Text written in Basque and translated automatically by Elia without any subsequent editing. SEE ORIGINAL

Pellet; the heat of the sawdust

The pellet is a by-product of wood, pressed sawdust; it is used for heating.

Despite the cold outside, the children in this nursery are not cold. They are delicious thanks to the new heating system they have installed. The municipal library of Muxika, the residence for the elderly and young people, the pharmacy and the temporary nursery are in the same building burning the pellet to warm up. And the pellet is made in the same village, in the factory of the company Enerpellet a few kilometers away.

The pellet is a by-product of wood, namely pressed sawdust. In this sawmill they make pallets and boards for use in construction. The saws don't stop. In this process a large amount of sawdust is produced, and in fact this sawdust is used in the production of the pellet.

As such, sawdust from any type of wood can be used to make the pellet, including recycled wood waste. Here, however, only pine sawdust is used.

ANTEROL TELLERIA; ENERPELLET. A suction

system allows the sawdust to be collected and transported to the pellet production facility deployed in the sawmill itself. The process is fully mechanized: the first step is to dry the sawdust. The heat required for drying is acquired by burning the sawdust. The sawdust is passed through a porous tape. There, he's injected with a hot wind. The process is automated and the speed of the belt is determined at all times by a humidity meter.

The sawdust should then be homogenized and passed through a mill for this purpose. Dust and sawdust will be distributed, and the sawdust will be sent to the press. This is the most difficult part of the process. The press is difficult to calibrate because the material heats up and burns the sawdust if it overheats. Among other reasons, this is why it is important to always use sawdust from the same type of wood, so that you do not have to repeatedly calibrate the press. The heat melts the lignin from the sawdust, which is sufficient to compact the pellet.

The resulting material is very dry and homogeneous. the pellet is presented as a cylinder with a length of 21 millimeters and a diameter of 6 millimeters.it has a humidity level of 6%, which allows it to achieve a greater heating capacity than wood, since it does not lose heat when the humidity evaporates. Humidity is the biggest drawback of biomass combustion, which complicates the process and slows down its efficiency. In the case of the pellet, this drawback is overcome by the complete removal of moisture from the biomass during the production process.

ANTEROL TELLERIA; ENERPELLET

After removing it from the press, it will be cooled and dust removed. It's ready to be marketed. Although it can be purchased in small packages, it can be transported by truck to areas with a large warehouse and fill the warehouse in the form of liquid fuels. In this way, it is possible to burn in boilers that are fully machined.

AITZOL TELLERIA; ENERPELLETE Renewable and environmentally friendly fuel is obtained from a waste that has

no capacity or very little use, namely sawdust; this is the pellet.

ANTEROL TELLERIA; ENERPELLET

It’s also cheaper compared to fossil fuels. However, the initial investment required to install high-performance boilers is higher. Biomass of this type is widely used in Austria and Scandinavia. Although it is not very popular among us, there is a possibility.