• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.541-552
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• 2018

As the use of wood pellets increases, there is an increasing interest in the safety of the wood pellets themselves to avoid physical and chemical damage to people and the environment. This study investigated the contents of nitrogen, sulfur, chlorine, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, zinc, and cesium in wood pellets distributed in Korea as a preliminary survey for establishing safety evaluation standards for wood pellets. Nitrogen, sulfur, chlorine, and heavy metal contents of wood pellets produced in Korea met the specification for the 1st grade of wood pellets determined by the National Institute of Forest Science and the specification for the commercial and residential wood pellets of A1 grade determined by the ISO and the evaluation standards for wood pellet safety determined by the Korean Forest Service. However, among imported wood pellets, some wood pellets contained nitrogen, sulfur, chlorine, and heavy metal exceeding the safety evaluation standards. Cesium radioactivity was not detected in domestic wood pellets. Cesium radioactivity was detected from wood pellets imported from Japan, but it was below the limits specified in the wood pellet safety evaluation standards. In conclusion, by establishing safety standards for wood pellets, we believe that safe wood pellets will be used.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.211-220
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• 2014

This study reports the formation characteristics of tar, ash and clinker due to a wood pellet grade and the performance analysis of wood pellet boiler in terms of the moisture contents change of the wood pellet. Tar was accumulated on the heating surface according to combustion of wood pellet, the ash was yielded on the floor of combustion chamber in a wood pellet boiler and the clinker was solidified at the burner due to combustion of the 3rd grade wood pellet. Especially, the moisture contents is important factor to define the grade. Wood of logging residues has a non-uniform moisture contents after the field process, yields of tar, ash and clinker are increased in case of combustion due to the high ash contents. For these reasons, emission of harmful compounds in the exhaust gas, decrease of boiler efficiency and the system operating errors are observed. In the performance analysis of wood pellet boiler in terms of the moisture contents change of the 1st grade wood pellet, the boiler efficiency was reduced by 27.08% with 6.6% moisture contents increase. The optimum moisture contents of wood pellet is needed to improve the boiler performance and efficiency.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.315-320
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• 2020

Pellets are manufactured using wood by-products. The combustion efficiency of pellets depends on the pellet manufacturing process, the types of materials mixed while manufacturing and the wood pellet stoves themselves. In this study, we developed a multi-layer combustor to be used in a wood pellet stove, for the purpose of reducing environmental pollution and energy waste due to incomplete combustion. The multi-layer combustor was designed to compensate for the shortcomings of existing combustors. A CAD (Computer Aided Design) model was verified using a 3D printer and a prototype was developed. The combustion experiments were conducted on commercial and proposed combustors using pellets of the same brand, manufacturing date, place and specifications. From the experiments, it was found that the proposed combustor produced the lowest carbon monoxide (CO) emission and highest thermal efficiency.

• 보일러설비
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• s.196
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• pp.104-107
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• 2010

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.247-247
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• 2010

본 연구는 주류 제조과정에서 발생하는 생전분발효 부산물을 펠릿(pellet)연료로 전환하는 과정에서 효율적인 방법에 대해 기술한다. 술을 정제하는 과정에서 발생하는 주박을 펠릿화하고 재생청정에너지인 폐자원의 효율성을 높이기 위한 방법을 제안한다. 술을 정제하고 남은 지게미를 주박(酒粕, 술지게미)이라 하고 흔히 부드러운 것을 단단하게 뭉친 알갱이를 펠릿이라 한다. 현재 펠릿화는 폐목재를 분쇄후 성형, 가공하여 목재펠릿을 만들어 상용화하고 있다. 목재펠릿은 성형, 가공하는데 비용이 주박보다 많이 들고 열량도 더 낮음을 확인하였다. 목재소에서 나온 나무(톱밥)와 주박을 열량측정기를 이용하여 측정한 결과로 나무는 약 1850 Kcal이고 주박은 약 1989 Kcal가 측정되었다. 나무는 일반 목재소 세 곳에서 채취한 것이고 주박은 막걸리, 약주 및 청주의 술지게미를 실험에 사용한다. 주류업체에서도 술을 정제하고 남은 주박을 처리하는데 많은 곤란과 비용이 든다. 또한 주박을 해양에 투척하여 처리해 왔으나 2012년부터 해양투기가 금지되어 더욱 처리에 곤란을 겪게 된다. 최근 주박을 토양개량제(비료)로 개발하여 사용하기도 하나 본 연구에서 제안하는 장점은 농산물을 재배해서 주류제조시 발생되는 주박을 펠릿화하여 연료로 사용하고 남은 재를 토양개량제로 사용하는 장점이 있다. 제품의 전체 라이프 사이클을 통해 환경으로 방출되는 모든 것을 가능한 한 0(zero)으로 하는 활동인 제로-이미션(zero-emision)이 된다. 이는 단순히 배출량만을 줄이는 것이 아니라 폐기물을 유용한 자원으로 활용한다는 측면이 가장 큰 이점이 된다. 주박의 효율성을 높이기 위해 주박을 종류별로 주박과 목재를 섞는 방법으로 열량을 측정하였다. 먼저 열량이 높은 순서로 막걸리 주박과 약주 주박의 비율을 1:1, 1:0.5, 1:0.2, 두 번째 막걸리 주박과 청주 주박의 비율을 1:1, 1:0.5, 1:0.2, 세 번째 막걸리 주박과 나무 톱밥의 비율을 1:1, 1:0.5, 1:0.2로 섞어서 열량을 측정하였다. 열량이 높은 순서는 세 번째(2015Kcal), 두 번째(1995Kcal), 첫 번째(1868Kcal)의 순이었다. 가장 열량이 높은 막걸리 주박과 나무 톱밥을 섞은 것이 가장 효율성이 높다. 주박 펠릿의 장점은 친환경적인 소재이고 지속적으로 재생이 가능한 에너지원이다. 더욱이 주박 펠릿은 발열량이 높고 다른 바이오매스 원료에 비해 청정하다는 큰 장점을 지니고 있다. 또한 사용에 소요되는 유지 관리비용을 최소화할 수 있고 자동화가 가능하여 사용에 편리하다. 가격면에서 화석연료에 비해 안정적이고 체적 또한 작아 이송의 큰 장점을 가지고 있다. 현재 펠릿의 경우는 목재펠릿이 제품화되어 있지만 주박을 이용하여 제품의 펠릿화를 통한 연료원으로 사용하는 경우는 전 세계 전무한 상태로 폐자원을 재사용하는 효율성이 제시된다. 향후 과제로 주박을 이용한 펠릿 연료원의 기술이 개발되고 기계적인 시스템을 개발하면 저탄소 녹색성장 신재생에너지 연료의 획기적인 미래형 에너지시스템이 될 것이다.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.757-767
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• 2015

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of moisture content and particle size of sawdust on the fuel characteristics of wood pellets produced with Mongolian oak (Quercus mongolica, QUM), red pine (Pinus densiflora, PID) and larch (Larix kaempferi, LAK) sawdust using a flat-die pelletizer. Prior to produce wood pellets, the sawdust was controlled to the moisture content of 8, 11, 12% and was screened to the particle size of 2 and 4 mesh. In the analysis of its chemical composition, QUM had a high ash content, and PID and LAK contained large amount of lignin. In case of the fuel characteristics, PID pellets had the lowest moisture content of pellets (P-MC), and LAR pellets was found to have the highest bilk density (BD) and durability (DU). With the increase of moisture content of sawdust (S-MC), P-MC and DU of QUM, PID and LAK pellets increased, but BD of QUM and LAK pellets decreased. When size of sawdust used for the production of wood pellets decreased, P-MC and BD of LAK pellets and BD of QUM pellets increased. Decrease of particle size contributed to the increase of DU of QUM, PID and LAK pellets. In addition, BD and DU of QUM pellets produced with 12% S-MC sawdust increased as its particle size reduced. For LAK pellets, DU was not influence by particle size in the S-MCs of 10% and 12%, but increased with the decrease of particle size in the S-MC of 8%. Based on the results and economical aspects, 10% MC and 2 mesh paricle size for QUM sawdust and 12% MC and 2 mesh particle size for PID sawdust might be optimal conditions for pellets production, and fuel characteristics of wood pellets produced by the conditions greatly exceeded the minimum requirements for the $1^{st}$-grade wood pellets of the standard designated by Korea Forest Research Institute.

• The Magazine of the Society of Air-Conditioning and Refrigerating Engineers of Korea
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• v.45 no.8
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• pp.22-31
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• 2016

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.346-357
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• 2013

In this study, it was conducted to produce wood pellets using domestic forest thinning residues and examine their quality according to Korean pellet quality standard. Raw materials were composed of larch and mixed broad leaves species. Based on the small-end diameter (6 cm), they were classified into four different types of raw materials such as LM (larch with middle diameter), LS (larch with small diameter), MM (mixed broadleaf with middle diameter), and MS (mixed broadleaf with small diameter). After crushing and drying process, wood pellets were produced by a ring-die type pelletizer using each raw material. Wood pellets made from four different types of raw materials were tested for their quality such as calorific value, moisture content, ash content, inorganic matters and so on. As results of quality analysis, the calorific values of all wood pellets were higher than 198 kcal/kg, and satisfied with the first grade of Korea wood pellet standard. The ash content was slightly increased after pelletizing. Mechanical durability of wood pellets was highly dependent on the types of raw materials. The quality differences among wood pellets were turned out due to different physical and chemical characteristics of raw materials even though the same pelletizing condition was applied.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.318-326
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• 2014

This study was conducted to investigate the potential of non-used forest biomass residues as raw materials for making wood pellets with additives such as wood tar and starch and to evaluate fuel characteristics of the pellets. Wood tar, a by-product provided from the carbonization process of wood, could be a suitable additive for wood pellet production due to its higher calorific value and lower hazardous heavy metals, such as cadmium and mercury, compared to woody biomass. When the wood tar (10 wt%) was added, the calorific value was increased from 4,630 kcal/kg (wood pellet without additive) to 4,800 kcal/kg (wood pellet with additive). With the increase of additive amount into wood pellet, the length and individual density of wood pellet increased. In addition, bulk density of the pellets was increased, whereas the fine content was decreased. Consequently the overall productivity of wood pellets was improved by adding 2 w% additives into wood pellets; the percentage of productivity increase was 5.9% and 4.9% for adding starch and wood tar, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.36-42
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• 2010

This study has been carried out to investigate the characteristics of pellets manufactured from sawdust, and a mixture of liquid wood-tar and sawdust. Pellets were prepared at room temperature under 2000 kgf/$cm^2$ using an universal testing machine. The pellets prepared from Q. variabilis wood had slightly higher density than those prepared from P. densiflora wood. The amount of fine particles from Q. variabilis wood pellets was smaller than those from P. densiflora wood. The pellets from P. densiflora wood had higher heating values than those from Q. variabilis wood. The wood pellets manufactured with wood tar showed higher moisture content, density and heating value, but lower fine particles. From the experimental results, it is suggested that wood tar can be used to obtain the higher quality wood pellets.