Fuel Processing Technology 92 (2011) 699706

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Fuel Processing Technology

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / f u p r o c

Effect of moisture content, particle size and pine addition on quality parameters of
barley straw pellets
Clara Serrano a,, Esperanza Monedero a, Magn Lapuerta b, Henar Portero a
a
b

Parque Cientco y Tecnolgico de Albacete, Instituto de Investigacin en Energas Renovables, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete 02006, Spain
Escuela Tcnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real 13071, Spain

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 23 June 2010
Received in revised form 22 October 2010
Accepted 29 November 2010
Available online 28 December 2010
Keywords:
Pellet mill
Barley straw
Blended pellets
Durability
Moisture content

a b s t r a c t
Agripellets from barley straw wastes have been produced in an annular die pellet mill. The semi-industrial
scale of the pilot plant allowed for measurement of the die temperature, and an accurate control of the straw
moisture at the die inlet. The pellet mechanical durability, density, length and moisture were evaluated for
pure straw and blended pellets, together with the heating value and the ash content. The composition of the
raw material barely changed with the compaction process. Optimum moisture contents for dense barley
straw pellets production proved to be in the range of 1923%. A durability value of 95.5% was reached under
these conditions, increasing to 9798% when small quantities of pine sawdust were added (2, 7, and 12 wt.% of
pine in straw). Agglomeration of the ground particles was improved by water and pine addition, while a
coarser grinding did not show any negative effect on barley straw compaction.
2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The renewable energy policy framework in Europe [1] needs an
integrated perspective on the use of biomass in all three sectors:
electricity, heat and transport. To reach the 20% target in the use of
renewable energy by 2020, the use of domestic biomass should cover
most of its potential in the heating sector. For a better implementation
of biomass, the following targets are some of the key issues:
Assurance of supply and utilisation of biomass wastes available
Optimisation of technological processes for biomass pretreatment
and densication
Improving biomass pellets quality according to specic quality
standards.
The growing use of biomass boilers, both industrial and domestic,
has promoted an expansive market of solid biofuels. For the domestic
heating sector densied biomass in the form of pellets is commercialized following different quality requirements: DIN 51731 or
DINplus in Germany, NORM M7135 in Austria, SS 18 71 20 in
Sweden or CTI-R 04/5 in Italy, among others [2]. Only clean wood
pellets, made from stemwood or chemically untreated industrial
residues, accomplish with these high quality standards. But more
exible quality standards are demanded to solve the need of feedstock
supply in pellet production plants, especially in the Mediterranean
countries. Different pellet qualities are commercialized, for industrial
Corresponding author. Instituto de Investigacin en Energas Renovables, Calle de
la Investigacin s/n, Albacete 02006, Spain. Tel.: +34 967599200; fax: +34 967555321.
E-mail address: Clara.Serrano@uclm.es (C. Serrano).
0378-3820/$ see front matter 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.fuproc.2010.11.031

use and for small-scale consumers. Pellets for general use, made from
different raw materials, can be classied according to the EN 14961-1
standard [3]. For non-industrial use pellets, different quality classes
are established in prEN 14961-2 for woody pellets [4] and in
prEN14961-6 [5] for densied herbaceous biomass, fruit biomass
and biomass blends.
The homogeneity of pellets regarding size, water content and
particle density is of great relevance to achieve fully automatic
operation and complete combustion in automatic small-scale
furnaces. Less quality is demanded in large industrial furnaces due
to their higher robustness (that helps to prevent from damage caused
by corrosion and deposit formation), the ue gas cleaning systems
and the more sophisticated combustion control technology applied
for such plants [6].
It is only with high quality pellet or woodchip that automatic
small-scale furnaces can operate with high comfort for the end user
(low frequency of ash disposal) and without operative failures or
loose of power during a 20 year lifetime. Nowadays, boilers
manufacturers are trying to adjust and improve technology so that a
wider range of biomass wastes (agricultural, forestry and industrial)
can be used.
Herbaceous biomass pellets do not usually accomplish with the
standards demanded in the domestic heating sector (high ash,
potassium and chlorine contents), but mediumlarge scale boilers
have already been specically designed to be fueled with cereal
straws [7], since they are a profuse waste in agricultural countries [8].
Densication of straw, which is under the scope of the present work, is
of great importance to simplify handling, transport and storage
operations. The optimisation of variables affecting this process started

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C. Serrano et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 92 (2011) 699706

within the animal feeding stuff eld, and in the last ten years many
studies have been published in regard with densied biofuels quality.
Kaliyan and Morey [9] made a review about factors affecting
strength and durability of pellets. Factors related to the feedstock
(starch, protein, bre, fat, lignin and extractives, moisture content and
particle size), pre-conditioning processes (steam conditioning/preheating, and addition of binders), and densication equipment
(forming pressure, and pellet mill and roll press variables) would
affect the strength and durability of pellets. Also, post-production
conditions such as cooling/drying and high humidity storage conditions would inuence the strength and durability of the densied
products. With the help of heat, water induces a wide range of
physical and chemical changes such as thermal softening of biomass,
denaturation of proteins, gelatinisation of starch, and solubilisation
and consecutive recrystallisation of sugars and salts. The optimum
moisture content for biomass densication may range from 8% to 20%.
Based on SEM and UV auto-uorescence images of densied
biomass, Kaliyan and Morey [10] demonstrated how natural binders
(lignin, protein, starch and fat) can be activated (softened) under high
pressures in the presence of moisture and temperature in the range of
the glass transition temperature of the material. Hydrogen bonding at
lignin and cellulose surface areas is considered to be responsible for
the main type of bonding in the pressing operation of wood, while for
switchgrass and corn stover the solid bridges were made mainly by
lignin and protein. Angls et al. [11] found that it is the lignin coating
that confers external shine to pellets, and this could result in higher
water resistance, due to the hydrophobic nature of lignin.
The barley straw analyzed by Adapa et al. [12] showed a high
content of lignin (17.1% d.b., AOAC Standard method), protein (3.6%),
cellulose (32.3%) and hemicellulose (20.4%) and low content of other
natural binders like starch (0.1%) or fat (1.9%). Therefore, lignin and
protein could be the deciding components enhancing the binding
characteristics of this kind of herbaceous biomass. Protein plasticizes
under heat and acts as a binder, in turn increasing the strength of the
pelletized product.
Among the three wood structural biopolymers lignin, cellulose
and hemicelluloses lignin is one of the main natural binders and its
concentration can be up to two times higher in wood than in
herbaceous materials. The lignin content found in literature for each
biomass differs because the analytical method used is different, but it
ranges 510% in cereal straws and 1235% in wood. The Klason lignin
contents of barley straw and pine sawdust obtained by Kamstra et al.
[13], are 10.1% and 27.4%, in that order. Cellulose and hemicellulose
contents in barley straw are 35.5% and 23.9%, respectively, and 49.1%
and 13.3% in pine sawdust.
Gilbert et al. [14] made a study on the effect that pressure and
temperature have on pellets density and mechanical resistance. The
study was conducted using wheat straw and grass in a laboratory
hydraulic press, with separate control for pressure and temperature.
Between 75 and 100 C lignin melts acting as a natural binder and a
maximum of resistance is obtained. However, above 100 C water is
evaporated and the pellet becomes more brittle. The effect of
temperature on density was only observed in the range 1450 C.
Moreover, increasing pressure from 55 to 550 bar increases the
density and mechanical resistance of pellets.
Mani at al. [15], Relova et al. [16] and Shaw et al. [17] studied the
effect of particle size reduction on density, friability and tensile
strength of single pellets. Durability (abrasion resistance of bulk
pellets) can be measured either in a tumbling box, Holmen tester or
Lignotester. According to Kaliyan and Morey's review, most authors
report an increase in durability of biomass pellets when reducing the
particle size. These studies were made in a range of mill screen sizes
from 1.6 to 6.4 mm, which corresponds to a range of geometrical
mean diameter of particles from 0.5 to 1.0 mm.
Mani et al. [15] studied the effect of particle size reduction on the
quality of pellets made in a laboratory press at 100 C. The compaction

degree, given by pellet density, was studied for wheat and barley
straws, corn stover and switchgrass. Using mill screen sizes of 0.8, 1.6
and 3.2 mm, the resulting mean particle size for barley straw was 0.31,
0.38 and 0.69 mm, respectively. For barley straw and other herbaceous crops, it was found that using a smaller mill screen size leads to
a higher pellet density. However, moisture and pressure in the press
were more important variables than particle size. By increasing the
applied pressure the pellet density rose approaching the particle
density; the pellet density also increased when the material moisture
was changed from 12 to 15%.
For the same materials and grinding levels, Mani et al. [18] measured
the specic energy consumption in the hammer mill. For a raw material
moisture of 8%, when a mill screen of 0.8 mm is used the energy
consumption is two times higher than when milling with a 3.2 mm
screen. For higher moisture contents (12%) the energy consumption
clearly increased (especially for the highest mill screen size).
In a similar particle size reduction range (0.30.6 mm mean size
after milling), Shaw et al. [17] used a laboratory press to study the
effect of grinding on density and tensile strength of wheat straw and
poplar wood pellets. Two temperatures and two moisture levels (70
100 C and 915%) were tried. For all conditions, smaller particle sizes
allow for higher density and mechanical resistance of pellets.
From statistical analysis of 32 pine wood pelletizing tests, Relova et
al. [16] reported that the applied force in a laboratory press is the main
factor affecting friability (drop resistance). Moisture is the second
factor and particle size reduction shows little effect. For different
moistures ranging 620%, pellets made with particle sizes between 1
and 2 mm show higher friability than those made from particles
below 1 mm. The authors remarked that all particle size ranges also
include dust particles.
The former tests found in literature simulate the conditions of a
pellet mill using mainly laboratory presses, since conditions are easily
controlled, and experiments are cheaper. Additional factors (i.e., the
use of a at or ring die, the distance between rolls and die, the biomass
owrate, the water vaporisation, etc.) affect the densication process
occurring in real pellet mills, for which only a few number of works
have been published up to now.
Reed canary grass was densied in a pilot plant [19] to study the
effect of (1) moisture content of the ground material, (2) its bulk
density after a pre-densication process, (3) steam addition and(4)
the die temperature. The moisture content was the most important
factor affecting durability and bulk density of pellets, and precompaction allowed for a continuous production.
Different mixtures of vine shoots and cork were pelletized by
Mediavilla et al. [20] in a commercial pellet mill, using a 20 mm
compression at die. The die compression (pressway) is dened as
the distance between the beginning of the inlet cone and the end of
the straight part of the die hole. Three hundred kilograms of material
was used in each test (lasting 2 h each), with the most suitable
moisture content at the press inlet varying between 15 and 25%. With
the addition of industrial cork residue to vine shoots less energy was
demanded and, during combustion of the resulting pellets in a pellet
burner, ash sinterisation was reduced as well.
Moisture just before compression at the die inlet is an important
variable, for that a moisture control system is implemented in some
production plants. The present work is targeted on the optimisation of
a pellet mill pilot plant, the raw material being barley straw (Hordeum
vulgare), a typical biomass waste in the central region of Spain. The
effects of straw moisture and pine sawdust addition on compaction
properties are studied, together with the enhanced properties of the
blended pellets.
Barley straw pellets have been produced, rst grinding the raw
material and then adjusting the straw moisture and/or pine content to
the desired value. Optimal compaction conditions are those resulting
in the best pellet durability. Instead of the bulk density, the pellet
density was determined, since it can be more representative of the

C. Serrano et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 92 (2011) 699706

701

compaction process itself, and is not affected by the pellet size. The
overall results of the work can be divided in three sets of experiments
with the following structure.
In Section 3.1, densication of the straw is carried out without any
pine addition, and particle size is reduced at two different grinding
levels. The moisture content is modied in each test between 8 and
23%, to optimize this variable for the two grinding levels.
In Section 3.2, barley straw is analyzed before and after entering
the pellet mill, to study the effect that compaction has on the straw
composition and caloric value.
In Section 3.3, barley straw pelletizing is carried out with addition
of pine sawdust, which may act as a natural binder due to its high
lignin content.
2. Pellets production plant and methodology
Fig. 1. The pellet mill.

The pellet mill is an industrial machine with small capacity

(Table 1). The pellet press Skid Sinte 1000 appears in the centre of
Fig. 1, with a hammer mill on the right side of the image and the
lterbags system on the left side. The plant may be controlled via a PLC
for continuous production, or manually for process adjustment and
maintenance works. Once ground, a conveyor (3.5 m long) lifts the
material up to a 115 litre conditioning chamber, where water micro
drops are added by means of a nebuliser to set the required moisture
content. A blade mixer is continuously stirring to make homogeneity
possible. Two short conveyors (0.58 and 0.17 m each) take the
material from the base of the conditioning chamber (at the desired
feeding rate) and put it into the interior of the ring die, to be pressed
outwards through the holes by means of two rollers. The pellets break
off as they leave the die to a length of 40 mm maximum.
Barley was grown and harvested at full maturity by the Instituto
Tcnico Agronmico Provincial de Albacete. The barley straw was air
dried, cut in blades of about 300 mm and put in bigbags. Feeding the
chopped straw into the hammer mill with a conveyor was difcult, for
that the productivity of the pilot plant was limited below its nominal
capacity. The initial moisture of the chopped barley straw in the
bigbag was 9%; passing through the hammer mill it dries down to 8%;
after water nebulisation the moisture content of a sample can be
checked with a Sartorius MX50 infrared drying balance AND MX-50.
This last is called the straw moisture throughout this text (wt.% given
on a wet basis).
A 17 mm compression die is used in all the tests, with a distance
between the die and the rollers of 10 m. Together with these
variables, the rotation speed and the owrate of the ground straw into
the die also determine the pressure applied to the material. Neither
the rotation speed nor the owrate was varied throughout the study.
Every test was performed feeding 4 kg of material during 40 min,
which means a owrate of 100 g/min. This low owrate through the
die means a high residence time within it, and thus longer
compression duration.
At the moment of sampling pellets for its characterisation,
pressure and temperature should have been reached a steady state

condition. Like pressure, the die temperature is a key parameter as

regards to compaction, since it promotes the activation of natural
binders as well as the vaporisation of water.
Since the effect of straw moisture is to be studied at constant
temperature and pressure, the die temperature has been measured in
tests performed with moisture contents of 9, 15 and 22%. It was
observed that straw moisture is not affecting the die temperature,
which allows for studying the effect of water addition at constant
temperature in Section 3.1.
In every experiment, and starting at room temperature, the metal
die heats up due to the friction forces occurring in the compression
process. Every 15 min, images like the one shown in Fig. 2 are taken
with a thermal imager Fluke IR FlexCam TI55. The temperature of the
metal inside the die holes reaches a maximum value of 93 C. The
pellet temperature is about 20 C lower than the former, cooling down
as it comes out. The die temperature reaches its maximum constant
value 30 min after the start of the process, and from this point on
pellets are sampled for physical and physicochemical analyses.
The particle size is reduced in the hammer mill to a mean size that
depends on the mill screen used. To optimize the amount of water for
two grinding levels, and to look into the effect of size reduction on
compaction, mill screens of 4 mm and 7 mm size have been used. The
nal particle size distribution was obtained according to [21,22], using
an electromagnetic sieve shaker (CISA BA 400N, 450 mm diameter),
and the following sieves were used: 8 mm, 3.15 mm, 2.8 mm, 2 mm,
1.4 mm, 1 mm, 0.5 mm, and 0.25 mm.

Table 1
The pellet mill pilot-plant specications.
Property

Value

Capacity
Die engine power
Die outer diameter
Die inner diameter
Number of holes
Diameter of the holes
Number of rollers
Diameter of the rollers
Hammer mill engine power

100 kg/h
11 kW
344 mm
262 mm
270
6 mm
2
122 mm
1.7 kW

Fig. 2. Thermographic image of the die.

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C. Serrano et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 92 (2011) 699706

Prior to its characterisation according to the methods shown in

Table 2, pellets coming out from the compression die are straight
placed in trays for overnight natural drying at room temperature.
Following [23] the biofuel was sampled and prepared for its
physicochemical analysis, grounded to pass a 0.25 mm screen by
means of a cutting mill Retsch SM100. The net caloric value was
calculated from the gross caloric value (measured in a compensated
jacket calorimeter 6100 PARR) [24], and from the carbon, hydrogen,
nitrogen and sulphur contents, measured following [25,26] (by means
of a LECO TruSpec CHNS analyzer). The ash moisture content was
analyzed in a furnace according to [27], while the moisture content of
the sample is obtained drying a 300 g sample during 16 h at 105 C,
and then adding drying periods of 2 h until a weight loss bellow 0.2%
of the total loss is reached. This procedure is a combination of
methods [28,29].
The volatile matter was obtained following an internal procedure
based on [30]. Ten milligrams of sample grounded to pass a 0.25 mm
screen is placed in a thermogravimetry analyzer (Netzsch STA 409 PC)
under nitrogen atmosphere. After drying (5 C/min till 105 C, plus 1 h
isothermal), a devolatilization ramp of 5 C/min is performed to reach
950 C, holding 1 h isothermal. The volatile matter is given by the
weight loss during the devolatilization ramp and isothermal step.
For each test, fteen pellets have been sampled and weighted
using a precision balance (0.01 g). Length and diameter were
measured with an electronic caliper. The mean pellet length and
pellet density were then calculated, nding a high standard deviation
for both (shown in the results below).
Durability is a measure of the resistance towards shocks and/or
abrasion as a consequence of handling and transportation processes. A
Mabrik pellet tester was used for the determination of durability
following [31]. Durability represents the percentage of pellets that
remain bigger than 3.15 mm after being tumbled in a closed
normalized box. It is expressed as

DU =

mA
100
mE

where mE is the mass of pre-sieved pellets before the tumbling

treatment and mA is the mass of sieved pellets after the tumbling
process. A sample of 1.25 kg, sieved to separate particles bellow
3.15 mm, is divided into two subsamples of 500 g each (mE), which
are tumbled at 50 rpm during 10 min, and then sieved again to get the
mass of particles above 3.15 mm (mA). The complete test is repeated if
the durability value of two samples differs in more than 1% for
DU b 97.5% or if it differs in more than 0.2%, for DU 97.5%.

Table 2
Analytical methods used for characterisation of the samples.
Property

Analytical method

Particle size distribution

Durability
Sample preparation
Caloric value
Moisture content
Proximate analysis
Ash
Volatile matter
Fixed carbon
Ultimate analysis
Carbon
Hydrogen
Nitrogen
Sulphur
Oxygen

CEN/TS 15149, parts 1 and 2

CEN/TS 15210-1
CEN/TS 14780
EN 14918
Combination of EN 14774-2 and ASTME 871-82

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Effect of particle size and moisture content
In order to determine how much water addition is needed to get a
compact product, several tests were performed pelletizing barley straw
with different moisture contents. To look into the effect of size
reduction on compaction, the amount of water has been optimized for
two different grinding levels (4 and 7 mm screens in the hammer mill).
The nal particle size distribution is shown in Fig. 3. With the
4 mm mill screen the size of barley straw was reduced below 2 mm,
with most of particles being smaller than 1 mm. Studies found in
literature [1517] compare durability of pellets from straw ground to
this range of particle sizes. A mill screen of 7 mm was here used as
well, to investigate the quality of pellets produced from bigger
particles, resulting in 54 wt.% of particles in the range 3.158 mm. The
lack of particles in the sieves of 2 and 2.8 mm can be explained by the
long shape of particles; i.e., particles 3 mm long and 1 mm diameter
probably passed through the 2.8 and 2 mm sieves, and were collected
in the 1 mm sieve.
The straw moisture represents the moisture content once water
has been added and homogenization has been achieved. After 10 min
mixing, the material is sampled at two different points to check for
homogeneous moisture distribution throughout the conditioning
chamber. A total of thirteen tests were done in this rst set of
experiments, seven of them with barley straw ground using the 4 mm
mill screen, and six with the 7 mm mill screen. The pellets moisture
content and mechanical durability for the different straw moisture
contents are shown in Figs. 4 and 5, in this order.
To look into the effect that the mill screen size and the straw
moisture have on pellet durability, the three variables have been
adjusted to a linear model (Model 1, Table 3) using the R free
statistical software. Since the p-values show that the mill screen
(categorical variable) is not a signicant variable in the model, it is
better just tting the straw moisture (numerical variable) and
durability to Model 2, giving a regression coefcient of R2 = 0.77.
The fact that the particle size has no noticeable effect on durability
is in opposition with studies reporting higher durability of herbaceous
pellets for smaller particle sizes [9]. Nevertheless, these works were
made in laboratory presses and always compare particle sizes below
1 mm, which is the maximum allowed in animal feeding pellets (for
their better digestion).
In the range of 919%, the nal pellet moisture barely depends on
the moisture of the straw fed to the die (Fig. 4). Most water vaporises
in the die, and after being left on a tray for natural overnight drying,
the nal pellet moisture is between 6 and 8%, which agrees with
moisture of commercial straw pellets [9]. For low straw moisture
values of 911%, the pellet moisture results in 67%, and increasing
the former above 15%, the later ranges 78%.
When too much water is sprayed, although the durability test
gives a high value (low powder formation in the tumbling box), these

EN 14775
Thermogravimetric analysis
By difference

CEN/TS 15104
CEN/TS 15289
By difference

Mass fraction, %

60
4 mm screen
7 mm screen

50
40
30
20
10
0
0-0.25 0.25-0.5 0.5-1

1-1.4

1.4-2

2-2.8 2.8-3.15 3.15-8

Particle size, mm
Fig. 3. Particle size distribution after grinding with two different mill screens.

C. Serrano et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 92 (2011) 699706

16
4 mm mill screen

Pellet moisture, %

14

Table 3
Durability (DU) modelled as a function of straw moisture (SM) and mill screen (MS).

good
pellets

7 mm mill screen

703

R2 = 0.76

12

Model 1

10

DU = 0 + 1 SM + 2 MS

8
0
1
2

6
4
no
pellets

low
compaction

too wet
pellets

ns

Model 2

R2 = 0.77

DU = 0 + 1 SM

Estimate

p-value

Estimate

p-value

59.68
1.71
3.04

1.7 E7
8.3 E5
0.26ns

59.45
1.64

8.3 E8
7.5 E5

Not signicant variable (p-value N 0.05).

0
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Straw moisture, %
Fig. 4. Effect of the straw moisture on the nal pellet moisture.

are soft pellets with low compaction, since high moisture levels
within the cell structure make particles harder to compress. Thus,
pellets should not be produced from barley straw above 23% moisture,
since the nal pellet moisture rises above 15%, exceeding the
maximum required limit of 10%. The use of too wet pellets would
cause moulding problems during storage as well as inefcient
combustion in the boiler.
The lowest range of straw moisture content below 8%
corresponds to that of the barley straw after grinding with no water
addition in the conditioning chamber. This moisture content is
inadequate for compaction to occur and no pellets are produced
below this lower limit.
Even for moisture contents between 9 and 17%, very low compaction
was achieved during the process, the result being an undesirable mass of
powder comprising scarce pellets. These are fragile short pellets (15
20 mm long) with very low durability (6590%) that increases with the
straw moisture (Fig. 5).
Water favours particle bonding, and the best durability is achieved
for straw moisture contents between 19 and 23%, for which most of
the ground straw properly pelletizes and the product is low nes
containing.
Similarly to the results obtained in these set of experiments,
Kaliyan and Morey [9] report that increasing the ground material
moisture from 10 to 20% enhances durability of wheat straw
briquettes and alfalfa wafers. Nevertheless, the same review reports
an operating problem that was not observed in the present study; i.e.,
for alfalfa and wheat-based feed pellets, the pellet mill tends to choke
for moistures around 1618%, for that 10% moisture is recommended.
In Fig. 4 it is shown that the pellet moisture content slightly
increases with the straw moisture at the die inlet. In Fig. 6, pellet
density, length, durability and moisture are correlated in pairs. Pellets
with higher moisture content seem to be less dense (Fig. 6.A), for that
moisture could be negatively affecting compaction. However, moisture makes particles agglomerate better, making pellets longer (6.B).
100
4 mm mill screen
7 mm mill screen

95

Durability, %

90
85
80
R2=0.77

75

good
pellets

70
65
60

no
pellets

low
aglomeration

too wet
pellets

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Straw moisture, %
Fig. 5. Effect of the straw moisture on the pellet durability.

Length and durability increase together (6.F), while density shows no

relationship with length (6.D) or durability (6.E).
For all the tests performed between 9 and 23% straw moisture, the
mean pellet density ranges 1.31.4 g/cm3, which means a good
compaction level if compared with the DINplus requirement of
1.12 0.02 g/cm3.
3.2. Effect of the compaction process on the material properties
The physicochemical results corresponding to the analyses of raw
barley straw and barley straw pellets are shown in Table 4. The
difference between both sets of results (in the third column) is
regarded as insignicant if it remains underneath the repeatability
limit for the precision required in each analysis according to the CEN
standards (column four). The results of heating value, ultimate and
proximate analysis (rst and second columns) are the mean of
duplicate determinations, which were further repeated if the
difference was above the repeatability limit of the method (maximum
difference allowed). In cases where the standard method sets the
repeatability limit as a given relative error of the mean, it has been
expressed as a maximum difference (footnote b, Table 4) to allow
comparison with values in the third column.
It has been stated that when pelletizing a material its caloric
value decreases due to the loose of volatile matter occurring during
compaction [32]. But Miranda et al. [33] studied the effect of
pelletizing Pyrenean oak, nding no signicant difference in the
gross caloric value and the volatile matter of pellets and those of the
non-densied material.
In this work, the barley straw pellets showed higher ash and
sulphur contents than for the raw barley straw. Although the decrease
in the content of volatile matter is hardly signicant, the gross caloric
value of pellets is 0.22 MJ/kg lower than for the non-densied
material. This fact, along with the higher ash and the lower carbon
and hydrogen contents, make the net caloric value of the pelletized
barley straw 0.19 MJ/kg lower than for barley straw.
3.3. Effect of pine addition on barley straw pellets quality
Pine sawdust from carpentry and barley straw were separately
ground using the 4 mm mill screen. Small quantities of pine were mixed
with the barley straw in proportions of 2, 7 and 12 wt.% mass percentage
of pine (on a dry basis). For the three mixtures, some water was sprayed
in the conditioning chamber to have moisture contents of 12% (on a wet
basis) at the die inlet. After 15 min stirring, homogeneity of the moisture
content and homogeneity of the pine content were checked, the second
one by means of ash analysis. Being the ash content in the barley straw
ten times higher than in pine (see analytical results in Tables 4 and 6), an
even ash content measured throughout the conditioning chamber is
here taken as indicative of good mixing. With that aim and for each of
the three mixtures, one gram samples were taken in the lower and the
upper part of the conditioning chamber. The ash content analyses
resulted in an absolute difference (between up and down) of less than
0.03% for all the cases, revealing that no gravimetric stratication occurs
during stirring.

C. Serrano et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 92 (2011) 699706

Mean density, g/cm3

704

1,4

A
4 mm mill screen

1,3

7 mm mill screen

1,2
5

9
30

Pellet length, mm

30

25

25

20

20

15
5

100

15
1,2

100

100

C
Durability, %

1,4

1,3

90

90

90

80

80

80

70

70

70

60
5

60
1,2

1,3

1,4

60
15

Mean density, g/cm3

Pellet moisture, %

20

25

30

Pellet length, mm

Fig. 6. Pellet properties correlated in pairs for barley straw ground at 4 and 7 mm. Mean pellet density (A), length (B) and durability (C) versus the pellet moisture content. Pellet
length (D) and durability (E) versus the mean pellet density. Durability (F) versus pellet length.

In Table 5 physical properties of blended pellets are shown,

together with their initial moisture at the die inlet, the nal pellet
moisture and the temperature reached inside the die holes. Being the
die temperature a crucial variable, thermographic images were
obtained every 10 min during the pelletization tests. After 30 min of
production, the temperature for pure barley straw and for 2%, 7% and
12% blends was, in that order, 93, 94, 97 and 105 C.

Table 4
Physicochemical analyses of raw barley straw and the resulting straw pellets.
Barley
straw pellet
(2)

|(1) (2)|

Repeatability
limit

43.85
39.27
5.50
0.77
0.10

0.53
0.02
0.14
0.01
0.02

0.5a

0.25a
0.08b
0.01b

Proximate analysis (wt.%, dry basis)

Ash
9.87
10.51
Volatile matter
70.34
69.16
Fixed carbon
19.79
20.33

0.64
1.18
0.54

0.20b
1.40b

Gross caloric value (MJ/kg, dry basis)

17.65
17.43

0.22

Net caloric value (MJ/kg, dry basis)

16.42
16.23

0.19

Barley
straw
(1)
Ultimate analysis (wt.%, dry basis)
Carbon
44.38
Oxygen
39.25
Hydrogen
5.64
Nitrogen
0.78
Sulphur
0.08

a
b

Maximum absolute difference between two measurements.

Maximum absolute difference = (Relative error) (Average) / 100.

As a result of pine addition, the outer surface of pellets is more

shining than for pure barley straw pellets. This shiny appearance is
due to the lignin coating, which increases with the percentage of pine.
The tests performed show that, while a minimum water content of
19% was necessary to achieve good barley straw agglomeration
(Section 3.1), in the case of blends it was possible with just 12%.
In Table 5, the durability values are mean of duplicated tests. A third
test was unnecessary since the repeatability requirement was accomplished with just two measurements. While the differences between
pellets made with and without any pine addition are signicant (above
1.5% of absolute difference in the three cases), the differences between
pellets made with different pine contents are not (bellow the
repeatability limit of 1%). It can be observed that durability is only
95.5% for pure barley straw pellets with 20.2% straw moisture, while for
Table 5
Physical properties of blended pellets.
Pine, barley straw and moisture contents in the feeding
Barley straw (wt.%)a
Pine sawdust (wt.%)a
Moisture (wt.%)b

98
2
12.0

93
7
12.0

88
12
12.0

0.12a

Physical properties of the pellets

Durability (%)
95.5
1.3 0.1
Density (g/cm3)
Length (mm)
23.8 8.5
Moisture (%)
7.2

96.9
1.4 0.1
26.8 5.9
8.2

97.8
1.4 0.1
25.5 5.3
7.8

97.2
1.4 0.1
25.0 4.1
6.1

Die temperature during the process

Temperature (C)
93

94

97

a
b

On a dry basis.
On a wet basis.

100
0
20.2

105

C. Serrano et al. / Fuel Processing Technology 92 (2011) 699706

blended pellets it is improved, ranging between 97 and 98%, for an initial

moisture of only 12%.
The pellet density is similar for pure and blended pellets and a
statistical KruskalWallis test shows that the pellet length is not
inuenced by pine addition. The nal pellet moisture decreases with
the pine content, probably because the die temperature is promoting
water vaporisation. Less water acting as a natural binder could give
explanation to the fact that durability and pellets length are not
higher for 12% pine than for 7% pine.
Table 6 shows the extent to which the biofuel can be upgraded by
means of little amounts of pine. Analyses have been carried out for
blended and pure barley straw pellets. As reference, a pelletization test
of pure pine sawdust was also performed, using a compression die of
24 mm, its temperature reaching a value of 145 C. Results of the net
heating value are given on a wet basis (at the pellet moisture content
appearing in the table), on a dry basis and on a dry and ash free basis.
The net caloric value on a dry basis of barley straw pellets
(16.23 MJ/kg) is much lower than that for pine pellets (19.21 MJ/kg).
The net caloric value on a dry and ash free basis of barley straw
pellets (18.14 MJ/kg) is still lower than for pine ones (19.37 MJ/kg).
The ash content of barley straw is more than ten times higher than the
ash content of the pine analyzed.
In blended pellets made mixing herbaceous and woody materials,
not only the lower ash content of the wood, but also its lignin content,
improves the net caloric value of the mixture. According to Demirbas
[34], the caloric value of a material is linearly related to its lignin
content (the lignin caloric value is about 2327 MJ/kg), while less
important for the global caloric value are cellulose and hemicellulose
(19 MJ/kg). For barleypine blended pellets, the ash content and the
net caloric value on a dry basis can be expressed as linear functions
of the pine content as follows:
2
Ash content wt:%; d:b: = 10:510:097 % Pine
R = 0:999
2
Net Calorific Value MJ=kg; d:b: = 16:21 + 0:030 %Pine R = 0:984

For the produced blended pellets to accomplish with quality of A1

Class in prEN 14961-2 [5], the pine content should be above 57 wt.%,
Table 6
Physicochemical properties of pure and blended pellets.

705

so that the ash content would fulll the 5% limit. Only with pine
addition the minimum mechanical durability for this class (97.5%) can
be achieved, while the requirements of net caloric value (15 MJ/kg,
w.b.) and pellet moisture (10%) are fullled even for the pure barley
straw pellets.
4. Conclusions
A series of experiments have been performed in a pellet mill, to
optimize the moisture content needed for densication of barley
straw at two different particle size reduction rates. The effect of the
pelletizing process on the physicochemical properties of the raw
material, and the effect of pine addition on the quality of blended
pellets have been studied as well. The conclusions obtained in this
work can be summarized as follows:
No enhancement was found in compaction after pelletizing barley
straw ground to pass mill screens of 4 and 7 mm.
The highest mechanical durability reached for barley straw pellets
was 95.5%, with nal pellet moisture of 68%, when ground straw
was rst moistened to the rage of 1923% of water (wt/wt, wet
basis). Pellets with low durability and a lot of nes result when
moistening below this range and, if no water is added, then no
compaction occurs at all.
Properties related to the degree of agglomeration, such as the
mechanical durability and the pellet length, increase with the
straw moisture content. The pellet density, more related to
compaction, seems to decrease with the moisture content. Longer
pellets exhibit higher durability, but higher density is not a
warranty of higher durability.
Pelletization of the raw material resulted in a small decrease of the
net heating value of barley straw.
The mechanical durability of pellets was enhanced over one point
when the barley straw was blended with pine sawdust (2, 7 and
12 wt.%), adjusting the moisture content to 12% in the mixture.
Better mechanical durability is reached and, for its high lignin
content, the caloric value increases with pine addition. However,
the ash content is still very high in the blended pellets (10%),
exceeding the value of 5% allowed for A1 class in the European
norm for non-woody pellets for non-industrial use [5].

Pine, barley straw and moisture contents of the pellet (wt.%)

Barley strawa
Pine sawdusta
Moistureb

100
0
7.2

98
2
8.2

Proximate analysis (wt.%) on dry basis

Ash
10.51
10.19
Volatile Matter
69.16
69.51
Fixed Carbon
20.33
20.30

93
7
7.8

88
12
6.1

9.64
70.27
20.09

9.15
70.33
20.52

0
100
6.5

0.82
76.28
22.89

Acknowledgments
Financial support from the Regional Spanish Government of
Castilla-La Mancha, through the SORCOGAS project, is gratefully
acknowledged, as well as the raw material supply from the Instituto
Tcnico Agronmico Provincial de Albacete.
References

Ultimate analysis (wt.%) on dry basis

Carbon
43.85
43.90
Oxygen
39.27
39.41
Hydrogen
5.50
5.69
Nitrogen
0.77
0.72
Sulphur
0.10
0.09

44.51
39.33
5.67
0.76
0.10

44.94
39.52
5.60
0.72
0.07

51.12
41.49
6.07
0.49
0.01

Gross caloric value (MJ/kg) on dry basis

17.43
17.75

17.85

17.94

20.53

Net caloric value (MJ/kg) on wet basis

14.89
14.96

15.12

15.55

17.43

Net caloric value (MJ/kg) on dry basis

16.23
16.51

16.61

16.72

19.21

Net caloric value (MJ/kg) on dry basis and ash free

18.14
18.39
18.38

18.40

19.37

a
b

On a dry basis.
On a wet basis.

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