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2022

Why hasn’t biomass pellet fuel achieved widespread adoption?

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　　After a period of development, it has found widespread applications across various sectors: as feed for livestock in large-scale farms, it is easy to store and transport; for residential heating and household energy use, it is clean, pollution-free, and convenient to store and deliver; as fuel for industrial boilers and kilns, it can replace coal and natural gas, helping to address environmental pollution; and it can also serve as a feedstock for gasification‑based power generation and conventional thermal power generation, thereby contributing to the closure of small coal‑fired power plants.

　　Traditional pelletizing technologies are costly. In China, the prevailing pelletization method is a conventional one: raw materials are fed into the die from within, and a press roller compresses and extrudes them through the die to form pellets. This process encompasses drying, pressing, cooling, and packaging. Such a workflow consumes substantial energy; during pellet compression, pressures can reach 50–100 MPa, causing the feedstock to deform and heat up to 100–120°C. Moreover, the motor-driven system requires significant electrical power.

　　The moisture content of the raw materials should be around 12%; both excessively high and excessively low moisture levels hinder effective pelletizing. To achieve this target, many feedstocks must be dried prior to pelleting. The hot pellets produced—whose temperature can reach 95°C to 110°C—must be cooled before packaging. These two downstream processes account for 25% to 35% of the total energy consumption in the entire pelletizing operation. Moreover, the forming process imposes significant wear on the equipment, resulting in relatively high production costs for conventional pelletizers.

　　There is insufficient understanding of biomass pellets: most people are not fully aware of their high energy density, environmental friendliness, and ease of use; indeed, many energy‑using entities are even unaware of the existence of biomass pellet products, let alone their benefits or applications. Moreover, supporting services lag behind: once biomass pellets are produced, inadequate logistics, storage, and supply systems make them inconvenient for end users.

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大地生物旗下公司：

Beijing Biwode Technology Development Co., Ltd.

Dirun Energy Technology (Hubei) Co., Ltd.

Hubei Nordford Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

Wuhan Dadi Mingyao Biotechnology Co., Ltd.