Abstract
Pelleting of the Tea Factory Wastes and Determination of Pellet Physical Properties
In this study, the tea factory wastes were pelleted for the utilization as a solid fuel. The moisture content and geometric mean diameter of ground tea wastes were 12.68% and 0.62 mm, respectively. A laboratory-scale pelleting machine with an electrical motor powers of 3 kWwas used for pelleting of raw material.Physical properties related to pellet quality such as bulk density, particle density, durability, compressive resistance and moisture sorption of pellets were determined. Also, the average capacity of the pelleting machine was measured. Thepellets were storedunder ambient conditions of 24 °C temperature and 55% relative humidity during 7 days before testing.At the end of study, the average diameter, length and mass of the pellets were6.1 mm, 23.5 mm and 0.8 g, respectively. The average bulk density, particle density, durability and compressive resistance of pellets were found as 601 kg m-3, 1158 kg m-3, 81% and 476 N, respectively.Moisture content of pellets were decreased at low temperature and relative humidity conditions.As a result, physical tests showed that produced pellets were strong.The average pellet production capacity of the pelleting machine was found to be 46 kg h-1.
Keywords
Biomass, tea waste, pellet
