how to make pellets

How pellets are made is a question that more people are becoming interested in. In appearance and principle pellets for that matter are very simple, however the process to produce the pellets is delicate. A pellet is simply a compressed form of the original raw material. Through a combination of heat and pressure, the raw material is melted and compressed into the pellet shape. Pellets come in various different diameters, for example wood stove pellets are generally 6mm in diameter and pellet boilers can take larger diameters, including 6mm and 8mm pellets. Power stations also use wood and straw pellets in co-combustion with coal, they use pellets between 10-12mm in diameter. Diameters larger than this are regarded as briquettes. Briquettes are similar to logs, however they are not as suitable for automatic feed hoppers due to their large size.

Pellet making is a skilled process and different raw materials behave differently. Therefore how to make wood pellets depends partly on the equipment used and the raw material. One of the first things to consider is the source of the wood residue. It must be free from contaminates such as stones and metal, as these can cause serious damage to the equipment, particularly the pellet machine. Particularly to the pellet mill dies and rollers. The raw material must now be reduced to a small uniform size for the pellet mill or pellet press. The size reduction required depends on the diameter of the pellet produced. The general rule is to reduce the size of particles to less than the diameter of the pellet. The type of die used in the pellet mill will affect the compression ratio, and thus the quality and density of the finished pellet. The material must also be fed into the pellet mill at a controlled rate, if the feed rate is too fast, the slipping force can be exceeded or a build up of resistance could cause the motor to stall.

The process of how to make pellets:

The first step is to gather sawdust, wood chips or wood shavings. Make sure that the material has been dried before use. Make sure that you match up sizes properly at all time. If pieces are bigger you have to put them through the hammer mill. In order to dry the material you have to use a dryer. In most cases a temperature of 600 degrees Fahrenheit is recommended.

You have to next put the sawdust or the substance that came out of the hammer mill through your pellet making machine. The equipment will automatically squeeze it through a die with holes. That is how the pellets get the shape they have. High pressure is going to be maintained at all times and you need to make sure that this happens. This allows the wood’s natural lignin component to hold pellets together in a natural way.

The last step of the entire pellet mill process is to let the pellets cool off. This is crucial so that they can be used properly. Coolers are usually used for this part of the pellet mill manufacture process. You will then have to sort the pellets and maybe eliminate broken ones if you intend to sell so that the quality is really high at all times. Only hardened wood pellets should remain.