Pellet Fuels from

Agricultural Residues
Michael Main March 29, 2007
"Get ready for the bio-economy, which will
supplant our info-tech economy Like
everything else, all economies have beginnings
and endings. We are halfway through the
information economy It is time to get ready for
the next age; the bio-economy."
-Stan Davis and Christopher Mayer, Time Canada, May 2000
 Options
WHOLE PLANT AND FUELS DERIVED FROM
WOODY BIOMASS SUGAR / STARCH / OIL
(whole plant harvest, but (only part of plant
more difficult to obtain harvested, but easier
liquid fuels) conversion to liquid fuels)

SOLID FUELS Pellet fuels: grass, straw, Pellet type stove or

HEAT, willow furnace:
ELECTRICITY Fuel chips: willow, poplar Barley, wheat, etc.
Electrical: grass, straw,
Simpler willow
processes Co-Generation (Elec.+
heat)

Ethanol, ETBE, diesel from Ethanol grains, potato,

LIQUID FUELS Straw, grass, wood using sugar beet, Jerusalem
MOBILE USES Cellulose digestion - Artichoke
fermentation or thermal Bio-diesel Rapeseed,
More complex gasification - synthesis sunflower, soy, waste fat
processes
Solid Heating Fuels
Biomass Fuel Pellets
Stick, chipped, chopped
Briquettes
Pellets
Torrefied pellets
Heating energy prices: 1 season
Electricity,, 10.5c/kwh= $29/GJ $1740
Fuel oil, 80% eff, $0.80/L = $26/GJ $1560
Pellet fuel, 80% eff, $220/T = $15/GJ $900
Stick wood, 60% eff, $120/T = $10/GJ $600
Wood Chip, 60% eff, $40/T = $7/GJ $420
Electric geothermal = $9/GJ $540
 Bioenergy Life Cycle

Solar Energy

Liquid Biofuel
Motive Power
Agricultural Transport and Transport and
Electricity
Feedstock Conversion Distribution
Stationary Power
Heat + Thermal loads

Fuels Fuels
Fertilizers Electricity Fuels
Chemicals Chemicals Equipment
Equipment Equipment

Fossil energy inputs associated with bioenergy production

Energy Performance
Energy gain (Eg): Fuel energy - life cycle energy
inputs

Energy Ratio (ER): Fuel energy / life cycle energy

inputs

Life cycle inputs: Includes energy for fertilizer,

fuels, buildings, trucking, coal, gas & electricity in
processing
 Energy Comparison of biofuel chains

25:1

10:1
150

1.5 : 1 ?
GJ/ha

100 Energy inputs

Energy gain

50 2.5:1
1.5 :1

0
Willow Grass Sugar rapeseed wheat
chip pellet beet methyl ethanol
ethanol ester
Residual Biomass
Limited availability of straw or stover in the
Maritimes
Some in PEI, a bit in NB potato belt
Need to retain some straw for soil OM in potato
belt.
Competing uses for livestock bedding
Lowest quality source
Coarse grass is a more likely source, grown on
otherwise unused land...
Pellet fuels from grass, straw
Efficient production is possible
Cost competitive with round wood for pellet
fuels
Ash chemistry is a major constraint
K, Cl, Melting point < 400C
Si, K, Cl complexes: MP <900C.
K, Cl in vapor phase
= agglomeration slagging, clinker
= aggressive flue gasses potential heat
exchanger damage, flue deterioration
Agr. Biomass Analysis
(From Samson, 2006; NS, 2006)
Unit Wood Wheat Old Reed Switchgrass
pellet straw Canary
Hay
NS NS Fall Overwinter
ed Spring
harvest
harvest

Energy 20.3 18.6- 18.7 18-19 18.2- 19.1

(GJ/t) 18.8 18.8
Ash (%) 0.6 4.5 4.2- 4.2 4.5-5.2 2.7-3.2
7.2
N (%) 0.30 0.70 0.9 - 0.85 0.46 0.33
1.1
K (%) 0.05 1.00 0.6 0.3 0.38- 0.06
0.95
Cl (%) 0.01 0.19- 0.06 n/a n/a
0.51
Solutions
Improved Burner designs: not there yet
Leach biomass Overwintering the standing
grass is a proven technique, but not perfect;
could be difficult in many years
20-40% yield loss in overwintering
Separate leaf from stem:
Highest ash content is in leaf
Most nutritional value is in the leaf....
Research proposals in this realm Cost
effectiveness?
Feed and biomass goals are very different
 Grass Pellet Fuels

Initiatives in Quebec, US, Scandinavia:

Cornell University, Jerry Cherney
REAP (Montreal) Roger Samson
Switchgrass and reed canary grass maybe Miscanthus.

Reed canary grass,

Cornell, NY Grass Pellets, Nova Scotia.
Grass pellet fuels
Excellent production
potential using existing
equipment
Excess land
Miscanthus, Germany

Baling switchgrass, On Switchgrass, US

Grass Pelleting
Grass Pelleting
 Reed canary grass

aggressive, high yielding,

long-lived grass.
6-12 T / ha
Switchgrass

slow establishment
lower ash than C3 grasses
good yields in hot conditions.
6-16 T/ha
 Grass pellet fuels

High Yields
High recovery of available
biomass energy
1 tonne pellets = 400-450
liters oil
Build/protect soils; filter
runoff water
2-3 years to reach full
yield
Utilization
Some commercial
units may
accommodate
overwintered
switchgrass pellets
Straw boiler
developed by Pellagri
Energy (PEI)
Fluidized bed
combustion works
better but more
industrial scale
Grass Pellet boilers system for
Burner design is a greenhouse heating, Eastern Ontario
major constraint
Willow / Poplar coppice

Willow harvesting, UK

Fuel chips for heating or

electrical/heat co-generation
2 year old willow
Initiatives in QU, NY, EU
 Willow / Poplar coppice

High Yields: 7-20T/ha

High energy efficiency
(ER = 20+ for heat)
Build/protect soils;
filter runoff water
Fuel handling most
suited to larger scale
use
High establishment Long term: 20-30y
cost Getting dry biomass
3-4 y to first harvest a challenge
Willow coppice
Field drying opportunity
Round baler developed in Quebec
Harvested as billets (4 pieces) and field dried later
chopped
Efficient harvest systems cheaper than wood
chip?
Proven effective in riparian buffers 10-50M
strips to absorb nutrients from runoff
Application in potato belt?
Economics
Biomass production cost: $60-90/odT
Pelleting cost: $ 40/T
Transport: $ 20/T
Profit margin $ 20/T
FOB pellet mill: $140 - $175
Looks good against oil (about $300/T value), but
disadvantage against wood pellet due to quality issues.
White wood pellet, FOB mill: $155-175

Opportunities:
Mixed source biomass
Co-products from the grass or agr. source.
Advantages of grass biomass
Lower pelleting costs
low grinding effort (with correct pre-chopping)
Field dry
Slow die wear relative to bark/hog fuel pellets
5-10x sustainable production per ha, compared
with forest sources
Puts underutilized land to work
Rising demand for alternative fuels, rising oil
prices
Little additional mill waste is available
Interesting Technology
Circulating Fluidized bed boilers
Native tolerance to agglomeration
So far, not practical at small scale
Torrefied biomass
Partial pyrolysis by heating biomass to 200-320C w/o
oxygen
Burns off low energy, O2 rich compounds, retains high
C molecules 20-25% mass loss, but minimal loss of
energy
Pelleted, torrefied biomass has higher energy value
per unit volume
Pellets are somewhat water resistant after
torrefication