A METHOD FOR PRODUCING COMPRESSED WOOD FUEL PELLETS AND A PELLETS PRESS FOR TRANSFORMING WOODEN WASTE MATERIAL INTO COMPRESSED WOOD FUEL PELLETS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method of transforming wooden waste material such as e.g. sawdust into compressed wood fuel pellets. The invention also relates to a press for transforming wooden waste material into compressed wood fuel pellets.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In manufacturing processes involving working of wood, large quantities of waste material are produced. In for example sawmills, large quantities of sawdust are produced as a byproduct when wood is sawed. One way of taking care of such waste material is to compress the wooden waste material into pellets that can be used as fuel in heating plants or the like. Therefore, wooden waste material is collected at the mill site and transported from the mill site to a location where the waste material is compressed into wood fuel pellets. Small sawmills and planing mills produce only small quantities of wooden waste material, sometimes at irregular intervals. The waste material is very bulky and therefore also expensive to transport. Moreover, since the material is bulky, it does not make economic sense to transport small quantities. For this reason, the waste material is transported only when a sufficiently large quantity has been accumulated. Therefore, the time from the production of the waste material to the transformation into fuel pellets can sometimes be very long. However, this entails a risk that the waste material suffers damage unless it can be stored properly. In addition, the cost of transporting the waste material can be exceedingly high.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for transforming wooden waste material into fuel pellets in a way that makes it economically viable for small mills such as small sawmills or planing mills to utilize wooden waste material. It is an additional object of the invention to provide pellets press that can be used in the inventive method.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a method for producing compressed wood fuel pellets from wooden waste material such as sawdust or shavings. The inventive method comprises the step of providing a pellets press for transforming wooden waste material into pellets,
the press including a matrix and means for pressing waste material through the matrix. The pellets press is placed at a first mill site for processing or working wood where a first quantity of wooden waste material is present. The pellets press is operated at the first mill site until the first quantity has been transformed into pellets. Thereafter, the pellets press is moved to a second mill site for wood where a second quantity of wooden waste material is present. The pellets press is thereafter operated at the second mill site to transform the second quantity into pellets.
The pellets press is provided with a pair of channels for receiving the fork of a forklift truck. When the pellets press has transformed the first quantity of waste material, a forklift truck engages the pellets press and places the pellets press on a vehicle that transports the pellets press at least a part of the distance from the first mill site to the second mill site.
In one embodiment of the invention, at least a part of the first quantity of wooden waste is produced simultaneously as the the first quantity of wooden waste is transformed into pellets by the press.
It is also possible that at least a part of the second quantity of wooden waste is produced simultaneously as the the second quantity of wooden waste is transformed into pellets by the press.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the press is transported between a plurality of mill sites, i.e. more than two mill sites. Each mill site has a quantity of waste material and a distance to and between each mill site is first determined. Finally, at least two different routes between the different mill sites are compared to each other whereafter the shortest known route is chosen.
The invention also relates to a pellets press for transforming wooden waste material such as sawdust or shavings into compressed wood fuel pellets. The pellets press comprises a frame and a housing fixed to the frame. The housing has walls defining an inner chamber. A feeder is provided for feeding wooden waste material into the chamber. A matrix surrounds at least a part of the chamber and a movable element for is arranged to push wooden waste material through the matrix under high pressure. On the frame, there is a pair of substantially straight parallell channels for receiving the fork of a forklift truck such that the pellets press can be engaged and lifted by a forklift truck.
The movable element is preferably rotatably journalled and arranged to perform a rotary movement against an inner face of the matrix to push wooden waste material outwardly through the matrix.
In one embodiment of the invention, the movable element is driven by an engine through a first gearbox and a second gearbox. The first gearbox transmits torque from the engine to the second gearbox and the second gearbox transmis torque to a drive shaft connected to the movable element. Either the first or the second gearbox being is dimensioned for a lesser load or dimensioned with a smaller safety margin than the other gearbox, the drive shaft , the matrix and the movable element such that excessive load will result in a breakdown in the weaker gearbox.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 shows a schematic front view of a pellets press according to the invention. Fig. 2 shows, schematically, how a forklift truck is about to engage a press according to the invention. Fig. 3 shows a forklift truck about to place a press on a vehicle. Fig. 4 is a schematic representation of how a press can be moved between various mill sites. Fig. 5 shows a part of a press according to the invention.
Fig. 6 is a schematic representation of the drive arrangement for a press according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a method for producing compressed wood fuel pellets from wooden waste material such as sawdust or shavings. The inventive method comprises the following steps:
a) providing a pellets press 1 for transforming wooden waste material into pellets, the press 1 including a matrix 2 and means for pressing waste material through the matrix 2, b) placing the pellets press 1 at a first mill site 4 for wood where a first quantity of wooden waste material is present, c) operating the pellets press 1 at the first mill site 4 until the first quantity has been transformed into pellets, d) moving the pellets press 1 to a second mill site 5 for wood where a second quantity of wooden waste material is present,
e) operating the pellets press 1 at the second mill site 5 to transform the second quantity into pellets.
I n the same way, the press can be transported between a plurality of mill sites to transform a quantity of waste material at each mill site into pellets. When the press has been in use at the second mill site and transformed the second quantity of wooden waste material into pellets, the pellets press 1 is moved to a third mill site to transform a third quantity of wooden waste material into pellets. The press 1 is then moved to a fourth mill site and so forth. With reference to Fig. 1, Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the pellets press 1 is provided with a pair of channels 9 for receiving the fork 10 of a forklift truck 11. When the pellets press 1 has transformed the first quantity of waste material, a forklift truck 11 engages the pellets press 1 and places the pellets press 1 on a vehicle 12 that transports the pellets press 1 at least a part of the distance from the first mill site to the second mill site.
In one embodiment of the invention, at least a part of the first quantity of wooden waste is produced simultaneously as the the first quantity of wooden waste material is transformed into pellets by the press 1. It is also possible that at least a part of the second quantity of wooden waste is produced simultaneously as the the second quantity of wooden waste material is transformed into pellets by the press 1.
With reference to Fig. 4, the press 1 can be transported between a plurality of mill sites 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, each mill site having a quantity of waste material. A distance to and between each mill site 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 is first determined and at least two different routes between the different mill sites 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 are compared to each other whereafter the shortest known route is chosen. Of course, the shortest route can be calculated easily when one only has to consider two or three different mill sites. However, the problem becomes much more difficult when a large number of mill sites must be served. In practice, a computer can calculate a number of possible routes, e.g. ten posssible different routes, and compare them to each other. The computer will then select the shortest route that has been calculated.
The invention also relates to a pellets press 1 for transforming wooden waste material such as sawdust or shavings into compressed wood fuel pellets. The pellets press 1 according to the invention comprises: a frame 13, a housing fixed to the frame, the housing having walls defining an inner chamber, a feeder 17 for feeding wooden waste material into the chamber,
a matrix 2 surrounding at least a part of the chamber, a movable element 3 for pushing wooden waste material through the matrix 2 under high pressure, on the frame, a pair of substantially straight parallell channels 9 for receiving the fork 10 of a forklift truck 11 such that the pellets press 1 can be engaged and lifted by a forklift truck 11.
As indicated in Fig. 5, the movable element 3 is rotatably journalled and arranged to perform a rotary movement against an inner face of the matrix 2 to push wooden waste material outwardly through the matrix 2. The matrix 2 has holes 24 and the wooden waste matrial is pressed through the holes 24 in the matrix 2. As the wooden waste material is pressed through the holes 24, the waste material is compressed and the compressed product is broken up into discrete pieces, compressed wood pellets, that can be used as fuel. The movable element 3 may be provided with rolls 25, 26 that are rotatably journalled on the movable element 3. In a preferred embodiment, the matrix 2 itself is in a fixed position and does not rotate during operation of the press 1. The pellets press 1 may also be provided with a grinder section 30 for grinding large pieces of waste material into finer waste material comparable to sawdust.
The movable element is driven by an engine or drive unit 18 through a first gearbox 19 and a second gearbox 20, the first gearbox 19 transmitting torque from the engine to the second gearbox 20, the second gearbox 20 transmitting torque to a drive shaft 21 connected to the movable element 3, either the first or the second gearbox 19, 20 being dimensioned for a lesser load or dimensioned with a smaller safety margin than the other gearbox 19, 20, the drive shaft 21, the matrix 2 and the movable element 3 such that excessive load will result in a breakdown in the weaker gearbox 19, 20. This feature of the invention gives the advantage that excessive load will have catastrophic results at a predictable place in the press. Spare parts can be readily available and the weak part of " the press can be chosen for easy access.
The press can be easily transported between different mill sites at a modest cost. Once the wooden waste material has been transformed into fuel pellets, the waste material is less bulky and therefore less expensive to transport. In addition, the time from production of waste material to production of fuel pellets can be reduced significantly.