Production of wood pellets from Alaska-grown white spruce and hemlock

Original publisher: [Portland, OR] : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, [2011] OCLC Number: (OCoLC)748403052 Subject: Wood pellets. Excerpt: ... Production of Wood Pellets From Alaska-Grown White Spruce and Hemlock Pelletizing Material Wood ( 1987 ) reported that " ... pelleting of animal feeds has become a firmly established process within the feed industry. " Research conducted by Wood ( 1987 ) tested pellet quality ( durability ) resulting from inclusions of denatured soy protein and native tapioca starch in mixtures of animal feeds. In this research, it was determined that improvements in durability were greatest for raw protein. Pellet hardness was improved with increasing levels of pregelatinized starch content. Lehtikangas ( 2000, 2001 ), employed by the Department of Forest Management and Products at the Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences, conducted research to evaluate the storage effects on wood pellets made from sawdust, logging resi-dues, and bark. Pellets made from fresh logging residues were found to absorb the greatest amount of water and have the lowest durability. In general, all pellets stored for 5 months showed minor but notable reductions in quality. In the second study, a mixture of materials from Norway spruce ( Picea abies ( L. ) Larst. ) and Scots pines ( Pinus sylvestris L. ) were evaluated. In this project, nine pellet formulations from varied sources ( fresh and stored sawdust, bark, and logging residues ) were obtained from producers. The resulting pellets were evaluated based on moisture content, heating value, content of ash, sulphur, chlorine, and Klason lignin. Other factors reviewed included pellet dimensions, bulk density, individual pellet density, dura-3 In this study, durability of bility, and ash sintering as it relates to slag formation. wood-based pellets was determined to be significantly increased by greater lignin content and moisture content of wood particles deliver...