A Study on the Fuel Characteristics of Pellets Manufactured by Unused Lignocellulosic Biomass and Hardwood Chips

Forest biomass is an eco-friendly renewable energy that can minimize climate change and replace fossil fuels as carbon-neutral energy. The biopellets were prepared using hardwood chip residues (HR) of a domestic pulp mill, camelia seed oil cake (CO), mulberry tree (MT), and toothache tree (TA) at a ratio of 7:3, 5:5, and 3:7, and their quality characteristics were analyzed. All biopellets prepared by mixing with HR showed high durability and surface gloss with excellent pelletizing property. The biopellets prepared by mixing with HR showed a tendency to be lower than the fixed carbon content of the biomass itself but showed no remarkable difference or slightly increased carbon content. The biopellets produced by mixing with HR had durability equivalent to A1, the quality standard grade for wood pellet. The biopellets prepared by mixing with HR showed a tendency to increase as HR was mixed rather than the calorific value of the biomass itself, except for CO. In conclusion, if biopellets are manufactured using unused lignocellulosic biomass scattered in forests in Korea, it will be of great help in achieving the RPS goal of power generation companies that need to supply electricity generated from renewable energy more than a certain amount of total power generation.