Evaluation of Fuel Pellets Made from the Combination of Spruce Sawdust with Corn and Soybean Biomass

Agricultural residues and wastes are the main source of biomass for use in bioenergy production and animal and poultry feed production industries. These biomasses in their original form have a large volume and low energy (per unit volume) and require a lot of space and extensive movement. Therefore, one of the methods of optimal use of these biomasses is to transform them into pellets, which have more mass and energy per unit volume and enable their easier use and transportation. Currently, biomass has the fourth place in energy supply after oil, natural gas and coal and provides approximately 14% of the world's energy needs. The use of biomass, especially in European Union countries, as an attractive source for replacing fossil fuels is developing and expanding. The use of biomass as fuel has significantly reduced the amount of environmental pollutants, so that the amount of CO2 absorbed from the atmosphere during biomass growth is similar to the amount produced during combustion, followed by a net cycle of production.

 The raw materials for making pellets were prepared from spruce wood sawdust (collected from a sawmill in Sari) as well as corn stalk and soybean residues in the fields of Dasht Naz in Sari. The desired materials were transferred to the laboratory in the necessary amount and kept at ambient temperature until the experiments. The samples were first crushed into 20 mm sizes and then powdered using a grain mill (Mehr Tehiz company, Iran) and passed through 18 mesh sieves in the range of 1 mm to make pellets. A palletization mechanism was used to compress the pellet. This system was designed and built in biosystem mechanics of Sari University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. The material was placed inside a steel mold with a cylinder inner diameter of 8.05 mm and a height of 150 mm with a blocked end. A piston with a diameter of 8 mm connected to the driving arm of the tension-compression test machine was used to compress the material. Loading by a piston with a quasi-static speed of 5 mm per minute is compressed to a pressure of 1300 N.

In this research, the mechanical and thermal properties of pellets made from the combination of spruce sawdust and corn and soybean residues were evaluated. In the present study, the effect of four combinations of agricultural and forest materials at two moisture levels (12% and 18% based on fresh weight) on the indices of density, compressibility, Hausner ratio, strength and calorific value of the produced pellets were investigated and evaluated. it placed. The results showed that the pellet density at 18% humidity was lower than the density at 12% humidity. The highest density related to the combination of 60% spruce wood sawdust-40% corn stalks was obtained with a value of about 149 kg/m3 and the lowest value related to 100% soybean stalks was about 110 kg/m3. Also, the ratio of Hanser and CI in the combined pellets that have a higher percentage of sawdust and also in the combination of sawdust with corn stalks are within the permissible range. The highest pellet strength was 23.8 N/cm corresponding to 100% sawdust at 18% humidity and the lowest was 15.4 N/cm corresponding to 100% soybean stalk at 12% humidity. The calorific value of the pellets is in the range of 14.37 to 18.52 MJ/kg, which is the minimum value for the pellet made from 100% soybean stalk at 18% humidity and the maximum value for the pellet made from 100% fir wood sawdust and It was obtained at a humidity of 12%. Therefore, the use of agricultural wastes and their proper combination is a good option for the production of biofuels due to their density and strength.

 The type of biological waste and moisture percentage affect the physical and mechanical properties of the produced pellets. In general, the combination of spruce wood sawdust with corn stalks and soybean improved the mechanical and thermal properties of the pellet. Hanser's ratio and compressibility in the combined pellets that have a higher percentage of sawdust and also in the combination of sawdust with corn stalks are within the standard range. Also, in the compositions that have a higher proportion of spruce wood sawdust and lower moisture, the density and strength factors of the pellet increase. The highest and lowest calorific values were obtained in a higher ratio of sawdust and a higher ratio of corn, respectively. Therefore, it is possible to make pellets from the waste of garden and agricultural products that have good density and strength and high calorific value.