Complete Bagasse Pellet Fuel Production Line Solution

Sugarcane is a tree-free renewable resource, which makes it superior to other kind of fuels. Sugarcane bagasse pellets are with high calorific value of 3400 to 4200 kilocalorie and low ash. It’s a wise choice as fuel energy.

There are a lot of sugar factories in southeast Asia and Brazil, plenty of sugarcane are produced after being extracted. For each 10 tonnes of sugarcane crushed, a sugar factory produces nearly 3 tonnes of wet bagasse. Most of the factories have no idea with how to deal with the material, massive waste materials take space of the plant. Few factories burn the bagasse fiber as fuel, when burned in quantity, it produces sufficient heat energy to supply all the needs of a typical sugar factory. The rest of the bagasse can be processed to biomass pellets and exported to other countries as fuel, which bring the factory economic benefits.

Bagasse is commonly used as a substitute for wood in many tropical and subtropical countries for the production of pulp, paper and board, such as India, China, Colombia, Iran, Thailand, and Argentina. It produces pulp with physical properties that are well suited for generic printing and writing papers as well as tissue products but it is also widely used for boxes and newspaper production. It can also be used for making boards resembling plywood or particle board, called bagasse board and Xanita board, and is considered a good substitute for plywood. It has wide usage for making partitions and furniture.

Bagasse Pellet Fuel Production Line Process

Bagasse Pellet Fuel Production Line flowchart

1. Drying

The moisture of fresh sugar can bagasse is about 48~50%, to solidify the bagasse, the first step is to dry the bagasse to the moisture of less than 12%, otherwise the moisture extra would be evaporated while heating and pressing, resulting in the pellets craze and rough in surface.

2.Crushing

Before pelletizing, the material should be cut into small pieces with the granularity of 3-5mm.

3. Pelletizing

Pelletizing is the most important step of making bagasse pellets, sugarcane bagasse pellet mill with good quality can achieve better pelletizing effects. SIMEC can design the pellet mills based on the customers actual production need, saving costs and reduce waste.

4. Cooling and Sieving

Cooling and sieving units as one, saving the floor space as well as the processing time.

5. Packaging

After cooling, the pellets can be packaged by automatic packing machine. Pellets being packaged is easier to be stored and transported.

Bagasse is pressed into pellets by a pellet machine

Cost & Profit Analysis of Bagasse Pellets and Sawdust Pellets

1. Business target: initial monthly output is 500 tons. If normal operation, monthly output can increase to 1500tons or 3000tons. The annual output is around 30000tons.

2. Estimated cost & profit

A. Bagasse Pellets RIO(Return on Investment)

B. Sawdust Pellets RIO(Return on Investment)

How to Build a Sugarcane Bagasse Pellet Plant

If you want to create your own sugarcane bagasse pellet plant, the first thing you need to do is decide if you want to process sugar cane and bagasse pellets or only bagasse pellets. This major decision will impact every decision you make henceforth. This will determine the scale of your operation, the capital you will need and the machinery you will need. If you decide you want to process both, you will need to find a sugarcane supplier or purchase your own land to grow sugarcane. Getting started can take years. Processing only sugarcane bagasse pellets is a relatively easier business. You can contact local sugar mills to see if you can purchase their raw bagasse, pre-processing.

The second step would be purchasing the required machinery. You will need processing machines for each step in the manufacturing process. To dry the pellets, you will need a rotary dryer. There are many types of rotary dryers but all of them serve the same purpose. This industrial dryer heats the pellets with hot gas to reduce moisture content. The price of rotary dryers varies greatly depending on manufacturer and size. Be prepared to spend at least $10,000.

The next machine you need to have in your assembly is something that will help you cut the material into smaller pieces. This can be achieved by running the material through a hammer mill crusher. The mechanics of a hammer mill crusher are exactly what they sound like. The machine contains a large hammer that pulverizes the material to create small pieces. Hammer crushers are a lot less expensive than dryers. Expect to purchase one for approximately 5 to 10 thousand dollars.

The next machine you will need to buy is a pellet machine. You cannot spare any expense while purchasing a pellet machine. Each modern pellet machine comes equipped with a cooling chamber. If your pellet machine does not, you will have to buy a separate cooler. In the first step the material is simply loaded into the machine. Most machines come with mechanisms to avoid any spillage or loss of material. The second step involves the formation of pellet shapes with a ring die. The machines are created to withstand vibration to ensure high quality pellet formation. Pellet machines can cost anywhere from $500 onward depending on the size you need to purchase.

Once the pellets are formed and cooled, they can be packaged. Most pellet bags vary from 15 to 50 kilograms. You will need to purchase a packing machine depending on the size of your pellet bags. At this point you will send the bags to your customers.

Once you have all the machinery in place, a location to manufacture and raw material you will need to ensure you have all the proper business licenses. You will also have to hire a full staff to help you run the mill. The process can take months to years depending on the scale so it is best to get started as soon as possible.