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Secondary Fuel Pellets (Subcoal) |
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Introduction
This technology creates hard, easily shippable pellets from waste streams that can fuel industrial processes with the energy-equivalence of coal. They can even been used to fuel their own production process.
A fully developed system from DSM can produce hard, consistent fuel pellets from cellulose and plastic waste, and significantly reduce the costs associated with waste-handling. Depending on the composition (cellulose (paper) and up to 60% plastic), one ton of pellets can have an energy content up to 25MJ/Kg—the energy equivalent of coal.
Applications
The high carbon-content pellets burn efficiently and could fire part of their own production process, thus further reducing costs of production. They can be added to a plant’s coal feed. DSM scientists have devised a unique pelletizing technology that hardens the dried mill waste from paper recycling. Similar waste streams can also be used.
The process has been in constant use for over five years handling the waste stream of a paper mill in the Netherlands. Markets for the pellets have included power plants and cement furnaces. Pellets can be dosed into coal-fired plants of any type, as they are energy-equivalent to coal.
Benefits
In many countries in Europe, waste disposal is restricted and very expensive. In Germany, Spain, and in the Netherlands, for example, waste streams cannot go to landfill sites. Incineration is also expensive and few new facilities are being built to add capacity. Waste cannot be exported; but fuel can.
This process produces a high-quality pelletized fuel that eliminated much of the cost of waste output from the mill and is exportable under strict EU conditions. Subsequently the pellets can act as low cost secondary fuel source for coal fired power plants.
Technical details
The process is relatively simple. Mill waste is squeezed of excess moisture, shredded and drum-dried to <5% moisture content. Pellets could be used to fire the drying operation.
Fluff from the dryer containing plastic and paper are fed into a pelletizer that imparts unique properties to the pellets. The process uses up to 60% plastic. The plastic melts during the pelletizing process, making the pellets hard, consistent, and easily storable without breakage or dust.
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Technology Portfolio 
