Biomass feedstock preparation and logistics (BFPL)

我的目标是开发有效的方法，将原始的笨重的生物质转化为清洁、干燥和致密的原料。造粒的生物质是干燥、清洁的，并且形状和尺寸均匀，因此具有优于木屑或打包的生物质的物流优势。2017年，加拿大生产和出口了约250万公吨价值约5亿美元的木屑颗粒，为该国农村地区创造了数百个直接和间接就业机会。目前，出口球团矿替代煤炭用于热电生产。在未来，颗粒的内容物，如灰分和水分，可以被设计成符合严格的规格，包括尺寸和几何形状，以便无故障地进料到生物精炼厂。对木屑颗粒的需求正在增加，特别是来自日本和韩国的太平洋沿岸国家。高质量低成本锯屑的可用性一直是加拿大成功生产和出口高质量颗粒的关键因素。然而，由于锯木加工的减少和对锯屑需求的总体增加，锯屑的经济可用性正在减少。BC球团厂越来越多地将次质量的伐木残余物与锯末混合。然而，低质量的污染森林残留物不能产生高质量的耐用颗粒。在添加粘合剂以改善球团耐久性方面已经取得了很大进展，但粘合剂的有效性和成本是主要问题。传统的策略，如提高颗粒压机温度或设计致密化之前的生物质蒸汽处理具有严重的技术和成本限制。该发现补助金的目的是研究用保护膜涂覆颗粒的可行性，作为制造颗粒以抵抗由于水分进入和机械负荷而劣化的方法。 涂层将作为防止水分进入的屏障，并将保护颗粒的内容物免受机械损坏。换句话说，被毛就像一个不渗透的囊，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），在处理过程中保存内核的内部内容物。药物片剂通常被包衣以保持片剂内的精确药物剂量。本人计划研究适用于包衣微丸的最合适包衣材料和相关片剂包衣技术。我相信这个想法开辟了新的领域，将原始生物质转化为强大的颗粒材料，以实现有效的储存和运输。这项发现补助金将在未来5年内吸引两名博士生和五名本科生。 除了进行复杂的多学科研究外，学生还将与木屑颗粒行业互动，以获得行业经验。

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.