• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.126-133
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• 2022

In this study, I used wood pellets as an eco-friendly sound-absorbing material. The aim of the research was to analyze the effect of the filling height of wood pellets on sound absorption. This was done using two types of wood pellets of different lengths (A group: 1.5-3 cm, B group: less than 1.5 cm). With increasing filling height of the wood pellets, the optimum sound absorption shifted towards a lower frequency. The group B wood pellets had better sound absorption capacity than the group A ones. The optimum sound absorption coefficient of group A filled to a height of 7 cm was 0.722 at 864 Hz. On the other hand, that of group B filled to a height of 7 cm was 0.764 at 862 Hz, 5.82% higher than that of group A. While wood pellets are used as an eco-friendly fuel, the results of this study suggest the possibility of using wood pellets as an eco-friendly sound-absorbing material.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.541-552
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• 2018

As the use of wood pellets increases, there is an increasing interest in the safety of the wood pellets themselves to avoid physical and chemical damage to people and the environment. This study investigated the contents of nitrogen, sulfur, chlorine, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, zinc, and cesium in wood pellets distributed in Korea as a preliminary survey for establishing safety evaluation standards for wood pellets. Nitrogen, sulfur, chlorine, and heavy metal contents of wood pellets produced in Korea met the specification for the 1st grade of wood pellets determined by the National Institute of Forest Science and the specification for the commercial and residential wood pellets of A1 grade determined by the ISO and the evaluation standards for wood pellet safety determined by the Korean Forest Service. However, among imported wood pellets, some wood pellets contained nitrogen, sulfur, chlorine, and heavy metal exceeding the safety evaluation standards. Cesium radioactivity was not detected in domestic wood pellets. Cesium radioactivity was detected from wood pellets imported from Japan, but it was below the limits specified in the wood pellet safety evaluation standards. In conclusion, by establishing safety standards for wood pellets, we believe that safe wood pellets will be used.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.110-123
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• 2019

This work was conducted to examine the relationship between lignin content and the durability of larch (LAR) pellets. LAR sawdust was immersed in tap water (TW), sulfuric acid (AC) and sodium hydroxide (AK) solutions, and then the immersed sawdust was used for pellet fabrication. Klason lignin (KL) content of the immersed LAR, contents of soluble lignin (SL) and monomeric sugars liberated from the immersion of LAR, and durability of LAR pellets were measured. KL content decreased as the concentration of AC and AK solutions increased, but glucose content increased with increase in AC and AK concentration. Durability of wood pellets fabricated using non-immersed LAR sawdust was the highest, followed by those made using TW-, AK- and AC-immersed sawdust. LAR pellets became more durable as the concentration of KL and SL increased, but a significant positive correlation was found only between pellet durability and KL content. Through the fluorescent microscopic observation and SEM-EDX analysis, it was verified that lignin content of non-immersed LAR pellets was higher than that of AC- and AK-immersed LAR pellets. These results suggest that lignin might contribute to an increase in inter-particle bonding in wood pellets.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.381-391
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• 2023

Densification is a technique used to improve biomass quality in wood pellet manufacturing and torrefaction treatment. In this study, the effects of torrefaction on the quality of Calliandra wood pellets were investigated, and pellets of Calliandra wood (Calliandra calothyrsus) and bark were evaluated. The study was conducted using a completely randomized design with two treatment factors, namely torrefaction temperature (250℃ and 300℃) and torrefaction duration (30, 45, and 60 min). The results showed that the interaction between temperature and torrefaction duration significantly affected the compressive strength, proximate value, and calorific value of the torrefied Calliandra wood pellets. An increase in the temperature and torrefaction duration decreased the compressive strength, moisture content, volatile matter content, and ash content of the torrefied Calliandra wood pellets. Conversely, the calorific value of Calliandra wood pellets increased with increasing temperature and torrefaction duration. The best-quality Calliandra wood pellets were produced at a torrefaction temperature and duration of 300℃ and 60 min, respectively. In terms of important quality parameters, ash content of 0.90% and calorific value of 6,303.80 cal/g were observed, which complied with the quality standards of Indonesian National Standard 8675:2018 and Deutsche Industrie Norm 51731.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.36-42
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• 2010

This study has been carried out to investigate the characteristics of pellets manufactured from sawdust, and a mixture of liquid wood-tar and sawdust. Pellets were prepared at room temperature under 2000 kgf/$cm^2$ using an universal testing machine. The pellets prepared from Q. variabilis wood had slightly higher density than those prepared from P. densiflora wood. The amount of fine particles from Q. variabilis wood pellets was smaller than those from P. densiflora wood. The pellets from P. densiflora wood had higher heating values than those from Q. variabilis wood. The wood pellets manufactured with wood tar showed higher moisture content, density and heating value, but lower fine particles. From the experimental results, it is suggested that wood tar can be used to obtain the higher quality wood pellets.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.403-410
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• 2017

With the growing importance of GHG reduction, wood pellets are considered as a cheaper renewable energy and carbon neutral. On the other hand, there is a concern that the burning wood pellets may release even more air pollutants such as CO and VOCs. In this study, we analyzed the social costs of burning fuels including wood pellets and coals based on the unit calorific value. The social costs were calculated by sum of the import costs of the fuels and the emission costs of the air pollutants. The results showed that wood pellets are inferior to coals in the aspect of the social costs. It is necessary to improve the quality of the wood pellets and pellet boiler facilities for being used eco-friendly energy sources in the future. We suggest that the control facilities of CO and VOCs should be installed, if the control costs are lower than the pollution costs.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.362-369
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• 2014

This study investigated physical properties and combustion gas characteristics for 8 types of wood pellets (4 domestic and 4 imported products) distributed in the domestic market. Results showed that most pellet types were first-grade pellets in the wood pellet quality standards in Korea with the exception of 3 pellet types from K company (second-grade in mechanical durability), G company (off-grade in nitrogen content) and P company (second-grade in ash percentage). Mixed pellets which contained more lignin and sap content were higher in mechanical durability (%) than that of white pellets. From the combustion gas analysis results, NOx emitted from all pellets combustion was at acceptable levels for national emission standard of the Clean Air Conservation Act except for pellets from G company. In addition, CO levels from all types of wood pellets were acceptable except for pellets from D company and domestic pellets were higher CO levels than imported pellets. These results indicate the higher CO levels in domestic pellets due to the usage of forest thinning materials including logging debris which usually had the high content of bark.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.475-489
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• 2013

This work was conducted to investigate the effect of the addition of binders, such as rapeseed flour, coffee waste, bark, pine cone and lignin powder, on the fuel characteristics of the pellets fabricated with larch and tulip tree sawdust. Moisture content, bulk density and higher heating value of most pellets fabricated with the binders exceeded the 1st-grade pellet standard designated by Korea Forest Research Institute, but ash content of the pellets fabricated with rapeseed flour or bark of 10 wt% on the dry weight basis of sawdust was satisfied with just the 2nd- or 3rd-grade standard. The durability of tulip tree-pellets was positively influenced by the addition of rapeseed flour, coffee waste or lignin powder and increased with increasing the amount of the binders. For larch-pellets, the increase of binders did not greatly affect the durability, and even the durability reduced with the increase of bark or pine cone. From the microscopic observation, the obvious feature of pellet surfaces was not identified by the type of binder but by the addition amount of the binder. In summary, the addition of binders contributed to the fuel characteristics of wood pellets, and particularly the characteristics of wood pellets fabricated with coffee waste improved greatly. Therefore, if the binders are secured sufficiently with a reasonable cost, it might be possible to commercialize wood/binder pellets, which have better fuel characteristics than conventional wood pellets.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.23-37
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• 2023

One type of biomass that has promising potential for bio pellet production is spent coffee grounds (SCGs). However, previous studies have shown that SCGs in bio pellets cause a lot of smoke. Therefore, they need to be mixed with a material that has a higher calorific value to produce better quality pellets. One material that can be used is pine wood because it has a natural resin content that can increase the calorific value. The aim of this study was to examine the quality of bio pellets produced with SCGs and pine wood charcoal at different particle sizes. The charcoal was ground using either a hammer mill (HM) or a ball mill (BM). Pine wood charcoal was mixed with SCGs at ratios of SCGs to pine wood charcoal of 4:6 and 6:4 by weight, respectively, and the adhesive used a tapioca with a composition ratio 5% of the raw material. The bio pellets were produced using a manual pellet press. The quality of the bio pellets was assessed based on Indonesian National Standard (SNI) 8021-2014, and the physical observations include flame length, burning rate, and compressive strength. The average water content, ash content, and calorific value of the bio pellets were in accordance with SNI 8021-2014, but the density and ash content values were below the standard values. The BM variation of bio pellets had a higher compressive strength than the HM variation, and the 4:6 BM variation had the longest burning time compared with 4:6 HM.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.127-130
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• 2009

This study has been carried out to investigate the characteristics of the commercial wood pellets such as moisture content, heating value, ash content, and chemical component. The wood pellets from national forestry cooperatives federation and China were evaluated to see if they can be 1st or 2nd class of Korea standard. Indonesian pellet was estimated to be a 3rd class because of the heating value and high ash content. It is considered that there is a quality difference in wood pellets in accordance with the production nations. It could be originated from the difference of raw materials produced in different region.