Grant: Idea to Innovation

Previous research at Queen's University has resulted in the creation of a radically new torrefied wood-based biomass pellet that has industry best bulk energy density and handling properties. The process used to make the pellet (Q'Pellet) represents a new approach to densify biomass and integrates the torrefaction/densification steps using a manual batch process. The proposed research is concerned with the design of a continuous production process that has the potential to be scaled to meet the capacity requirements of industrial pellet manufacturers. Specifically, the proposed research will identify key processing variables and use these to create different production methodologies that could be employed in a larger-scale continuous process. The optimum methodologies will be identified and validated using a single-unit, demonstration-scale prototype system that will demonstrate the automated end-to-end continuous production of a small quantity of Q'Pellets from various biomass sources. The overall objectives of the project are to demonstrate that: 1) ) The continuous process has the potential to be scaled to a capacity sufficient to meet the requirements of wood pellet manufacturers; 2) ) The critical characteristics of the Q'Pellets made using the existing manual batch process can be reproduced using the demonstration-scale prototype; and 3) ) The product produced is consistent and meets the requirements of end-users.