Local and national suppliers of feedstock pellets have a new tool to help validate research, lower operating costs and mitigate risk in the production and development of the high-demand alternative-energy solution.
The Herty Advanced Materials Development Center in Savannah, part of Georgia Southern University, has opened the first fully integrated pilot pellet mill in the United States.
At a cost of nearly $2 million, Herty’s mill represents an investment in state-of-the-art process equipment designed to provide suppliers with a facility for validating process technology and engineering pellet design. Herty will work with technology providers and project developers to mitigate risk through pilot scale validation. The facility will also support researchers working to enhance pellet design and develop methods for lowering operating costs.
The pellets, which are formed from wood and bioenergy feedstocks such as miscanthus and switch grass, are highly regarded as an effective, alternative energy solution because of their relatively high energy density and ease of handling.
Pellets also can be easily integrated into existing electric power generating plants as a fuel. As a result, the pellet industry has witnessed tremendous growth as major European countries, which have adopted mandates for greenhouse gas emissions, are using biomass pellets at unprecedented rates.
Most of the growth in Europe has come from imports. According to a recent report from the U.S. International Trade Commission, annual global imports of wood pellets have grown from virtually zero to more than $1.5 billion during the last decade.
However, research into improving the production of pellets, as well as optimizing pellet operation and composition has lagged behind industry growth.
Herty, a world leader in materials research, product development and biomass conversion technologies, has responded to this knowledge gap by building the first pellet production facility to serve the industry and provide a platform for innovation in process technology and pellet design.
Developers, manufacturers and researchers will benefit by having a flexible, integrated production facility that can produce pellets with properties that are consistent with those achieved in large-scale commercial facilities.
“The global demand for biomass pellets has been rising significantly in Europe and North America, and as a leader in biomass conversion we seized the opportunity to address a missing piece — a pilot mill that allows our clients to confirm operating efficiencies and product performance before they commit to an investment in full-scale manufacturing,” said Alexander Koukoulas, president and CEO of Herty.
“This will help our clients lower technical risk and accelerate project delivery.”
Jill Stuckey, director of biomass development at Herty, said the mini-mill’s capabilities and services include biomass preparation and pretreatment, as well as biomass testing and pellet analysis.
“To be a part of a larger mandate, assisting in clean energy solutions, promoting a cleaner environment and impacting Georgia’s economic growth makes our efforts here at Herty all the more meaningful,” Stuckey said.
Herty’s pellet mill and production facility provides access to both state-of-the-art technology and to new product development capabilities and support, said Omar Ali, director of the biomass division.
The pilot process is fully-integrated, starting with feedstock staging, drying, size-reduction and pelletizing. The pellet line is fully automated and is equipped with the best available technologies for fire detection and suppression. Herty can evaluate additives, such as binders, and its on-site laboratories can measure key product properties, such as heating values.
“We are excited about the opportunity to offer our clients and partners access to our new testing and demonstration facilities. With our fully integrated pilot line, we can deliver commercial-scale performance at the pilot level,” Ali said.
ABOUT HERTY
Georgia Southern University’s Herty Advanced Materials Development Center is a world-class research, development and demonstration facility for the non-wovens industry, as well as the pulp and paper and the emerging bioenergy and biomaterials industries. Herty is a new product and process accelerator with extensive pilot-scale capabilities to provide technical, market, and development expertise to a wide variety of clients.