Pellet business

Pellets are a newfangled word, few people know in Russia. And no wonder - pellets (or solid, not fossil fuels) are still a European boom. But that's just it. bye ..

As soon as a civilized economy starts in Russia, it will be profitable to sell pellets on the domestic market here too. Well, today, pellet producers organize business in Russia, and trade mainly with foreigners, who have a bang for this product.

A workshop for the production of pellets (solid biofuel) is being built for only 200-500 thousand dollars, but this business pays off in one year.

Oil and coal VS pellets?

Europe is forced to switch from oil and gas to pellets. Why? Well, firstly, during the combustion of pellets, the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere is 50 times less, and the formation of ash is 15-20 times less!

Secondly, the European Union does not want to depend on the whims of the countries supplying their natural raw materials - oil and gas, because it so happened that the countries in whose depths fuel lies have a very strange political regime and ideas about civilization ...

A substitute for fossil fuels (oil and gas) is a fuel of plant origin.

What are the fuel raw materials of plant origin or pellets made of?

Bioethanol, biogas and biodiesel are made from grains and oilseeds But the alternative to coal is “granular waste from the woodworking industry” (in other words: sawdust and chips) and “agriculture” (sunflower and rape husk, straw cereals)

Pellet business: supply and demand

A few words about pellets

Pellets are sawdust pellets produced from wood waste. Such recyclable materials (sawdust, shavings, large pieces of wood) are supplied by sawmills and sawmills. Due to the global focus on waste-free production, the production of pellets is one of the most promising areas in business.

Pellet production as a business

The main advantage of this line of business is the stable demand for the final product. At the same time, the cost of raw materials is quite low. In comparison, finished pellets cost five times more than sawdust. In some cases, an entrepreneur can even get raw materials for free.

However, no matter how high the global demand for pellets, in order to run a successful business, you should determine the demand for the product in your region. At the moment, there is an increase in demand for renewable energy sources in the world. Therefore, with the right approach, it will not be difficult to find a consumer.

The processed products of the following enterprises can be a source of raw materials for the production of pellets:

• sawmills ;
• woodworking production;
• food production;
• agricultural production.

Finished products are in high demand in the energy sector. It is most in demand in the following industries:

• cogeneration in boiler houses and power plants;
• generation of electricity and heat energy;
• private households in which boilers are installed using pellets in as a source of heating;
• pellets are also used as cat litter.

This raw material can also be used in industries of secondary importance. We are talking about the operation of industrial steam generators, absorbents, etc. The search for potential customers can be carried out in two ways:

• In the domestic market. At the moment, such a business is not particularly profitable due to low consumption volumes. Only small companies that produce products in small volumes can find permanent distribution channels for their products in the local market.
• Working for export is much more profitable. At the moment, the main consumers of such products are China and the countries of Western Europe.

Due to the different quality of raw materials, it will be most profitable to produce several types of products. The most expensive will be pellets made from pure sawdust. If wood with a small percentage of cake, bark or straw was used for production, then the cost of such products will be reduced, since the ash content in this case increases.

Ideally, this indicator should be no more than 1.5%. Such pellets are used in special boilers used for heating private houses. They are also used as fillers. Exceeding the ash content up to 5% allows the use of such fuel only on industrial equipment. The finished product can have a diameter of 5 to 10 mm. The pellet length is 6-7.5 mm.

Recycling of secondary raw materials and waste is a trend in many modern industries, as well as a great opportunity to open your own small stable business for the production of things necessary for the economy and everyday life. Often such production is very simple, does not require complex and expensive equipment, but highly profitable and profitable. An example of such a business is the production of fuel pellets (pellets of pressed sawdust or hulls of some agricultural crops), with no less scope such pellets are used as fillers for toilets for pets (cats, rodents, chinchillas, etc.).

Fuel pellets - a profitable business

The profitability of pellet production for all types of products ranges from 95 to 110%, which in itself is an excellent result. The costs of organizing and purchasing a line for the production of pellets in the amount of 250-350 thousand dollars are paid off in a year. But you can get by with less money by setting up the production and sale of fuel pellets in your city, village, district.

Our country is rich in fuel resources, including forests, but despite this, heating with wood is simply barbaric. It is environmentally correct and economically more beneficial to use waste.

When pellets are burned, they emit ten times less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (up to 50 times), and the ash content is 20 times lower!

Sawdust occupies the highest percentage among the waste products of the woodworking industry. Processing them into chipboard and MDF boards requires additional production lines, expensive imported equipment. Certain quality requirements are imposed on sawdust for these boards. Fuel pellets are the most profitable production for processing sawdust and tree bark.

To start your own small business, it is enough to purchase one machine for pressing pellets and find regular suppliers of production waste that you intend to convert into income. Pellets can be produced from pure sawdust and with the addition of bark, straw, husk, but the content of impurities should not exceed 5%. Pure wood pellets are used for animal litter and heating in domestic boiler houses, farms. Containing impurities - for industrial heating.

Pellet manufacturing technology

The pellet production technology depends on its scale and the purpose of the pellets. The technological cycle of a full-fledged industrial line consists of the following stages:

• Coarse crushing of raw materials (round timber intended for processing is crushed in a crusher);
• Drying of raw materials to a moisture content of 8-12%;
• Fine crushing up to 2-4 mm;
• Water treatment (raw materials are brought with steam or water using screw mixers to an average moisture content of at least 8%);
• Pressing using various matrices into granules of the required size ;
• Cooling after crimping and packing in containers.

Poorly compacted raw materials are sent to processing in a new way. The production is waste-free. Various modifications of mini equipment for the production of pellets operate on an electric drive, as well as on a diesel engine.

A machine for the production of mixed feed pellets can act as a pellet mill in a private household, only the matrices for pellets of the required size and diameter are changed.

You can organize the procurement of feed for future use in the summer, and engage in the production of fuel pellets throughout the heating season, fully providing your farm or producing products for sale.

The demand and production of fuel pellets has been growing at an accelerating rate in recent years, and the pellets themselves are used not only as fuel, but also for cat litter boxes. Initially, this could be considered American business. The relative ease of making pellets, the low cost business makes pellet stoves and boilers attractive for individual households and commercial facilities. In this area, various raw materials are used for the production of pellets. In addition to wood, various biomasses are processed, especially perennial grasses. Accordingly, both the fuel production cycle and the equipment depend on it. Granules differ in different characteristics, they are stored in automated feeding systems and are environmentally friendly.

• Investments: 1,460 thousand rubles
• Profitability: 130 thousand rubles
• Payback calculation: 11-12 months
• Personnel: calculation of the number of people 4

What is the production of fuel pellets?

The release of fuel pellets is conventionally divided into three formats:

• Local - within the limits of their own household with a minimum cost, the necessary equipment is assembled independently.
• Small business - specialized equipment is used, the cost of which starts from 300 thousand rubles
• Mini-plant - automated lines and a full technological cycle are used, the cost starts from 4 million rubles.

In this article about a business idea, a small business option will be considered.

Briefly about how pellets are made

The fuel pellet has a diameter of 6 to 8 mm and a length of 38 mm. Granules with a diameter of more than 25 mm are called briquettes. High quality wood pellets contain little ash and burn cleanly. For lower quality products, special ovens are made.

• The technology for the production of wood pellets begins with grinding raw materials to fractions of no more than 3 mm, it can be two-stage - for wood and one for straw.
• Maintaining the correct moisture level is key to the final quality. The moisture content of wood raw materials should be about 15%, other biomasses have different requirements.
• Extrusion is the stage at which the amount of future sediment is laid. Wood is molded under the influence of temperature under pressure, and if the lignin contained in the wood raw material contributes to sufficient compaction, then for the rest of the raw material it is necessary to select binders.
• Finished pellets leave the equipment area with a temperature of 150C about, they are cooled by air blowing. After the end of the process, the moisture content of the finished product should be no more than 8%.
• Then comes packing and labeling.

What equipment is needed for the production of pellets

A small business chooses from three types of equipment:

• Electric microgranulator, its capacity is from 200-550 kg / hour, the cost is from 350 to 800 thousand rubles, its installation is stationary.
• Diesel, capacity from 150 to 300 kg / hour, price from 400 to 550 thousand rubles, can be transported in freight transport.
• Power take-off shaft, its capacity is from 150 to 400 kg / h, cost is from 300 to 600 thousand rubles, can be transported using a trailer.

Good equipment has never been cheap, budget equipment can easily fail the fuel business and quickly fail. When choosing, you need to take into account the availability of spare parts and the services of specialist installers.

Pellet production, like many similar business ideas, came to us from abroad.

Everyone knows that Europe is simply obsessed with various environmental technologies and innovations that allow less littering of our planet.

One of these areas was developed relatively recently.

Pellet production business

Some enterprising entrepreneurs have noticed a strange feature: after wood processing sawdust is often simply thrown away and does not go into production in any way.

Of course, some part goes to the emergence of such materials as irreplaceable in construction as fiberboard or MDF, but this is only a small number in comparison with the whole world.

Thus, soon a technology appeared that, according to forecasts, will have to close the problem of sawdust disposal.

This innovation has just become the production of pellets, which has made a boom over the past 5 years, amazing specialists with its quality and high environmental friendliness compared to other technologies.

That is why today we will try to open the veil of secrecy on this business with you and tell you all the ins and outs of this idea. We hope that someone will try to put it into practice.

As always, let's start in order. At the very beginning, it is worth transferring this business idea to paper and getting a business plan (this will make it much easier to organize the production of pellets).

Features of pellet production

Pellets themselves, like any secondary production products, differ from each other primarily in quality characteristics or, as experts say, in the percentage of ash content.