of mills work. Knowing the capabilities and advantages and disadvantages of each will help you select the right pellet mill that will best suit your needs.

Learn more about wood pellet machines.

Manufacturing pellets is a bi product from wood wastes created from the manufacture of other wood products. Making wood pellets can also be a way to utilize waste products from forest enhancement projects such as thinning and fuel reduction. These materials are usually transported to large commercial pellet manufacturing facilities.

As demand and prices for traditional forest products like lumber and paper have dropped pellet demand continues to rise. Fuel for heating is a necessary consumable commodity that people continue to buy even in tough economic times. More wood production businesses are discovering that manufacturing wood pellets can be a stable source of income. Because of this more wood products manufacturing facilities are tooling to produce pellets from their own wastes as well as wood cut specifically for making pellets.

Wood pellets manufacturing has traditionally been restricted to large commercial pellet mills but small scale producers are also entering the market. Small scale pellet mills are opening up opportunities for small operations to not only make their own pellets for their own use but also to supply pellets commercially.

As more pellet manufacturers enter the market consumers may become more confident when it comes to pellet heat. Past pellet shortages have made some consumers hesitant to switch to pellet heat. As the cost of fossil fuel continues to rise and as people are looking for green renewable energy the demand for wood and other biomass pellets will likely continue to rise as pellet heat becomes more main stream.

Learn more about wood pellets manufacturing.

There are several pieces of wood pellet manufacturing equipment that you will need in order to produce quality pellets besides the obvious pellet mill.

Chipper - If your material is larger than around an inch you may need to run it through a chipper. Sawdust size material usually doesn't need to be chipped but branches, whole logs and pieces of wood will.

Hammer Mill - Wood chips may need to be reduced even more which is commonly done with a hammer mill.

Drier - Proper moisture content is important for making quality durable pellets. If the moisture content of your raw material is more than 10-20%, depending on the type of material, it should be dried before entering the pellet mill.

Mixer - A mixer is used to mix the raw material to ensure consistency. This is especially important when combining different materials or adding binders or water.

Material Handling - With large commercial pellet mills material handling equipment will be needed. This can include conveyor belts, screw augers and bucket elevators. Bucket elevators are used in the final stage to prevent damaging pellets.

Learn detailed information about wood pellet manufacturing equipment and making wood pellets.