2024 AGRICUTURAL AND BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING
BOARD EXAM REVIEWER
BIOMASS DENSIFICATION
by
Engr. Alexis T. Belonio, MS
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineer
ASEAN Engineer
Volume 2 - RENEWABLE / BIOENERGY ENGINERING
Disclaimer
Photos, illustrations and schematic diagrams of equipment or machine parts are shown in
the presentation solely for educational purposes to facilitate comprehension of the topics
by the students. Showing them does not endorse a product nor implies criticism of similar
products not mentioned.
1
INTRODUCTION
☐ One of the major limitations of
biomass for energy purposes is its
low bulk density.
☐ Agricultural wastes usually takes
many shapes and sizes and most of
the biomass-energy conversion
system only accept a specific range
of physical form.
☐ Densification is one promising option
in overcoming these limitations.
☐ Densification of biomass is the
process of reducing the bulk volume
of the material by mechanical means
for easy handling, transportation,
and storage.
☐ It represents technologies for
converting plant residues into fuel.
Can Increase the capacity during hauling by 1.5 time (10 tons per truck
to 15 tons per truck
2
PURPOSE OF DENSIFICATION
☐ Improve transport of biomass materials;
☐ Create more efficient storage;
☐ Reduce biomass losses;
☐ Help reduce moisture;
☐ Improve the use of process equipment; and
☐ Help in increasing the mass per unit volume of the material.
3
ADVANTAGES OF BIOMASS
DENSIFICATION
1. Reduces transportation and storage costs.
2. Improves the handling characteristics of the material.
3. Enhances the net heating value of the material per unit volume.
4. Produces fuel with a more uniform size and property.
5. Reduces biodegradation of residues.
6. Produces a clean and durable fuel.
7. Increases efficiency and reduces emissions during the final
energy conversion process.
8. Controls combustion of uniformly-sized densified biomass more
precisely.
9. Helps reduce or eliminate spontaneous combustion of raw loose
biomass.
LIMITATIONS OF BIOMASS
DENSIFICATION
1. High investment cost and process energy requirements.
2. Undesirable combustion characteristics such as poor ignitability,
heavy smoke due to the use of improper process parameters,
and lack of process quality control.
3. Densified products tend to loosen when exposed to water or even
to high humidity weather.
4
CLASSIFICATIONS OF BIOMASS
DENSIFICATION PROCESS
☐ Baling – is the traditional method of densification commonly used
for harvested crops. It is formed using farm machinery, called baler,
that compresses the chopped materials.
☐ Pelleting – is the process commonly used for biomass
densification for solid fuel applications. The high-pressure
compaction technologies are called binderless technologies. It
increases the initial bulk density for 40-200 kg/m3 to a final density of
600 to 1200 kg/m3.
☐ Extrusion – is formed by pressing the material into a die wither by
screw or by means of a piston.
☐ Briquetting – is similar to pelleting except it produces briquettes
that are bigger in size than pellets.
5
Machine Used to Produce Honey-Comb Briquettes in
Hanoi, Vietnam
Honey-Comb Briquettes
6
Briquette af Fuel for Cookstove
Comparison Between Lamp Charcoal and
Charcoal Briquettes
7
bamboo charcoal
briquette
charcoal briquette charcoal briquette
hexagon shape pillow shape hexagon shape etc.
length:cut as buyers' length:cut as buyers'
1.5"x1.5"x1"
needed needed
material:50%
material: bamboo smokeless coal,50% material:100% wood
charcoal powder charcoal powder
wood charcoal
smokelss,odourless,sparkless,chemical free,high strength and less
crack.
100% export
quality
Longer burning
time Certificate Of Analysis
Made from
wood sawdust Analysis Regular Grade
Parameters
Smokeless
(great for Moisture, % 3.17
indoors) Volatile Matter,
% 13.76
Ash, % 3.92
Minimum Fixed Carbon, % 79.15
staining on pots
and pans Sulphur (S), % 0.56
Hexagonal Calorific Value,
7435
shaped for Kcal/kg
efficient
positioning
8
Briquette Shapes
Pillow-Shape Egg-Shape Tubular- Shape
Cylindrical-Shape Cylindrical-Shape Stick-Shape
Calorific Value of Wooden Briquettes Compared
with Traditional Fuel Wood and Charcoal
9
Commonly Used Materials for Densification
1. Wood processing residues mainly sawdust.
2. Loose crop residues such as:
• rice husks and straws
• coffee husks
• sugarcane bagasse
• coco peat
• corn stalks
• tobacco stalks
• etc.
3. Charcoal fines
10
FACTORS AFFECTING DENSIFICATION
OF BIOMASS
1. Moisture Content – low as much as possible, generally in the
range of 10-15% MC. High moisture poses problems when
grinding and requires excessive energy when drying. It also
causes stream explosion. Suitable MC is 8-12%. Briquetting
process accommodate up to 15%; whereas, pelletization
demands below 10% moisture.
11
2. Material Properties – Densification equipment are very
sensitive to specific characteristics of raw materials. These
include particle size and shape distribution, flow ability and
cohesiveness, surface forces, adhesiveness, and hardness.
Particle shape and size distribution play a vital role in the
compaction and agglomeration stages of densification process.
Briquetting requires larger particle size, >5mm is suitable for
better interlocking of particles and increasing materials’
durability. Relatively smaller particles are suitable for
pelletization.
3. Temperature and Pressure – The compression strength of
densified biomass depends on the temperature at which
densification was carried out. Maximum strength is achieved at
a temperature of around 220°C. At a given applied pressure,
higher product density can be obtained at higher temperature.
Both strength and moisture stability are improved with the
increase in temperature. High pressure and high temperature
during densification tend to develop solid bridges by diffusion of
molecules from one particle to another at the point of contact.
DENSIFICATION PROCESSES
1. Harvesting (Aimed to improve fuel quality characterized by)
• Low energy density
• High moisture content
• Vary in size, shape, density, etc.
2. Preprocessing Operation (Aimed to produce biomass fuel)
• Reducing size
• Cleaning
• Separating and sorting
• Mixing / blending
• Controlling moisture
• Densifying
• Treating chemically or biochemically
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Operations:
Sizing - Use size-reduction equipment, such as grinder, hammer
mill, etc., to obtain the proper size of the material.
Separation – Separate different sizes of the materials after size
reduction which is usually done through sieving.
Moisture Removal - Remove moisture from the material to the
required moisture level.
Size reduction and separation processes are applied to obtain a
uniform and pre-determined particle-size distribution required for
optimum operational performance of the subsequent operation of
densification process. Size reduction is performed to increase the
specific surface area available in the biomass to facilitate handling
and to improve heat and mass transfer characteristics of feedstock,
like improvement on the drying and combustion properties of the
biomass. Moisture removal is essential since most materials in raw
form contain excessive moisture resulting from many undesirable
characteristics.
13
QUALITY PARAMETERS OF
DENSIFIED BIOMASS
1. Moisture Content – Too much or too low
would affect the quality attributes of
densified materials. High moisture causes
material spoilage due to microbial
decomposition resulting in significant dry
matter loss and in reduced energy content.
Low moisture, however, causes material
disintegration creating more fines during
storage and transport. Optimum moisture
content is primarily dependent on process
condition like the initial moisture content of
feedstock, temperature, and pressure.
Higher moisture in the final product results
when the initial moisture content is greater
than 15%.
14
2. Bulk and Unit Density - They
are important parameters for
handling, storage, and transport.
They greatly influence process
parameters, particularly
temperature and pressure.
Materials with higher moisture
and lager particle size have
reduced unit and bulk density.
However, higher process
temperature and pressure
increases the unit and bulk
density of the product. The
maximum apparent bulk density
of densified products varies from
1200 to 1400 kg/m3 for high
pressure. For most materials, the
ultimate limit is between 1450 to
1500 kg/m3.
3. Durability Index – The ability of
densified materials to remain intact
when handled during storage and
transport. It is the physical strength
and resistance to fragmentation.
The bonding performance of the
particle during densification
process critically determines the
durability of the product. Moisture
increases durability when water
soluble compounds, such as
carbohydrates, lignin, protein,
starch, and fat, are present in the
feed material. High-starch content
acts as binder. Protein plasticizes
with heat and moisture. Lignin at
elevated temperature (>°C) also
acts as binder. All these increase
durability.
15
4. Fines Content – Presence of dust
particles is undesirable especially
when densified material is used for co-
firing with other fuel. Fines are
generated during transport and
storage by the breakdown of densified
products. More fines are produced
during the process due to low
temperature and moisture, insufficient
die size, and fast roller speed. At
higher quantities, fine particles result
in spontaneous combustion and dust
explosion problems during the energy
conversion process.
16
5. Heating Value - Depends
on the process condition
such as temperature,
particle size, and feed
pretreatment. Products with
higher densities and lower
moisture contents have
higher heating value.
Typical higher heating value
of briquettes and pellets
range from 17-18 MJ/kg.
This can be enhanced
further through pretreatment
process like steam
explosion or torrefaction
prior to densification.
PRE-TREATMENT OF BIOMASS
PRIOR TO DENSIFICATION
Pre-treatment of biomass improves the binding characteristics of
biomass that is low in lignin content. For herbaceous and woody
biomass, pre-treatment increases both the physical and chemical
properties making the material easy to densify and reducing the
costs of transport, handling and storage. Generally, pre-treatment
of biomass improves properties like durability, bulk and energy
density, and calorific value. It helps reduce the specific energy
consumption of densified biomass.
Methods:
1. Pre-Heating
2. Steam Explosion
3. Steam conditioning
4. Torrefaction
5. Ammonia Fiber Explosion
17
Preheating – This is widely used in pre-treatment of biomass before
densification to produce quality products. Commercial pellets and
briquette producers use pre-heating to form more stable and denser
pellet and briquette products. Preheating can also increase the
throughput capacity of densification process.
Steam Conditioning – This is a process where steam is added to the
biomass to make natural binder, like lignin, more available during
densification. By disrupting ligno-cellulosic biomass materials via
steam conditioning improves the compression characteristics of the
biomass.
Steam Explosion – High-pressure saturated-steam (approx. 200°C)
is supplied to the biomass material in a reactor for a short period of
time of 2 to 10 min where the substrates are quickly flashed to
atmospheric pressure and the water inside the substrates vaporizes
and expands rapidly disintegrating the biomass. The process
produces significant physical, chemical, and structural changes in the
biomass and makes lignin sites more available for binding during
pelletization.
It causes hemi-cellulosses to become more water soluble and makes
cellulose and lignin more accessible through depolymerization and
makes lignin more available for binding during densification. The
extent of chemical and structural modification from steam-explosion
pretreatment is affected by the residence time, temperature, particle
size, and moisture content.
18
Torrefaction – Method of changing the properties of biomass by
slowly heating at a max temperature of 300°C resulting in a final
product that has an approx. 70% of the initial weight and 80 to 90% of
the original energy content.
Ammonia Fiber Explosion – Uses aqueous ammonia at elevated
temperature and pressure to produce higher hydrolysis yields for
many herbaceous feedstock. It reduces the lignin and removes some
hemicellulose while decrystalizing cellulose in the biomass. Its major
advantage in the process is little biomass degradation. AFEX treated
biomass is relatively dry and inert and is easily stored, transported,
and densified further improving bulk-handling properties. It transfers
some lignin and hemicellulose oligoments at the surface of biomass
fibers where they act as binding agents.
19
DENSIFICATION EQUIPMENT
1. Piston Press – A high-pressure
machine used for producing large-
size densified materials. Shape
either circular or blocks, depending
on the die. Material is pushed into
a die by means of piston or by
means of punching with the use of
hydraulic-driven piston head.
2. Screw Press – Also a high-
pressure densifying machine that
operates by means of screwing the
material in to a known shape die. It
produces usually large-size
briquettes by driving a heavy-duty
screw by means of a motor that is
equipped with gear drives.
20
3. Pelleting Mill – A machine that uses
sets of roller that pushes the material
into a several tapered slots of known
size and the densified material is
scraped off by means of a stationary
blade to cut densified material
according to the desired length.
4. Roller Press – The material passes in
between the two rotating rollers as it is
pushed towards a die. The material is
basically of a larger size compared
with that used in piston and in screw
presses.
5. Manual Press – A low-pressure,
hand-operated press for molding
briquettes into known shapes. Usually
uses starch as binder to form the
desired size and shape of materials.
PELLETING MILL FOR RICE HUSKS BIOCAR AND
POULTRY MANURE MIXTURE
Goal:
To design and fabricate a high capacity pelleting mill for rice husk biochar
with poultry manure. There are several designs of pelleting mill for biomass
but did not meet the requirement of producing pellets for rice husk biochar
with poultry manure. Primarily on the capacity and on the wear and tear of
machine parts especially the feeder.
21
Pelleting Operation
Design and Performance Specifications
Die Diameter 30 cm
No. of Rollers 4
Die Rotational Speed 120 rpm
Required Feedstock 24 to 25%
Moisture Content
Throughput Capacity
Rice Husk Biochar 124.9 kg/hr 700 – 750 kg/m3
with Poultry Manure
Coffee Husk Raw 115.9 kg/hr 400 - 450 kg/m3
Rice Straw Raw 129.1 kg/hr 350 - 400 kg/m3
Die Rotational Speed 120 rpm
Gasoline 6.5 liters per hour
Consumption
Manpower 1 to 2
Requirement
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PARAMETERS OF THE MOST COMMON
DENSIFICATION EQUIPMENT
Screw Piston Roller Pellet Mill
Press Press Press
Optimum moisture 8-9 10 - 15 10 - 15 10 - 15
content of raw materials
(%)
Final density of raw 1 – 1.4 1 – 1.2 0.6 – 0.7 0.4 – 0.5
materials (g/cm3)
Specific energy 36.8 - 150 37.4 - 77 29.1– 83.1 16.4– 74.5
consumption (kWh/t)
Throughput rate (t/h) 0.5 2.5 5 - 10 5
23
ENERGY REQUIRED FOR
DENSIFICATION
Specific Energy Consumption of Different Technologies
Technology Throughput Specific Product
Range Power Density
(kg/hr) Consumption (kg/m3)
(kW-hr/ton)
Piston Press 100 - 1800 50 – 70 300 - 600
Roller Press with Circular 3000 - 8000 20 – 60 400 - 700
Disc
Cog-Wheel Pellet Principle 3000 - 7000 20 - 60 400 - 600
High-Pressure Piston Press 40 - 200 500 - 650 650 - 750
Specific Energy Consumption for Different Materials
Biomass Material Equipment Specific Energy
Consumption
(kWh/t)
Sawdust Pellet mill 36.8
Piston press 37.4
Straws Pellet mill 22 - 55
Screw press 150 - 220
Straws + Binders Pellet mill 37 - 64
Ram extruder 60 - 95
Switchgrass Pellet mill 74.5
Grass Piston press 77
24
CLASSIFICATIONS OF BIOMASS
DENSIFICATION TECHNOLOGIES
1. According to the Method of Producing Products
(a) Binder-less Densification
(b) Direct densification of biomass using binders
(c) Pyrolysis densification using binders
2. According to Type of Equipment
(a) Piston Press
(b) Screw Press
(c) Pelleting Mill
(d) Roller Press
(e) Manual Press
3. According to Operating Condition
(a) Hot and High Pressure
(b) Cold and Low Pressure
4. According to Mode of Operation
(a) Batch Densification
(b) Continuous Densification
5. According to the Applied Pressure
(a) High Pressure – employs a pressure of more than
100MN/m2
(b) Medium Pressure with heating device employs
between 5 to 100 MN/m2
(c) Low Pressure employs less than MN/m2
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REFERENCES
☐ A review of biomass densification technologies
☐ Biorenewable Education Laboratory. Biomass Properties and
Handling. Biorenewable Education Laboratory Summer Academy.
2011.
☐ Ontario. Biomass densification for energy production.
https://www.ontario.ca/page/goverment-ontario.
QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS
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1. Fuel blocks produced through 4. Which of the following is the
simple compaction of biomass, purpose of densification?
usually plants or plant residues in a. More efficient storage
combination with binding material. b. Improve transport of biomass
a. Densified briquettes materials
b. Char briquettes c. Reduce biomass loss
c. Charcoal briquettes d. All of the above
d. None of the above
5. Which of the following is not a
2. Process of reducing the bulk limitation of biomass densification?
volume of material by mechanical a. High investment cost
means for easy handling, transport, b. Poor ignitability and smoke
and storage. c. Tendency to loosen upon
a. Compaction exposure to high humidity and
b. Densification water.
c. Extrusion d. None of the above
d. None of the above
6. Traditional method of
3. Considered as one of limitations densification commonly used or
of biomass for energy purposes. harvest crops.
a. Low bulk density a. Baling
b. High energy content b. Pelleting
c. Uniform in size c. Briquetting
d. None of the above d. None of the above
7. Commonly used densification 10. Which of the following materials
process of biomass using high – can be used for densification?
pressure compaction technologies a. Wood processing residues
with density of 600 to 1200 kg/m3. b. Loose crop residues
a. Baling c. Charcoal fines
b. Pelleting d. All of the above
c. Extrusion
d. None of the above 11. Factors affecting densification of
biomass.
8. Method producing densified a. Moisture content
material similar to pellets but bigger b. Material properties
in sizes. c. Temperature and pressure
a. Baling d. All of the above
b. Extrusion
c. Briquetting 12. Too-high moisture densified
d. None of the above materials is not good for the reason
that the .
9. Method of pressing biomass a. material to spoil reducing the
material into a die by means of a energy content
screw. b. material to break producing
a. Briquetting more fines
b. Pelleting c. material to become heavy
c. Extrusion d. All of the above
d. None of the above
27
13. Important parameters for 16. Higher density and lower moisture
handling, storage, and transport of content of densified biomass fuel
densified biomass fuel. results in a heating value.
a. Moisture content a. lower
b. Durability index b. higher
c. Bulk density c. very low
d. All of the above d. None of the above
14. Ability of densified materials to 17. Which of the following can be used
remain intact when handled during to pre-treat biomass to improve
storage and transport. quality?
a. Moisture content a. Pre-heating
b. Durability index b. Steam explosion
c. Bulk density c. Steam conditioning
d. All of the above d. Torrefaction
e. All of the above
15. Presence of fines is
especially when densified material 18. Pre-treatment of biomass by
is used or co-firing with other fuel. steaming process to make natural
a. desirable binder, and to make lignin more
b. undesirable available during densification.
c. necessary a. Seam explosion
d. None of the above b. Steam conditioning
c. Steam washing
d. All of the above
19. Equipment that uses roller to 22. Densification technology that
push the material into several employs a pressure of more than
tapered slots followed by scraping 100 MN/m2
to have uniform length. a. Low Pressure
a. Piston Press b. Medium pressure
b. Screw press c. High pressure
c. Pelleting mill d. None of the above
d. All of the above
23. Low-pressure hand-operated
20. Equipment that presses the press for molding honey comb
material into two rotating rollers as it briquettes.
is pushed toward the die. a. Screw press
a. Roller press b. Roller press
b. Screw press c. Manual press
c. Piston press d. None of the above
d. None of the above
24. High-pressure pre-treatment of
21. High-pressure machine biomass in a saturated steam
producing large-size densified approx 200°C for a short period of 2
materials like circular block, honey to 10 min to rapidly disintegrate the
comb briquettes, etc. biomass.
a. Roller press a. Steam conditioning
b. Screw press b. Steam explosion
c. Piston press c. Steam injection
d. None of the above d. None of the above
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