Effect of Additives on Wood Pellet Physical and Thermal Characteristics: A Review

Additives play a major role in wood pellet characteristics and are a subject of major interest as they act as binding agents for the biomass raw material. Past research has reported the use of lignosulphonate, dolomite, starches, potato flour and peel, and some motor and vegetable oils as additives for wood pellet production. This paper reviews the available research on the effect of different additives on wood pellets' physical and thermal characteristics. It was found that lignosulphonate and starch additives improve the mechanical durability but tend to reduce the calorific value of the wood pellets. Motor and vegetable oil additives increase the calorific value minimally but significantly increase carbon monoxide emissions. Corn starch and dolomite additives also significantly increase carbon monoxide emissions. In order to produce wood pellets with desired physical and thermal characteristics, a suitable additive with the right biomass material should be used.

[1]  R. .. Morey,et al.  Factors affecting strength and durability of densified biomass products. , 2009 .

[2]  J. Morrell,et al.  Nutritional Quality of Douglas-Fir Wood: Effect of Vertical and Horizontal Position on Nutrient Levels , 2002 .

[3]  Ingwald Obernberger,et al.  The Pellet Handbook: The Production and Thermal Utilization of Biomass Pellets , 2010 .

[4]  G. G. Stokes.  "J." , 1890, The New Yale Book of Quotations.

[5]  X. Bi,et al.  Determination of effective thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity of wood pellets , 2013 .

[6]  J. Tumuluru,et al.  A REVIEW ON BIOMASS DENSIFICATION TECHNOLOGIE FOR ENERGY APPLICATION , 2010 .

[7]  P. Lehtikangas.  Quality properties of fuel pellets from forest biomass , 1999 .

[8]  S. Unz,et al.  Biogenous residues for the use as wood pellet equivalent fuels , 2011 .

[9]  R. Stephenson.  A and V , 1962, The British journal of ophthalmology.

[10]  J. Werther,et al.  Combustion of agricultural residues , 2000 .

[11]  A. Baker,et al.  Wood Fuel Properties and Fuel Products from Woods , 1998 .

[12]  Dingena L. Schott,et al.  Physical properties of solid biomass , 2011 .

[13]  Yadong Li,et al.  High-pressure densification of wood residues to form an upgraded fuel , 2000 .

[14]  P. D. Jensen,et al.  Comparative study of durability test methods for pellets and briquettes , 2006 .

[15]  L. S. Esteban,et al.  Optimisation of pelletisation conditions for poplar energy crop , 2012 .

[16]  M. Öhman,et al.  Reed canary-grass ash composition and its melting behaviour during combustion , 2001 .

[17]  K. Granström,et al.  Effects on Pellet Properties and Energy Use When Starch Is Added in the Wood-Fuel Pelletizing Process , 2012 .

[18]  N. Krajnc.  Wood fuels handbook , 2015 .

[19]  Thomas B. Reed,et al.  Thermal Data for Natural and Synthetic Fuels , 1998 .

[20]  Sylvia H. Larsson,et al.  Moisture content and storage time influence the binding mechanisms in biofuel wood pellets , 2012 .

[21]  Maria E. Olsson,et al.  Specific chimney emissions and biofuel characteristics of softwood pellets for residential heating in Sweden. , 2003 .

[22]  W. Marsden.  I and J , 2012 .

[23]  Lauri Sikanen,et al.  Small Scale Pilot Combustion Experiments with Wood Pellets - The Effect of Pellet Length , 2012 .

[24]  L. L. Oden,et al.  The behavior of inorganic material in biomass-fired power boilers: Field and laboratory experiences , 1998 .

[25]  M. Öhman,et al.  Slagging tendencies of wood pellet ash during combustion in residential pellet burners , 2004 .

[26]  Ayhan Demirbas,et al.  Relationships between lignin contents and heating values of biomass , 2001 .

[27]  Susanne Paulrud,et al.  Upgraded Biofuels - Effects of Quality on Processing, Handling Characteristics, Combustion and Ash melting , 2004 .

[28]  I. Obernberger,et al.  Physical characterisation and chemical composition of densified biomass fuels with regard to their combustion behaviour , 2004 .

[29]  Raida Jirjis,et al.  The effect of bark content on quality parameters of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) pellets , 2011 .