Production and utilization of fuel pellets from biomass: A review

Bioenergy is the largest contributor of global renewables, simultaneously providing energy security to billions and stimulates rural development. The growing industrial demand of wood pellets for bioenergy coupled with sustainability issue have encouraged many to produce fuel pellets from non-woody biomass. The production and utilization of fuel pellets from varied feedstocks have therefore opened up opportunities and challenges for the existing technologies. The paper presents a state-of-the-art review on production and utilization of fuel pellets from biomass. This includes different aspects of pellet making process including pre-possessing of biomass for pelletization, influence of process parameters on pellet quality and various ways to utilize pellets. Finally the review ends with a discussion on the economic feasibility of fuel pellets for energy utilization.