arrives at the mill. By investing in the labour to sort material before grinding, the company can realize nearly four times the lifespan for roll and die wear, saving maintenance and replacement costs. Similarly, Pinnacle Pellet invests time working with logging contractors to get the cleanest possible material from landings. Once in their Meadowbank (Strathnaver) mill, however, material is passed through a purpose-built General Kinematics De-Ston-er, designed in direct response to the abundance of pine beetle material. Using vibrating action and a series of air knives, fibre is separated and cleaned of dirt, metal, stones and any other foreign objects that may have contaminated the bush grind, based on velocity and density. Some refinements had to be made for the De-Stoner to work effectively with the logging residuals: while pine beetle waste is traditionally bone dry, some would arrive with excess moisture due to the presence of green wood (such as spruce and balsam from higher elevation clearcuts) in the bush grind. The original finger screens tended to clog due to the excess moisture; screens would get wet as green wood passed through, and then get coated with dust from dry beetle wood, creating caked layers that choked the screens. After some experimentation, General Kinematics switched over to rod screens, which had been designed to manage reclama-tion of construction waste in wet climates like Florida. Moisture variance has certainly been a factor for mills using pine beetle residuals, but achieving a consistent particle size remains the greatest challenge for efficient pellet production. Brunette Machin-ery has introduced the BioSizer, purpose-built to manage the wide variations in species and moisture content, and two of B.C.’s largest mills in the heart of pine beetle country have adopted this new equipment. The standard “hog” mill, operating at 650-750 rpm, has the capability to grind whole logs and sawmill residuals to 3-4” minus dimension. The Brunette BioSizer, used by Pacific Bioenergy and Pinnacle, produces a more consistent, smaller particle ideal for pelletizers – running at 1400 rpm, it generates 1/4” -3/8” chips that dry more uniformly and efficiently, saving energy and time. Industry estimates point to another 700 million cubic metres of mountain pine beetle still standing in B.C.’s forests. While northern pellet mills are poised to absorb the residuals from these dead-standing trees, the challenge remains: will the province’s key licensees have the economic will to recover the material so pellet mills can access them? During the initial clearing of pine beetle-kill logging contractors, understandably, harvested the “low hanging fruit” – the stands close to local sawmills and infra-structure. As that radius expands and the returns shrink, pellet mills may have to stand on the sidelines and wait for other mo-tivation, either through market forces or government regulation, before the majors take down the trees. Equipment manufacturers, like the pellet mills themselves, remain nimble in the face of changing fuel. Having successfully shifted from traditional sources of sawdust and hog fuel to slash piles with varying species, moisture and contaminant content, to processing, albeit infrequently, whole logs, there’s no doubt the biofuel industry will adapt to whatever future fuel becomes available to them. • Wood Hogs and Screens hammers, rotors and liners, allowing routine maintenance to be performed safely, easily and with minimal downtime. Our EZ-Access technology even lets operators remove the wood hog’s rotor without moving the feed chute. Plus, our heavy-duty rotor discs allow maximum flexibility of hammer arrangements, up to 3, 4 or 6 rows for premium efficiency on smaller products, while our Duratip ® high-alloy hammers with replaceable tips provide increased shredding action and quick change-outs. Jeffrey Rader ® EZ-Access ® Wood Hogs are designed for safe, fast and easy access to Rader ® Disc Screens (RDS) CRUSH. FEED. PROCESS. CONVEY. STORE. factory authorized technical service, field service and replacement parts are just a click away! GENUINE are the industry’s #1 scalping screens. When it comes to removing oversize rejects from unscreened wood chips, hog fuel or bark, our RDS is the undisputed workhorse of the industry. With more units in operation than all other suppliers combined, you can depend on us to select the ideal disc profile, interface openings and screen size for maximum screening efficiency. Phone: Email: Web: [email protected] +1 (864) 476-7523 [email protected] www.terrasource.com/cb Handling a World of Materials The brands comprising TerraSource Global (Gundlach Crushers, Jeffrey Rader and Pennsylvania Crusher) are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE: HI) © 2014 TerraSource Global. All Rights Reserved. Canadian BIOMASS 13
Canadian Biomass November - December 2014: Page 13
