World Biomass

The International Review of the Biomass Industry

2016/2017

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Wood yards play a critical role in pulp and paper mills, biomass energy plants and pellet plants; experienced design combined with scheduled maintenance ensures reliable mill production Support world demand for cleaner energy By Amy DeHoyos , Contributing Editor, BRUKS

Figure 1: State of the art wood yard at a high capacity wood pellet plant

The demand for cleaner energy in recent years, fueled by the European Union (EU) and its goal for 20% of energy consumption to be derived from renewable sources, has significantly impacted the US market. Many European companies are turning to bioenergy to comply with the EU’s renewable energy targets. The southern U.S. industrial pellet sector has significantly ramped up production of wood pellets to meet this growing demand.

High production pellet plants located in the Southeast U.S. such as Enviva’s Green Circle facility in Cottondale, FL, Colombo Energy in Greenwood, SC (see Figure 1) and Drax Biomass in Gloster, MS & Bastrop, LA are major contributors to these wood pellet exports from the U.S. southern region to Europe. According to a recent study, pellet exports from the region rose nearly 70% from the second to the fourth quarters in 2015. The wood yard is a critical component of the pellet mill process and its continued operation with minimal

The wood yard is a critical component of the pellet mill process. Well designed wood yard systems employ “state of the art” equipment and controls.

downtime rely heavily on “state of the art” process equipment, experienced operators and scheduled maintenance. All of these factors are very remote to minimizing costly downtime. Well designed wood yards typically also do not rely on a single source of fiber supply. They will produce their own chips & fuel as well as receive chips & fuel via their chipping lines and truck dumps. For many years, the BRUKS® drum chipper (see Figure 2), has provided mills with a reliable method of producing microchips for export to

World Biomass

Figure 2: BRUKS Drum Chipper provides customers with microchips at very high capacities

The innovative inbound material flow design of the BRUKS Back-on Truck Dumper allows the mill to continue to receive chips at all hours of the day.

Europe. The Green Circle/Enviva mill incorporated the BRUKS drum chipper in 2008 and processes more than 1,000,000 green tons per year. At Colombo Energy, logs are loaded, debarked and processed using the drum chipper. If the Colombo system experiences downtime related to maintenance of the chipper, chips can be received and processed using a BRUKS Back-on Truck Dumper (See Figure 3). This innovative inbound material flow design allows the mill to continue to receive chips at all hours of the day. The Drax and Colombo system designs also utilize automated BRUKS Stacker Reclaimers to minimize the amount of manpower required for daily operations. This unique design improves inventory control and

Figure 3: BRUKS Back-on Truck Dumpers used to supplement onsite chip production

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Figure 4: BRUKS circular blending Bed Stacker Reclaimer provides improved inventory control

efficient first-in, first-out scenario (See Figure 4). Proper maintenance and monitoring of the critical components of the Stacker Reclaimer results in operational uptimes in the upper 90th percentile range. Training and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) support is also critical. Mills often engage OEM to ensure they are up to date on the latest information available, to provide regular service inspections and to train maintenance staff. Establishing a strong customer/ OEM relationship is crucial to a solid maintenance program. The OEM is able to provide parts and service support when an “early morning” issue occurs. The foundation for overall reliability

is directly related to the design of the wood yard process. Good design coupled with proper maintenance goes a long way towards improving the reliability of any wood yard. About BRUKS BRUKS is a global leader in designing, installing and maintaining bulk material handling systems for the paper, energy, port terminals, and minerals industries. Our innovative designs help manufacturers move their bulk materials more efficiently with automated systems that reduce labor and equipment costs, reduce product waste/loss, improve the quality of the delivered material and reduce ongoing maintenance costs in harsh environments. Our comprehensive services include project engineering, technical

support, start-up training, and remote-monitoring/servicing of machine functions. From truck dumpers to ship loaders, and mobile chippers to stacker reclaimers, BRUKS product portfolio offers a wide variety of customizable solutions for the bulk materials handling industry. For further information call Bruks on +1 770-849-0100 Ext. 100 or email [email protected]

Proper maintenance and monitoring of the critical components of the Stacker Reclaimer results in operational uptimes in the upper 90th percentile range.