Optimized design and experiment on ring mold pelletizer for producing biomass fuel pellets

Authors

  • Gao Wei 1. College of Engineering, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China; 2. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon S7N 5A9, Canada;
  • Lope G Tabil Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon S7N 5A9, Canada
  • Zhao Rongfei Shenyang Agricultural University
  • Liu Qingyu Shenyang Agricultural University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25165/ijabe.v9i3.2074

Keywords:

biomass pellet, ring mold pelletizer, optimized design, biofuel, corn stover, Pro/Engineer, Adams, pellet durability

Abstract

The forming process of biomass fuel pellets using a ring mold pelletizer was analyzed, optimized, tested and evaluated in this study. The effects of stress amplitude and the stress ratio on the fatigue failure of the ring mold under 4-, 3-, and 2-roller designs were investigated. Depending on the calculation of stress amplitude acting on the ring mold, the 4-roller design was chosen for having the smallest value of stress amplitude in this condition. After determining the main design parameters, a three-dimensional model of the ring mold pelletizer was established based on the Pro/Engineer software, and the model was transferred into ADAMS software through Mechanism/Pro which is a dedicated interface software. The ADAMS software was used to run simulations. In order to obtain the highest efficiency and the lowest power consumption, the optimal result was the 4-roller design. Finally, a prototype of the ring mold pelletizer with four rollers was designed and manufactured for biomass fuel pellet production. Corn stover biomass was used as material for experimental manufacturing of fuel pellets. Test and evaluation showed that the optimized pellet durability was 99.79% with ground corn stover particles passing a screen size of 1.97 mm, moisture content of 21.2% w.b. and a material moisture conditioning time of 3.82 h. Pellets formed in the prototype ring mold pelletizer using corn stover had acceptable durability according to European standards. Keywords: biomass pellet, ring mold pelletizer, optimized design, biofuel, corn stover, Pro/Engineer, Adams, pellet durability DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20160903.2074 Citation: Gao W, Tabil L G, Zhao R F, Liu D J. Optimized design and experiment on ring mold pelletizer for producing biomass fuel pellets. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2016; 9(3): 57－66.

Author Biographies

Gao Wei, 1. College of Engineering, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China; 2. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon S7N 5A9, Canada;

Dr. Wei Gao is Lecturer at the College of Engineering, Shenyang Agricultural University.

Lope G Tabil, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon S7N 5A9, Canada

Dr. Tabil started at the Department of Agricultural and Bioresource Engineering of the University of Saskatchewan in August 2000. Prior to this position, Dr. Tabil was a Research Engineer with the then Agricultural Value-added Engineering Centre (AVEC) of Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development from October 1997 to July 2000. Prior to joining AVEC, he worked as a Research Associate for over a year at the Department of Agricultural and Bioresource Engineering of the University of Saskatchewan. He worked on an NSERC-funded project on "Alfalfa Cube Quality Characterization". He was also involved in a project evaluating binders in compressed forages. Dr. Tabil's Ph.D. research was on the "Pelleting and Binding Characteristics of Alfalfa". He has expertise in pelleting of feeds and forage and optimizing the process involved in feed and forage processing, physical properties of agricultural materials and postharvest technology of agricultural crops.

The areas of research in which he works and maintains interest include bioprocess engineering, value-added engineering and postharvest handling of crops. He has also conducted applied research and development projects related to value-added processing of agricultural products including storage, drying and cooling, and physical properties of agricultural and biological materials. For the past few years, he has been working in projects dealing with the utilization of flax straw as fibre reinforcement for biocomposites. He is presently working on bioplastic development from pulse starch, postharvest treatment for red lentil milling, and conversion of lignocellulosic waste into bioproducts, and many others. Dr. Tabil continues to work and have interest in projects such as agricultural waste and processing byproduct utilization and the processing of agricultural materials into industrial products.

Zhao Rongfei, Shenyang Agricultural University

Dr. Rongfei Zhao is Lecturer in the College of Water Conservancy, Shenyang Agricultural University.

Liu Qingyu, Shenyang Agricultural University

Dr. Qingyu Liu is Professor at the College of Engineering, Shenyang Agricultural University

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Published

2016-05-31

How to Cite

Wei, G., Tabil, L. G., Rongfei, Z., & Qingyu, L. (2016). Optimized design and experiment on ring mold pelletizer for producing biomass fuel pellets. International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 9(3), 57–66. https://doi.org/10.25165/ijabe.v9i3.2074

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 3 (2016): IJABE

Section

Power and Machinery Systems

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