Design Proposal of a Prototype for Sawdust Pellet Manufacturing through Simulation

Abstract

Mexican industry generates tons of organic wastes that are not used and cause social, environmental, and health problems. The main organic residue which is generated during wood production is the sawdust (biomass). In order to reduce the problems generated by its waste, a prototype to manufacture biofuel pellets was designed by considering a flat die pelletizing machine according to the standard EN 14961-2. The machine design consists of stainless steel 304 and carbon steel to produce pellets of 6 mm and 30 mm in diameter and length, respectively, at 50–100 rpm. The matrix types proposed were radial, spiral, and hexagonal. In order to be constructed quickly, the design is standardized. Results from finite-element analysis indicate that it is possible to manufacture pellets from 50 to 1000 PSI (344.7 kPa to 6894.7 kPa) with this design complying with the standard.

Transformando residuos vegetales en energía: desarrollo y automatización de un prototipo automatizado para la producción de briquetas

“…Las briquetas representan una innovadora solución para convertir los residuos vegetales en combustible [7]. Este tipo de biomasa sólida es el resultado de un proceso de densificación y se compone principalmente de materia orgánica de origen vegetal, proveniente de diversas fuentes como la agricultura, residuos industriales, industrias de alimentos, entre otras, según indica Ramírez [8]. Su proceso de fabricación, que implica compactación y secado, otorga a las briquetas una densidad y eficiencia energética superiores en comparación con el material en su estado original.…”