A pellet making machine is a definition used by some to describe either a pellet mill or pellet press. The use of  pellet making machines can take many forms, from producing animal feed pellets to wood fuel pellets, and in some cases cooking pellets for wood pellet grills.
 

Each pellet making machine has different characteristics depending on the type of pellet they are producing and from what type of raw material. Particle size and material density impact on which machines are suitable and the energy required.
 

A wood pellet machine has specific features which enable a wood pellet machine to produce wood pellets more efficiently. Wood is a high density biomass, therefore it requires more power to compress the wood into pellet form. Therefore wood pellet machines generally have more power, or a lower gearing to increase torque to the pellet mill. Also to gelatinise wood requires more heat than many other biomass raw materials. In many cases dry steam is used to heat the raw material to the required temperatures, this again requires an additional source of energy.

Pellet making is a skilled process, several variables and factors have to be controlled to produce an efficient process in producing quality pellets. Moisture control is a key feature of pellet making. To produce pellets, most raw materials require an average moisture percentage of between 10-15%. However the consistency of the batch in terms of moisture is also important. Poor consistency within the raw material will create poor consistency in pellet quality.

Depending on the end use of the wood pellets, the raw material used must be chosen carefully. For instance premium fuel pellets demand a specific quality of raw material to produce an ash content below 1%. This means the wood sourced must contain practically no bark, and be from a pine or spruce residue. As stated making wood pellets demands a greater amount of energy during production. Making wood pellets also puts a greater demand on the bearings of the machines and reduces the life of consumable parts such as dies and rollers. However many other biomass materials can also be upgraded into pellets for multiple uses, such as fuel pellets. However there are issues with other biomass pellets in their burning characteristics.

Pellet Mill Production Guide

Pellet making as described is a skilled process, which is dependant on the raw material having the correct features and qualities to produce a quality pellet. At Biofuel Tech we develop small scale mobile pellet making units, and we also developed this guide.