Drying systems for the pellet industry

Belt dryers enable powerful and energy-efficient drying of sawdust and other potential biogenic raw materials. After drying, pelleting can be carried out in pellet presses.  The fully automated drying process guarantees homogeneous and targeted drying. Thanks to intelligent energy concepts and efficient technologies such as RecuDry® technology, we ensure low operating costs and the lowest possible CO2 emissions.

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From residual material to high-quality energy source

The finiteness of fossil raw materials became clear at the latest since the oil crisis of the 1970s. As a result, initial efforts began to bring wood into a manageable, high-energy form that is as comfortable to use as oil or gas. The first automated pellet stoves were developed in the 1980s and since the 2000s the pellet industry has been experiencing decent growth and making a significant contribution to climate protection. Wood pellets are not only used to heat buildings, but can also replace oil, gas and other fossil fuels in industrial boilers or burners. An example: The development of "black pellets" – pellets made of torrefied material – enables further use as coal substitution in blast furnaces in the steel industry.

The use of biogenic raw materials through drying and pelleting

Classic wood pellets consist of wood chips or sawdust from sawmills. The use of these remnants of the wood industry is obvious and the material is already available in a relatively homogeneous form. This makes drying and pelleting the two decisive process steps in pellet production.

Through further process steps such as comminution and torrefaction, other residual materials can also be used for pellet production. These pellets are specially developed for industry and often contain mixtures of different raw materials:

If you are looking for more information on predrying before pyrolysis and torrefaction processes, also check out the biocarbon industry.

Drying – A central building block in pellet production

Whether sawdust or alternative renewable raw materials – the water content of the raw material almost always needs to be reduced. This reduces the mass and increases the calorific value of the pellets. 

Belt dryers from stela Laxhuber can be individually adapted to the drying product and the desired throughput:

stela drying systems - proven in practice

When selecting and dimensioning the optimal drying system, stela draws on decades of practical experience. This is supplemented by an in-house pilot plant in which new drying goods are tested and analysed. The results flow directly into the individual design and construction of the systems. In this way, we ensure that we always deliver the optimal drying system.

Energy efficiency for low operating costs and reduced emissions

Wood pellets have a high energy content, so that the energy required for their production is comparatively low. In this way, they make a valuable contribution to climate protection – even if their production is energy-intensive. Nevertheless, we optimise our drying systems for the lowest possible energy consumption. We rely on different types of heat recovery, with our patented RecuDry® system, even recovering some of the latent heat from exhaust air. The heat that has previously flowed into the evaporation of water is used for fresh air preheating through condensation in a condensation module. 

Use of industrial waste heat from other processes

We not only optimise the efficiency of the drying systems, but also develop holistic energy concepts in cooperation with our customers. The aim is to find the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution for heating the dryers. The use of various waste heat sources plays a major role in this. Thanks to the low temperature level of our drying systems, the residual heat of many processes, e.g. from:

can be easily integrated and used. This increases efficiency and reduces costs and emissions. 

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Our references

Belt dryer BTL for sawdust
in Austria

Dryer type: BTL 1-3000-27
Dryer output capacity:
sawdust: 5.0 t/h from 50% to 10%

Belt dryer BT for sawdust
in Austria

Dryer type: BT 1-6200-16.5
Dryer output capacity:
sawdust: 6.7 t/h from 45% to 10%

Belt Dryer BTU for sawdust
in Lithuania

Dryer type: BTU 1-6200-36-4-4
Dryer output capacity:
sawdust: 20.5 t/h from 45% to 8%

Belt dryer BT for sawdust
in Argentina

Dryer type: BT 1-6200-9
Dryer output capacity:
sawdust: 3.0 t/h from 50% to 11%

Belt dryer BTL for sawdust
in Austria

Dryer type: BTL 1-3000-31
Dryer output capacity:
sawdust: 6.0 t/h from 52% to 10%

Belt dryer BT for sawdust
in Austria

Dryer type: BT 1-6200-9
Dryer output capacity:
sawdust: 3.3 t/h from 50% to 10%

Belt dryer BT for sawdust
in Russia

Dryer type: BT 1-6200-19.5
Dryer output capacity:
sawdust: 6.0 t/h from 55% to 10%

Belt dryer RecuDry® for sawdust
in Germany

Dryer type: BTU RecuDry 1-6200-54
Dryer output capacity:
sawdust: 15.5 t/h from 51% to 10%

Belt dryer BTL for sawdust
in Russia

Dryer type: BTL 1-3000-27
Dryer output capacity:
sawdust: 4.6 t/h from 55% to 10%

To the references To the case studies

stela sales team

Contact person

Low temperature, continuous dryer, circulating dryer – not sure what’s the best choice for you? Our experienced colleagues will be happy to help you find the best solution for your product. Please feel free to contact us without obligation.

Telephone +49 8724 899-10
Email sales[at]stela.de

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