Production of corn stover feedstocks using rotary shear mill and screen system

Abstract

Baled corn stover at 10% +/- moisture (wet-basis) was comminuted and sorted to obtain a particle size with a geometric mean diameter (Xgm) of 1.34 mm and particle size distribution to match the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) feedstock used to produce densified corn stover pellets for this project. Comminution (milling) was performed using four Forest Concepts Crumbler® rotary-shear comminution devices arranged in series with a Forest Concepts 2-deck orbital screen to remove fines and redirect oversize particles back through the system. A total of 49 supersacks of final product were generated with an average weight of 479 dry-lbs (217 kg) per supersack. The final product had loose and tapped bulk densities of 7.61 and 9.86 and dry lb/cu.ft. respectively. The material losses in the system totaled approximately 9% of the total starting corn stover mass. Losses included dust, fines and soil from screening, and floor sweepings. Neglecting energy consumption for sorting, total comminution system design energy was measured at 97.9 kWh/US Dry Tons. The total specific energy for comminution was measured at 73.5 kWh/US Dry Tons.

Citation

Dooley, J. H., M. J. Wamsley, and J. Slosson (2018). Production of corn stover feedstocks using rotary shear mill and screen system. Auburn, WA, Forest Concepts, LLC. 15 pages.

Authors

James Dooley, Matt Wamsley, James Slosson