'JSTUPGBLJOEQFMMFUMJOFIPUDPNNJTTJPOT The off-gases from both the pre-dryer (1) and hot-oil tube dryer (5) are fed into the Heatec Convectec heater (2) destroying any volatile organic compounds (VOCs) while recovering the heat for the thermal oil circuit used in the dryers. This eliminates the need for a regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO). The multi-fuel burner (3) uses wood dust alone or together with other fuels such as gas, oil or LPG if needed. (4) is the thermal oil expansion tank. IN SEPTEMBER 2012 THE STATE OF Georgia Governor, Nathan Deal announced that US pellet producers, Fram Renewable Fuels (Fram), were to invest US$91 million in building a major new pellet plant in Hazlehurst, Jeff Davis County. A plant needed by Fram to meet the demands ahead of its European energy clients. First-of-a-kind Not only is Hazlehurst a first-of-akind plant, it is the first ever commercial pellet plant installation by technology partners Astec Inc. Astec Inc. is a subsidiary of NASDAQ listed Astec Industries, a conglomerate of 18 companies that manufacture and supply equipment for asphalt road building, aggregate processing, wood processing, oil, gas and water well drilling among others. –We’ve known and worked with people from Astec companies, for instance Peterson Pacific, for a long time said Steven Meyers, Wood Purchasing Manager with Fram. According to Meyers it was highlighted in a casual conversation with Astec that it already produced and supplied much of the equipment needed, albeit for the asphalt industry. 16 Bioenergy International PS1 2015 –At the same time, we came to realize there was no turnkey manufacturer in the market space building wood pellet plants. Instead plants were being designed by engineering firms or the clients who have pieced them together from many technology vendors, an enormous and very daunting task. We felt we could get into that market and provide a ready-to-work operation, so folks can focus on making pellets, not worry about building plants, said Malcolm Swanson, President of Astec Inc. and Project Manager for its wood pellet plant venture. 40 000 ton pilot plant If Astec could engineer a pilot plant and provide proof of concept then Fram would place the first order. Astec built an entire 5 ton-per-hour (TPH) pellet plant for R&D at its base in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was engineered from equipment such as burners, baghouses, conveyors and silos already manufactured and used by Astec Inc., in the asphalt business. Components such as pelletizers, screens, chippers, debarkers, stackers and reclaimers came from other Astec companies. –For the most part, we put together our tried-and-true equipment for a purpose and with a material that was new to us. Of course it was way easier said than done, its quite a learning curve to move from all mineral to all organic material. You have to learn the way the material behaves as it goes through the process, said Swanson adding that getting the dryer design right was a challenge. Modular design benefits The 40 000 ton-per-annum pilot plant gave Astec much sought after engineering, construction and operational experience. A ×4-scale concept was put on the table for Fram to move forward on. The concept is a novel 60 TPH redundant design plant which, according to Swanson, features a number of industry firsts. It is modular in design with three replicated 20 TPH parallel pellet production lines, the first of which is now under hot-commissioning at Hazlehurst. Each line has its own chip feed, scale, magnetic separator, two-stage dryer set-up, own burner and hot oil heater system, hammermills, presses and cooling along with its own dust removal, baghouses and ventilation. All three production lines are serviced by the same log and woodchip PELLETS There are enterprises in the wood pellets industry that truly stand out. They are run by people who strive to move their business and industry forward through unchartered territories. The aptly named Fram Renewable Fuels is one such company, “Fram” meaning “Forward” in Norwegian, reflecting its founder. Astec Inc., Fram’s technology partner for its new half-million-ton Hazlehurst wood pellet plant, is another. 1 2 3 4 5
Bioenergy nr 1 - 2015
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