Solid Wood Pellet Cutting Tool for Direct On-Site Pellet Forming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pellet production involves high energy consumption and CO2e emissions due to transportation, drying, and shredding of biomass, limiting on-site pellet production to large-scale industrial plants, and lumber infested by bark beetle cannot be transformed into conventional pellets without significant energy expenditure.
Innovation Solution
A cutting tool and device that cuts solid wood pellets directly from solid wood parts, eliminating the need for shredding and pressing, allowing local production and reducing CO2e emissions by integrating a two-sided cutting edge with pellet forming ribs and grooves to pre-form and cut pellets with adjustable length and cross-section.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If conventional pellet production is used, then pellets can be produced with low moisture content and high combustion efficiency, but transportation, drying, shredding and pressing require large initial energy expenditure resulting in high CO2e footprint
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the wood processing function by using a drum cutter with multiple cutting tools that simultaneously perform cutting, shaping and sizing operations. This segmentation allows direct conversion of logs into pellets without requiring separate drying, shredding and pressing stages, thereby reducing overall energy expenditure while maintaining productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting tools perform preliminary cutting and shaping actions directly on the logs, creating pellet-forming sections before the material would need to be transported and processed further. This preliminary action eliminates the need for subsequent drying and shredding operations, reducing energy expenditure while enabling on-site production
2Ease of operation
If conventional pellet production is used, then pellets can be produced with regular geometry and small size for automatic feeding, but the source biomass has to be transported to a pellet production site
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by directly converting logs into pellet-forming sections at the point of use. The drum cutter with specialized cutting tools creates the regular geometry and small size needed for automatic feeding directly on-site, eliminating the need to transport biomass to a separate production site and thus reducing transportation time while maintaining ease of operation
3Adaptability or versatility
If lumber infested by bark beetle is used, then recycling material can be utilized, but it cannot be transformed to conventional pellets on the spot without significant energy expenditure
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the recycled lumber through direct cutting and shaping by the drum cutter. The cutting tools transform the infested lumber into pellet-forming sections with appropriate dimensions and geometry, requiring minimal energy compared to conventional processing. This parameter change enables on-site transformation of recycled material while maintaining adaptability to various wood types
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a cutting tool 10, a cutting device 1 and a method for the production of solid wood pellets, as well as to solid wood pellets obtained by said method. The cutting tool 10 is adapted to be mounted on a cutter block of a cutting device 1 and includes a two-sided cutting edge 210 having an upper cutting edge side 210a and a lower cutting edge side 210b. The lower cutting edge side 210b including multiple pellet forming ribs 211b, 212b, sandwiching a respective pellet forming groove 215b. The upper cutting edge side 210a and the lower cutting edge side 210b are formed, so that upon cutting a solid wood part 1000, the upper cutting edge side 210a pre-forms the solid wood part 1000 and the lower cutting edge side 210b cuts multiple solid wood pellets 1001, 1002, 1003.