Like Car Tires, Pelletizer Dies also Require High-Quality and Reliable Products

Global pellet production continues to increase, both for fuel pellets such as wood pellets and feed pellets such as poultry and ruminant feed pellets. Global wood pellet production in 2025 is estimated to reach 50-54 million tons. Global wood pellet production is projected to surge dramatically by 2050, reaching 170 million to 250 million tons per year, or around 3-5 times the current level. This surge is driven by the Net Zero Emissions scenario proposed by various global energy agencies. Meanwhile, global feed pellets production in 2025 is estimated to reach around 1.41 to 1.42 billion metric tons, or more than 25 times the production of wood pellets in the same year. Global feed pellets production in 2050 is projected to reach 1.8 billion to 2 billion tons. This increase is driven by human population growth, which is predicted to reach 9.7 billion people, which automatically increases the demand for animal protein. Both the production of fuel pellets such as wood pellets and feed pellets uses the main tools, namely pelletizers and ring dies, which are important components that require periodic replacement.

Just as car tires wear out after a certain distance, so too do pelletizer ring dies. After thousands of tons of pellets are produced, the ring die will wear out and must be replaced. Just as car tires affect the speed of wear, so too do pelletizer ring dies, where the condition of the raw materials affects the wear rate. To ensure optimal tire and ring die service life, they must be designed for their intended purpose. For example, a highway terrain (HT) tire, designed specifically for smooth asphalt, will be less than optimal for use on dirt or light gravel like rural roads, more over muddy terrain. Similarly, a ring die designed for feed pellet will be less than optimal when used with agricultural waste, more over woody biomass. For more details on the differences between pelletizers for feed and fuel/energy, please read here.

Car tire treads have distinctive characteristics depending on the terrain they are used in. For example, off-road tires with large, checkered treads are very durable in mud, but very noisy and unstable on asphalt. Similarly, the design of pelletizer dies. The characteristics of the raw material significantly influence the shape of the holes. Hardwood can differ from softwood, and even more so from agricultural waste, more over feed pellets. The shape of the holes in the pelletizer die significantly determines the density and quality of the final product. For example, a straight hole profile is the most standard shape. It is used for materials that are easy to compact and do not require extreme pressure. A relieved bore profile, on the other hand, has a larger outer diameter than the inner one (where the compression is applied). This reduces friction, preventing the machine from overheating and is commonly used for wood pellets. A tapered hole, on the other hand, tapers outward. It provides very high compression pressure, making it suitable for materials that are difficult to adhere or have coarse fibers.

Unlike tire manufacturers, which are typically separate or distinct from their car manufacturers—for example, Mercedes-Benz doesn't produce its own tires—almost all pelletizer manufacturers also produce their ring die pelletizers. While some companies specialize in die production, there are few. As global pellet production, both for fuel pellets like wood pellets and feed pellets, increases, the need for ring dies increases. Relying solely on ring dies from the original pelletizer manufacturer can be time-consuming, while pellet manufacturers need them as quickly as possible. 

This creates a niche market for pelletizer dies and spare parts. Pelletizer manufacturers, in addition to producing ring dies for their pelletizers, can also customize or produce them to order. For example, the German pelletizer manufacturer Muench, in addition to producing ring dies for its machines, also produces ring dies for CPM, Andritz, Salmatec, and other machines. The quality of the steel material used for the ring die and the workmanship determine the quality of the ring die.

If you need quality ring dies and spare parts, please contact: eko.sbs@gmail.com 

Leaf Pellets from Energy Plantations

Calliandra leaf pellets
With an estimated leaf volume of 1/4 of the wood but the price of leaf pellets is around 3 times the price of wood pellets. So the profit from utilizing leaves into pellets (leaf pellets) is very big, estimated at 1/2 to 3/4 of the turnover of wood pellets. Whereas calliandra leaves are usually only considered by-products or waste in energy plantations.

And almost the same as gliricidia leaf pellets, if these plants are planted in the energy plantation.

As a reference for indigofera zollingeriana leaf pellets:

Both calliandra, gliricidia and indigofera are groups of legume plants whose leaves are suitable for animal feed rich in protein. Protein is the most expensive nutrient element in animal feed.

Biomass Pellets in India

India has hundreds of millions of biomass waste, especially from agricultural wastes or about 230 million tons per year. Hundreds of millions of tons of biomass waste is of course an environmental problem, especially because most of the waste is simply burned in fields where the smoke pollutes the environment, but on the other hand it will be a solution, namely for decarbonization programs and climate change. Technically, the biomass waste from agricultural waste will be processed into fuel pellets (biomass pellets) which are used for fuel in power plants by cofiring. In the early stages, the Indian government targeted 5% for the cofiring ratio in their coal power plants, where the 5% figure when translated into biomass pellet production would reach around 50 million tons of biomass pellets per year. This is a very large amount, especially with a short time target, which is only one year since it was ordered on October 8, 2021 and will take effect in October 2022 or this year, so hard efforts are needed to achieve this target. Meanwhile, in 2021, the world's demand for wood pellets for power plants will only be around 23 million tons.

The establishment of factories for the production of biomass pellets must be carried out immediately to achieve the production target. These factories must also be supported by logistical readiness to supply raw materials so that the factory can be completed, so that the production of biomass pellets can be carried out as soon as possible. With an average power generation capacity of 275 MW in India, with a cofiring ratio of 5%, the annual need for biomass pellets is estimated at 50 thousand tons or 170 tons per day. With the number of power plants reaching around 900 units with an average consumption of 50 thousand tons of biomass pellets per year or a total of almost 50 million tons per year, the distribution of biomass pellets is also a challenge. A factory with a capacity of around 5 thousand tons/month is likely to be suitable, and even if each factory supplies one power plant, the need for a biomass pellet factories will also be the same as the number of power plants, which is 900 units. A huge amount.

Biomass pellets or agri-waste pellets, namely pellets from agricultural wastes do have a number of differences with wood pellets. Wood itself is also a part of biomass so it can also be called biomass pellet. Biomass has a wider range, including wood pellets and agri-waste pellets. Agri-waste pellets have higher ash content, and some have higher chlorine, potassium and silica content in the ash. The content of these substances is not friendly to the heat exchanger pipes in the boiler which will cause fouling and corrosiveness, so that in addition to decreasing boiler efficiency, the service life of the boiler is shortened. In addition, the harvest of agricultural products usually coincides at certain times, while the pellet factory must continue to produce every day. This is why it is necessary to store and allocate raw materials in the form of agricultural waste for the routine production of these pellets. And because these agricultural wastes cannot be left alone in the agricultural area, they need additional investment in the form of storage warehouses and to be able to store more agricultural waste they need to be temporarily compacted by baling. These things usually don't happen in wood pellet production, so the agri-waste pellet production approach is different.

And because the ash chemistry of agricultural wastes causes many problems in the operation of power plants, their use is also limited. With a cofiring ratio of 5%, the problem can still be tolerated, but when the ratio is enlarged, the impact will be more pronounced. The exception is the CFB (circulating fluidized bed) type plant which can use 100% of the agricultural waste pellets, but in India the power plants using CFB technology are very small, around 1% (9-10 units). Indonesia and Malaysia also produce biomass fuel that is almost similar to pellets and even in the international market is the pellet competitor, namely palm kernel shells or PKS. The volume of PKS also reaches millions of tons, so it can be exported to India to help meet India's needs for biomass pellets, which so far have been mainly for export to Korea and Japan. PKS is also produced by a number of countries in West Africa. But it seems that the Indian government for now will prioritize the use of their agricultural waste first, so it has not provided financial support for the import of the biomass fuel.

Currently, India must make every effort to accelerate the construction of biomass pellet factories to achieve this target. However, 1 year to achieve this target is very difficult. With these conditions in the future, it is possible that power plants in India will import biomass fuels such as wood pellets and PKS to meet their needs. With the currently planned cofiring ratio of 5%, the need for biomass pellets reaches around 50 million tons, if only 2% of the biomass fuel needs are imported, both PKS and/or wood pellets, it will reach 1 million tons, the amount is still very big.