Enough Demand for Wood Pellets to Set up a Pellet Mill Operation?

I have a question on another fuel, wood pellets. Does any one out there have any info on the demand for wood pellets.Please let me know if there is a demand that would warrant setting up a commercial pellet mill operation.

According to Popular Mechanics it is the way to go. You are not in that same company here. Sorry.

I know a year or two ago, you couldn't get pellets half way into the heating season. Coal was the same way a few years back, everyone was switching over to Coal or Pellets and demand was high because heating costs were high, fuel oil was like $3.50-4.00/gal, etc... so many were looking for alternatives.

It's hard to say, I see pallets of pellets at all the local retailers around here, about $210-250/ton. At least so far this season.

One problem (potential) I see with pellets is the supply of raw material.

There is (or was) a pellet mill in Wisconsin that used the waste from Kimberly-Clark to make pellets - diapers and tampons - so the pellets were white with pink and blue streaks. But I know paper plants have been closing down and moved overseas.

Same goes for furniture - a large percentage is coming from China and other cheap places now. Even if we ship them the raw logs (which we do), the waste from all the milling is not generated here.

Construction lumber is cyclical (as we've found out.... ), so no economy, no wood waste for pellets.

So when you run out of raw material, what do you do? Grind up forests just to make pellets? Hit up the local recycling center for newspapers? Lawn clippings?

I love the IDEA of biomass pellets. I wish there was a better infrastructure where you could have a bulk bin (grain bin) and have pellets delivered via hopper truck with a long hose - just blow the pellets right on in to the bin. That would lower the cost a LOT compared to bagged pellets. I know the big bulk pellet uses, of which there aren't that many, get bulk delivery. But nobody that I know of has done this on the residential level.

europachris wrote: I love the IDEA of biomass pellets. I wish there was a better infrastructure where you could have a bulk bin (grain bin) and have pellets delivered via hopper truck with a long hose -

I think the bigger issue there is moisture, if you get some water into that bin you know have a few tons a mush.

europachris wrote:
There is (or was) a pellet mill in Wisconsin that used the waste from Kimberly-Clark to make pellets - diapers and tampons - so the pellets were white with pink and blue streaks. But I know paper plants have been closing down and moved overseas.

thinking of these guys?

http://www.pelletamerica.com.php5-13.websitetestlink.com/

I have about 12 ton left of this material - smoked about 4 since baby boiler came on line for the season. This material is

C R A P

As you pull bags off the skid - you have a run of nice hard pea sized pellets then you pull a bag of what can only be (HR FRIENDLY) described as duck feathers. While the good material will flow and burn -- the fluff has a repose in the bin that is less than vertical and will cone into a hole under the bin pile. The BTU claims are infuriatingly generous, and the dust is super flammable and everywhere. Some bags nearly do not flow enough to be moved by my auger to bulk storage. The skid last weekend was more 4 crap to every one good. Lucky this week is mild.

While I was lulled into buying this supply by a test pallet of material that wasn't of bad quality -- their production process will need to change before I buy more than enough to "blend" with either wood pellets or corn.

And in that -- you have looked at the pictures of my "Trellis" on the side of the house for bulk storage. Currently I am blending about a 4 to 1 mix of paper to wood and getting by -- with help from big NG boiler on cold nights. Corn burns a lot hotter.

The plant makes an industrial size (one inch) pellet that is shipped by semi loads to industrial coal users and blended in. Now Ill bet If I had a Bit boiler and blended the crap residential pellet into that - I would have a dynamite fuel.

but I am downsizing ASAP so this is all just foolish chat.

I don't recall who was making the diaper-pellets, but I think the stove shop I visited was in Watertown, WI and they were burning the pellets in an Austroflamm stove. They were burning a mixture with wood pellets because the diaper-pellets didn't feed that well at 100%.

I need to investigate what sort of biomass is available around here - cherry pits, etc. I know corn burns hot, but it can really make a mess with hard deposits on the burn pot. Besides, corn should either be fed to cows and pigs or made in to Bourbon.

bowlan wrote:i have a question on another fuel
wood pellets.
does any one out there have any info on the demand for wood pellets.
please let me know if there is a demand that would warrant setting up a commercial pellet mill opperation.

In our area, pellet sales are down, from last year...
At least at this point in the season.
Pellets that you buy at box stores (here) are absolute crap.
Pellets that are made from a lot of recycled materials, are crap.
We've seen people buy those $175/ton pellets, come back and by real ones for 269......
And they are happy to do it.

There was an outfit that started making pellets about 15 minutes from where we are.
When asked about the various specs on their product, they had no answers!!
Ash content... HUH??? whasdat??
Hardwood /softwood percentages... HUH???
Moisture content.... HUH??
And people buy this crap.

Dan

everyone and thier brother is selling pellets .