extensive heat monitoring throughout the plant. “We’re always monitoring, basical-ly, anywhere you’re moving air, and also places like bearings and gearboxes. We use thermocouples throughout the plant,” Walker added. Precaution is evident from front to back, from the screening system that re-moves and bypasses fines from the first hammermill and the lower operating temps on the dryer, to the custom dry storage silos with fabric tops feeding the pellet mills and the separate coolers for each mill. The central control system is another example: Designed so one central Allen-Bradley new-generation MCC PLC system operates and monitors every machine in the plant, the control system features pro-prietary NEWP operating software that in-corporates years of pellet mill experience and acquired expertise. “We have a lot of safety monitoring built into the control system that anticipates problems and seeks to avert them or better deal with them if they do occur,” he said. He added that following up on mainte-nance and good housekeeping is critical to safety system performance. For example, explosion venting panels must be con-stantly monitored for material accumula-tion or icing in cold weather. MILL FLOW For feedstock, the plant seeks out chips with low or no bark content, though some mill residuals, such as sawdust, are accepted. The plant is designed to run on 100% green chips. “We built a pad for on-site chipping if needed,” Walker said, “but we’re trying to avoid that.” Incoming trucks are self-unloaded or tipped using a Peerless truck dump, which empties onto a paved area that features a large 40,000-square-foot covered storage shed, and three-bay live bottom infeed system. Wheel loaders move and mix incoming raw material either to the storage area or straight to the infeed bays. One bay feeds material For more than 50 years, M-E-C has used its Total System Approach to design, manufacture and service over 560 dryer systems worldwide. Proud supplier of a Triple Pass Dryer to New England Wood Pellet. Check out our new website at www.m-e-c.com PO Box 330, 1402 West Main St., Neodesha, Kansas 66757, USA T: 620-325-2673 F: 620-325-2678 [email protected] 30 Canadian BIOMASS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012
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