 Welcome to the quality of densified biomass lab introductory video. Raw biomass has a low density and therefore is not economical to transport or store. Unprocessed biomass also has different sized particles that tend to knit together, which impairs flow properties creating variation in bulk density and moisture content. This can lead to dust generation or even self-combustion during storage. Densification techniques are used to increase density as well as uniformity of biomass to allow for economic transport and incorporation into energy systems. Densification has been used in the agriculture industry for many years. Most commonly, it is used in the form of baling, which gathers loose plant materials such as hay or straw and compresses it into a bale. Baling facilitates short-range transport of biomass from the field into storage, but does not create high enough density to facilitate long-range transport. Also, baling does not create enough uniformity of properties for incorporation into most systems. Instead, secondary densification systems have been developed to further densify biomass and create a product with the uniformity required for industrial systems. Pellet Fuels Institute developed a set of standard specifications to evaluate the quality of densified biomass. In this lab, you will use different methods to approximate some of the properties of a densified biomass fuel. There are several types of densification. Two common techniques are pelletalization and bricketing. Pelletalization is used in feed and fuel manufacturing. It converts finely grown ingredients into dense, durable pellets with uniform characteristics. Bricketing is used to compress materials into high-density blocks for use as fuel. It is carried out using presses and utilizes densified material of a larger size compared to pelletalization. Now, let's go over the procedure. The first property you will measure is bulk density. Start by obtaining a container capable of holding at least one liter. Record the weight of the empty container. Next, determine the volume of the container. To do this, tear the scale and fill the container to capacity with water. Using the mass of the water, determine the container's volume. Remember, one milliliter of water is equal to one gram of water. Next, dry the container and fill it to capacity with the densified biomass. Drop the container onto a hard surface from a height of 2 to 3 inches several times to allow the material to settle. Then, add additional samples to the container and use a straight edge to strike off excess. The material should be level with the top edge of the container. Weigh the container and material. To calculate bulk density, use the equation weight of the container and sample minus weight of container divided by the volume of the container. Next, do a measure moisture content. First, obtain a glass, metal, or ceramic container capable of holding at least 50 grams of your sample. Set the temperature of the drying oven to 103 degrees and place the container in the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, cool the container in a desiccator. After it cools, find and record its weight. Next, add at least 50 grams of material to the container and record its initial weight. Place the container and sample in the drying oven for 16 hours at 103 degrees. Remove the sample and allow it to cool to room temperature in a desiccator. After it has cooled, immediately record its final weight. To calculate percent moisture, divide the initial weight minus the final weight by the initial weight minus the weight of the container and multiply by 100. Next, you will calculate the percent fines. First, obtain at least two and a half pounds or about 1.13 kilograms of your densified biomass. Weigh the sample in a tiered container. Next, find and record the weight of the empty receiving pan. Attach the pan to the sieve and place about 230 grams of your sample in the sieve or approximately one-fifth of the total sample. Give the sample by tilting the sieve side to side 10 times. After the first portion has been sieved, remove the sieve from the pan and remove the pellets. Repeat these steps until the entire sample has been sieved. Then, remove the sieve from the receiving pan and weigh the pan and fine. To calculate percent fines, use the equation percent fines equals weight of receiving pan plus fines minus the weight of the pan and sample divided by the weight of the total sample multiplied by 100. Next, you will look at the diameter and length of pellet. First, obtain 2.5 pounds or 1.13 kilograms of your sample pellets. Record the exact weight of the sample. Using a caliper, measure the pellets and separate pellets that are longer than 1.5 inches. Identify the longest pellet and measure its length using the caliper. Next, measure and record the weight of the pellets exceeding 1.5 inches. Lastly, select 5 random pellets and measure their diameter using the caliper. Record the average. Calculate the percent of pellets exceeding 1.5 inches. Take the weight of pellets exceeding 1.5 inches divided by the sample weight and multiply by 100. Lastly, you will estimate the durability of the biomass. First, weigh out approximately 100 grams of pre-screened biomass into a tarred poly storage bag. You can use the screen sample from your percent fines determination. Remove excess air from the bag and seal it. Fold the bag horizontally over a hard surface at a height of 6 feet and drop it. Drop the bag a total of 10 times, ensuring that the bag remains sealed after each drop. Siv the sample by tilting it side to side 10 times. The durable pellets will remain in the sieve. After sieving, weigh the sieve with the remaining pellets. Then calculate the percent durable densified pellets. Take the weight of the sieve and durable pellets minus the weight of the empty sieve divided by the initial sample weight and multiply it by 100. Consider how the values you calculated for bulk density, percent moisture, and percent fines compare with the standard values for densified fuels. Also consider differences between the different types of densified biomass you observed. How can you use these procedures to modify and optimize densification processes?