Biomass feedstock preparation and logistics (BFPL)

我的目标是开发有效的方法，将粗大的生物质转化为清洁、干燥和致密的原料。造粒生物质干燥、清洁、形状和大小均匀，因此比木屑或打包生物质具有物流优势。2017年，加拿大生产和出口了约250万吨木质颗粒，价值约5亿美元，为该国农村地区创造了数百个直接和间接就业机会。目前，出口的球团矿取代了煤炭用于热电生产。将来，像灰分和水分这样的颗粒内容物可以被设计成满足严格的规格，包括大小和几何形状，以便顺利地提供给生物炼油厂。对木质颗粒的需求正在增加，特别是日本和韩国等环太平洋国家。高质量、低成本的木屑的可获得性一直是加拿大成功生产和出口高质量球团矿的关键因素。然而，由于锯切加工的减少和对锯末需求的整体增加，锯末的经济可用性正在减少。卑诗省的球团厂越来越多地将劣质伐木残渣与锯末混合在一起。然而，低质量的受污染的森林残留物不能生产高质量的耐用球团。在添加粘结剂以提高颗粒耐久性方面取得了很大进展，但粘结剂的有效性和成本是主要问题。提高颗粒压制温度或在致密化之前设计生物质蒸汽处理等传统策略存在严重的技术和成本限制。这笔发现基金的目的是研究在球团上涂上保护膜的可行性，作为一种制造球团的方法，以抵抗由于湿气进入和机械负荷而导致的变质。涂层将起到阻止湿气进入的屏障的作用，并将保护颗粒内容物免受机械损害。换句话说，涂层的作用就像一个不透气的囊，其内容物将与外部元素隔离。农业谷物有一个天然屏障(种皮)，在处理过程中保留籽粒的内部内容物。药片被常规包衣，以保存片内精确的药物剂量。我计划研究最适合包衣微丸的包衣材料和相关的片剂包衣工艺。我相信，这个想法在将生物质原料转化为坚固的颗粒材料以实现高效储存和运输方面开辟了新的领域。这项发现助学金将在未来5年内招收两名博士生和五名本科生。除了进行复杂的多学科研究外，学生还将与木质颗粒行业互动，以获得工业经验。

My goal is to develop efficient ways to convert raw bulky biomass to a clean dry and dense feedstock. A pelletized biomass is dry, clean, and uniform in shape and size and as such has logistical advantages over wood chips or baled biomass. In 2017, Canada produced and exported roughly 2.5 million metric tons of wood pellets valued at about $500 million, creating hundreds of direct and indirect jobs in rural areas of the country. At the present, the exported pellets replace coal for heat and power production. In future, the contents of a pellet like ash and moisture can be engineered to meet strict specifications including size and geometry for trouble free feeding to biorefinery. The demand for wood pellets is increasing especially from Pacific Rim countries of Japan and Korea. The availability of high quality low cost sawdust has been a key factor in Canada's success for producing and exporting high quality pellets on a consistent basis. However, economical availability of sawdust is diminishing due to a reduction in saw milling and the overall increase in demand for sawdust. The BC pellet plants are increasingly blending sub quality logging residue with sawdust. Nevertheless, a low quality contaminated forest residue does not produce high quality durable pellets. Much progress has been made in adding binders to improve pellet durability but the effectiveness and cost of binders are major concerns. Conventional strategies like raising pellet press temperature or devising steam treatment of biomass prior to densification have serious technological and cost limitations. The objective of this discovery grant is to investigate the feasibility of coating a pellet with a protective membrane as a means of making pellets to resists deterioration due to moisture ingress and mechanical loads. The coat will act as a barrier against moisture ingress and will preserve the contents of the pellet from mechanical damage. In other words, the coat act like an impermeable sac whose contents will be isolated from outside elements. Agricultural grains have a natural barrier (testa) that preserves the internal contents of a kernel during handling. Pharmaceutical tablets are coated routinely for preserving the precise drug dosages within the tablet. I plan to investigate the most suitable coating material and relevant tablet coating technique applicable to coating pellets. I believe the idea opens up new frontiers in converting raw biomass to a robust granulated material for efficient storage and transport. This Discovery Grant will engage two doctoral students and five undergraduate students during the next 5 years. In addition to conducting a complex multidisciplinary research, the students will interact with the wood pellet industry to gain industrial experience.