How to oven dry wood pellets
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Eatonpcat
Minister of Fire
Turn to your left and take one big step...That should get you into the 21st Century!!
LOL
Haven't tried it but probably better results doing it on a stove top burner in the covered container. Let us know what you find out. In fact you should be able to get a sauce pan hot, take it off the burner and put the pellets in and cover it for a minute or so.
Well, I just put them in metal trays and in the cooker. I took 2 x 1-litre samples of european spruce pellets without bark. Each sample from a different pallet. The first sample weighed 651 g and the second 610 g.
After an hour of baking at 105 °C, the first sample lost 28 g of water and the second 30 g. I will keep checking until the weight remains constant
PS: Sorry for the metric system
PS2: 2h mark: 35 g of water lost from the 1st sample and 38 g from the 2nd.
PS3: 3h mark: Moisture (wet basis) just went past the 6.1% and 6.6% point for each sample. Let's see if it ends up less than 10%.
PS4: 4h mark: M1: 6.5% & M2: 7.0%
PS5: 5h mark: M1: 6.6% & M2: 7.4%
PS6: 6h mark: M1: 7.1% & M2: 7.5%
After an hour of baking at 105 °C, the first sample lost 28 g of water and the second 30 g. I will keep checking until the weight remains constant
PS: Sorry for the metric system
PS2: 2h mark: 35 g of water lost from the 1st sample and 38 g from the 2nd.
PS3: 3h mark: Moisture (wet basis) just went past the 6.1% and 6.6% point for each sample. Let's see if it ends up less than 10%.
PS4: 4h mark: M1: 6.5% & M2: 7.0%
PS5: 5h mark: M1: 6.6% & M2: 7.4%
PS6: 6h mark: M1: 7.1% & M2: 7.5%
Gentlemen, it seems that we're done here.
For the past 3 hours the scales showed a difference of ±1 gram. I think it's pretty safe to assume that the pellets have dried.
49 grams of water lost for both the 1st and the 2nd sample. This results in 8.1 MC% or 7.5% M (wet basis) for the 1st sample and 8.7% MC% or 8.0% (wet basis) for the 2nd. Not bad at all me thinks!
It took approx. 8 hours for 2 litres of pellets to dry in a conventional kitchen oven.
For the past 3 hours the scales showed a difference of ±1 gram. I think it's pretty safe to assume that the pellets have dried.
49 grams of water lost for both the 1st and the 2nd sample. This results in 8.1 MC% or 7.5% M (wet basis) for the 1st sample and 8.7% MC% or 8.0% (wet basis) for the 2nd. Not bad at all me thinks!
It took approx. 8 hours for 2 litres of pellets to dry in a conventional kitchen oven.
Hello again! I would like to post an update just in case anyone is interested.
The two pellet samples have been sitting in the living room for the past three and a half days. They both have reached a MC of 7.6% or 7.1% wet basis. The numbers are pretty close to the starting moisture measurement, so I think the pellets I received were pretty much as dry as it gets.
The two pellet samples have been sitting in the living room for the past three and a half days. They both have reached a MC of 7.6% or 7.1% wet basis. The numbers are pretty close to the starting moisture measurement, so I think the pellets I received were pretty much as dry as it gets.
Well done Doom!
We have a standard(PFI) and moisture content is tried to be kept in the <6% range here in the USA. Does Greece have a standard for wood pellet quality?
We have a standard(PFI) and moisture content is tried to be kept in the <6% range here in the USA. Does Greece have a standard for wood pellet quality?
Yes, of course we do. There is a European standard that all pellet manufacturers should follow (EN 14961-2). Please check (broken link removed to http://www.foex.fi/uploads/bioenergy/New_European_pellets_standards_March_2011.pdf).
There are 3 classes for non-industrial use: A1, A2 and B.
(broken image removed)
We also have the ENplus certification system that awards certificates to tested and complying manufacturers and traders. Please read more here and make sure you download the (broken link removed to http://www.enplus-pellets.eu/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/ENplus-Handbook-2.0.pdf).
This certification goes beyond the EN 14961-2 standards and makes the process of ash melting behaviour testing mandatory. It also prohibits the use of chemically treated raw wood material for the EN-B class. EN-B pellets must not be sold in small bags. ENplus is considered the gold standard at the moment.
Another well-known certification system is the older (broken link removed to http://www.dincertco.de/en/wood_pellets_for_central_heating_boilers.html), originating in Germany, which was the base for developing ENplus. It only certifies class A1 wood pellets. (broken link removed to http://www.dincertco.de/web/media
et.php?mediaid=39943&fileid=94646&sprachid=2) you can download the Certification Scheme. You can find the certified manufacturers here.
The second standard that gained international acceptance before the introduction of ENplus was the ÖNORM M 7135 from Austria. This standard was a great influence for the DINplus and subsequently the ENplus scheme. They quality was sealed with the " ÖNORM M 7135 Geprüft" mark. Certified manufacturers can be found here (enter "7135" in the document field and click "Search"). This standard is now obsolete and existing certifications won't be renewed any further.
Last but not least, there are other national quality marks like NF (France) and Pellet Gold (Italy) but none of them gained international acceptance. More can be read here.
The pellets I tested were made by Egger (Romania) and have all three major certificates (ENplus-A1: RO003, DINplus: 7A125, ÖNORM M 7135: N 2010 076).
I hope you find this information helpful
I also checked the (broken link removed to http://pelletheat.org/pfi-standards/pfi-standards-program/) and I can see that the limits for moisture and fines are a bit stricter than those specified by the European standards, but the ash content requirement is more lenient. However, I think you got the moisture number wrong, unless the table at pelletheat.org is outdated. It's ≤8% not ≤6%.
There are 3 classes for non-industrial use: A1, A2 and B.
(broken image removed)
We also have the ENplus certification system that awards certificates to tested and complying manufacturers and traders. Please read more here and make sure you download the (broken link removed to http://www.enplus-pellets.eu/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/ENplus-Handbook-2.0.pdf).
This certification goes beyond the EN 14961-2 standards and makes the process of ash melting behaviour testing mandatory. It also prohibits the use of chemically treated raw wood material for the EN-B class. EN-B pellets must not be sold in small bags. ENplus is considered the gold standard at the moment.
Another well-known certification system is the older (broken link removed to http://www.dincertco.de/en/wood_pellets_for_central_heating_boilers.html), originating in Germany, which was the base for developing ENplus. It only certifies class A1 wood pellets. (broken link removed to http://www.dincertco.de/web/media
et.php?mediaid=39943&fileid=94646&sprachid=2) you can download the Certification Scheme. You can find the certified manufacturers here.The second standard that gained international acceptance before the introduction of ENplus was the ÖNORM M 7135 from Austria. This standard was a great influence for the DINplus and subsequently the ENplus scheme. They quality was sealed with the " ÖNORM M 7135 Geprüft" mark. Certified manufacturers can be found here (enter "7135" in the document field and click "Search"). This standard is now obsolete and existing certifications won't be renewed any further.
Last but not least, there are other national quality marks like NF (France) and Pellet Gold (Italy) but none of them gained international acceptance. More can be read here.
The pellets I tested were made by Egger (Romania) and have all three major certificates (ENplus-A1: RO003, DINplus: 7A125, ÖNORM M 7135: N 2010 076).
I hope you find this information helpful
I also checked the (broken link removed to http://pelletheat.org/pfi-standards/pfi-standards-program/) and I can see that the limits for moisture and fines are a bit stricter than those specified by the European standards, but the ash content requirement is more lenient. However, I think you got the moisture number wrong, unless the table at pelletheat.org is outdated. It's ≤8% not ≤6%.
Yes, ≤8% Is the number for the Premium standard. I quoted the Super Premium standard. Force of habit on my part! As many of our pellet makers still offer Super Premium grade pellets even though PFI doesn't recognize the SP standard anymore.
See this post for more details,
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...pellet-standards-see-chart-and-article.72313/
I see the problem now...
Maybe there's a good reason that PFI doesn't recognise any pellets with <6% moisture. I've seen the laboratory analysis of many samples and none of them had a moisture of <6%. As my experiment showed, pellets reach 6% within 24-48 hours from dry state. I've read that as pellets leave the cooler after pressing, their moisture is at least 6%. Unless the wood fibers in the US are less hygroscopic or special additives are used, I believe that moisture <6% isn't achievable for longer than a day.
Maybe you guys should start cooking your super premium pellets so we can compare?
Maybe there's a good reason that PFI doesn't recognise any pellets with <6% moisture. I've seen the laboratory analysis of many samples and none of them had a moisture of <6%. As my experiment showed, pellets reach 6% within 24-48 hours from dry state. I've read that as pellets leave the cooler after pressing, their moisture is at least 6%. Unless the wood fibers in the US are less hygroscopic or special additives are used, I believe that moisture <6% isn't achievable for longer than a day.
Maybe you guys should start cooking your super premium pellets so we can compare?
Correct me if I am wrong but I was under the impression that <6% is about as low as one can get without changing atmospheric pressure and relative atmospheric humidity as well as the wood fiber structure? While <4% is achievable, if left within our atmosphere it will restabilize at or around 5-6% +/-.
Torification may be the only way to get that moisture out....OR perhaps the pellet needs to be compressed to a higher density, though it may burn up in the die under too much pressure.
Torification may be the only way to get that moisture out....OR perhaps the pellet needs to be compressed to a higher density, though it may burn up in the die under too much pressure.
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