| Summary: | Densification of biomass feedstocks, such as pelletizing, can increase bulk density, improve storability, reduce transportation costs, and ease the handling of biomass using existing handling and storage equipment for grains. In order to study the pelletizing process, compost pellets were produced under controlled conditions. The aim of the work was to investigate the effect of raw material properties and the die geometry on the true density of formed pellets and also find the optimal conditions of the densification process for producing pellets with high density. Compost was extruded into cylindrical pellets utilizing open-end dies under axial stress from a vertical piston applied by a hydraulic press. The effects of independent variables, including the raw material moisture content (35 to 45% (wet basis)), hammer mill screen size (0.3 to 1.5 mm), speed of piston (2 to 10 mm/s), and die length (8 to 12 mm) on pellet density, were determined using response surface methodology. A quadratic model was proposed to predict the pellet density, which had high F and R2 values along with a low p value, indicating the predictability of the model. Moisture content, speed of piston, and particle size significantly affected (P < 0.01) the density of pellets, while the influence of die length was negligible (P > 0.05).
|
|---|