Product News
February 2018

Trying to keep up with all the latest products available in the biomass industry can be an impossible task, however, with the help of Wood Bioenergy magazine and our ever-updating blog site—you can now stay up-to-date on the products that really matter, and get first hand knowledge of their implementation and performance.

 

For the latest in product news, visit or blog site.

Biomass-To-Fuel Plant Begins In Log Yard

The year-old AC Global Energy (ACGE) plant near Knoxville, Tenn. is a new production facility designed to convert biomass into drop-in-the-tank fuel. The facility was developed as a turnkey operation for ACGE to process locally harvested pulpwood into energy products.

At the front end of the process is a log loading station that receives truckloads of wood to be fed into a primary chipper. In the center of the loading station is a purpose-built Sennebogen 818 M rubber-tired log-loader, which unloads and stacks the wood, then feeds it to a Laimet helical chipper. The wood chips go through secondary processing before entering a patented CHyP (Cellulose to Hydrogen Process) reactor for conversion into a hydrogen-rich synthetic gas.

ACGE is a Singapore-based development company specializing in “clean energy” projects. According to John Borden, ACGE’s Business Development Manager in North America, the Knoxville plant is just the first of multiple sites that the company foresees for other nearby centers in the future. “The system is highly scalable, but it’s also economical for smaller production sites, too,” Borden explains. “Any location with a good supply of biomass nearby can put this technology to work economically.”

As the Knoxville operation ramps up in 2018, Borden expects to see it processing as much as 500 tons of wood per day and output up to 7,000,000 gallons of drop-in-the-tank diesel annually. Secondary streams produce marketable co-products including wood vinegar and premium bio-char.

The Sennebogen 818 M provides ACGE with a versatile, purpose-built machine that can handle multiple duties as the operation works up to full capacity. “We considered installing a more traditional stationary loader near the feed deck,” Borden says. “But we decided that a rubber-tired log loader would give us more flexibility. We equipped it with a Timber Grab SGH rotary log grapple to load the incoming wood. We also have an orange peel attachment that the 818 M can use to transfer chips. We receive some of our biomass as chips, instead of logs, so the 818 M is always ready to handle those loads as well as feeding chips into the next stage of the process. It’s even strong enough to pull a decent size log trailer.

Borden says the operators like how the 818 handles and the elevating cab gives them a direct look into the trucks they’re unloading. The first few trucks were taking longer to unload but, with some experience now, they’re down to about 15 minutes per truck.

“I will definitely be looking to Sennebogen again when we’re ready to open our next plant,” Border adds. “We’re very happy with the service from their distributor here, Power Equipment. Once the CHyP process and the rest of this operation is fully verified, we will be set to repeat the program in new locations.

Doppstadt Shredder Prefers Fast Pace

The new DW 308 Rhino made by the environmental enterprise Doppstadt shreds everything that gets in its way: waste from industry, commerce and households; C&D waste, organic waste and railway sleepers; green waste, logs or roots. Its favorite field of application is processing in plants with high throughput capacities. It reduces the size reliably and prepares the material for further use/recovery. Except concrete, steel and iron it can virtually cope with all kinds of materials.

The new single-shaft shredder is in the right place wherever more than 40 t/h of waste must be processed. Its extremely robust steel construction ensures stability and durability. The stationary solution DW 308 Rhino is less susceptible to failures and its maintenance intervals are long thus ensuring high availability. With the DW308 Rhino, Doppstadt breaks new ground in the drive technology. While the previous model had a DC motor with rectifier, the present models are provided with a robust, maintenance-free AC drive with state-of-the-art control. Thanks to the Doppstadt VarioDrive, the machine is more efficient and powerful.

The new DW 308 Rhino is provided with the QuickChange System for a quick and easy change from S-tooth to XL-tooth or from M-tooth to L-tooth.

Henning Strunz, Managing Director of Doppstadt Systemtechnik GmbH, comments, “The new DW 308 Rhino is the largest single-shaft shredder of the Doppstadt product range. It combines the best technologies in a robust and durable machine frame for easy operation and efficient solution of the most difficult tasks achieving highest throughput capacities and a high degree of variability. Therefore it is a worthy successor of our well tried and tested and extremely robust DW 3080 E2 Mammut, which it replaces.” Visit doppstadt.com.

MoistTech Partners With Belgium Firm

MoistTech Corp. and Belgium based company Weighing & Inspection have announced a partnership to provide advanced moisture measurement capabilities for manufactured materials to customers in the Benelux region. The partnership will deliver a workflow capability focused on improving productivity and efficiency, streamlining operations for customers by implementing Near-Infrared (NIR) technology for moisture measurement and control.

An initial primary focus will be developing a joint marketing capability to demonstrate to customers in the Benelux how advanced moisture control technology can measurably drive quality and efficiency.

Johan Bauwens, owner and General Manager of Weighing & Inspection, believes that the cooperation with MoistTech is an absolute added value. “Working together which such a high-level partner with such huge domain-specific knowledge is a delight and will definitely increase our position in the market.”­­­­­

West Salem Grinders Offer Versatility

WSM Vertical Feed Grinders offer a simple yet highly effective design to process a wide range of feedstock, at rates up to 150 tons per hour. These rugged grinders feature a heavy duty rotor with innovative disc and hammer configuration. The optional pivot housing provides easy access to main wear components with all infeed components remaining in place.

From fine grinding of wood chips for pellet fuel or chipboard, to coarse grinding of bark or wood waste for mulch or biomass, WSM vertical grinders have the flexibility to provide the best solution for your application.

If you are looking for a turnkey system, WSM’s complete Biomass Feedstock Processing Systems include bulk feeders, pre-screening and cleaning for low cost processing with reduced grinder wear and increased throughput—one fully integrated package including all engineering and project management. Visit westsalem.com.

Bandit Celebrates 35th Anniversary

Bandit Industries, Remus, Mich., will spend all of 2018 celebrating its 35th anniversary.

“Thirty-five years is a long time to be in business,” says Bandit President and co-owner Jerry Morey. “That’s why we’re going to take some time in 2018 to appreciate where we’ve been, what we’ve accomplished, and how we want to keep innovating and evolving—for our employees, for our customers, and for our industry.”

Bandit Industries started out as Foremost Fabrications in a small one-room shop by Mike Morey Sr. and Diane Morey. The first chipper was a Model 100 Brush Bandit. That chipper caught on in the industry and became so popular that most people knew Foremost Fabrications as “Bandit,” so in 1986, the company took the name officially as Bandit Industries.

 

^ Top