Pellets & pelletizing
Properties
Size: Approx. 2–4 cm long cylinders, 6–12 mm in diameter
Structure: Dry, finely divided, densely compressed material
Moisture content: Approx. 9%
Weight: 600–700 kg/m³
Pellets are most commonly made from raw materials from forestry and agriculture, such as sawdust and wood shavings—often waste from the wood industry.
Pellets are a refined biofuel, dried and compressed into cylindrical rods of compacted energy. The manufacturing process involves pressing the material under high pressure without the addition of binding agents. The shavings contain natural binders, making additives unnecessary.
Pellets are a refined biofuel that contributes to a long-term sustainable society. A positive environmental aspect is that biofuels are renewable and part of the natural cycle. Burning biofuels means that the substances removed from the environment are returned. The amount of carbon dioxide produced during combustion is equal to the amount absorbed by the trees during their growth.
As a domestic fuel, pellets are less vulnerable than oil to international politics and global currency fluctuations. The majority of the raw material used for pellet production today is clean waste from the sawmill and woodworking industry.
Why you should use Pellets
Above all, pellets are a biofuel and belong to the category of refined wood fuels. Since it is renewable, it is also environmentally friendly.
Pellets do not contribute to the greenhouse effect, and the combustion of pellets releases the same amount of carbon dioxide that the trees absorbed during their growth. As a result, it is tax-exempt.
Pellets are locally produced and a very inexpensive energy source (for example, much cheaper than oil or electricity), but most importantly, burning pellets is better for the environment than burning firewood.
Pellets are part of the natural cycle!
What raw materials can be used for pellet production?
You can basically use almost any type of waste material to produce pellets. The most important factor is that the material has the right dry matter content, which should be no more than 17%. If you're unsure whether your waste material is suitable for pellet production, we can help you test it at our production facility!
The most common materials used for pellets are wood chips, sawdust, wood shavings, bark, planer shavings, and wheat straw. Sawdust is the most commonly used of them all.
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Pellets are typically made from sawdust, dry wood chips, or planer shavings — by-products from sawmills and planing mills.
In Swedish pellet production, virtually only raw materials derived from forestry are used, primarily sawdust, dry chips, and planer shavings. However, as demand for pellets has increased, forest-based materials such as bark, logging residues (branches and treetops), and small-diameter trees have also become relevant.
Sawdust mainly comes from coniferous logs, which gives it a high energy content, low ash content, and high ash melting point. This means it has very good combustion properties.
Planer shavings and dry wood chips are by-products from the processing of dried timber. Additionally, a certain amount of planer shavings comes from carpentry workshops. For pelletizing, the raw material usually doesn’t need to be dried (in fact, it is sometimes necessary to add extra steam or water to increase the moisture content).
This makes planer shavings a suitable raw material for smaller-scale systems. As a result, small pellet presses have become common in carpentry shops and smaller sawmills.
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Straw pellets are becoming increasingly common. Farmers who have straw from wheat, barley, or rapeseed can improve the economic return from their fields by pressing the straw into pellets.
Straw pellets are produced by shredding, grinding, and then pressing the straw into pellet form. No additives are needed, making straw pellets environmentally friendly through and through!
All of Miwa’s presses are designed to produce straw pellets.
Straw pellets can be used both as fuel and as bedding. Using straw as bedding is not new, but by refining it into pellets, the consumption of bedding material is reduced. The pellets absorb 8–9 times their own weight, making them very efficient. They are easy to handle and offer a better environmental profile compared to other products.
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We’re happy to explore and test other materials. Send us a request or get in touch!
