What are wood pellets used for? Many have asked this question, but we’d point out the most common uses for wood pellets in this guide. Wood pellets are an excellent source of fuel, mainly for generating heat. Wood pellets are produced from several raw materials like virgin lumber, agricultural waste, and so on. They are generally composed of compacted sawdust. Other industrial wastes that can be used in making pellets are palm kernel shell, coconut shell, fruit branches, etc. More so, pellets are incredibly dense and composed of less than 10% moisture content, allowing high combustion efficiency. Furthermore, the small size and geometry make it suitable for use in a wide variety of applications.
Wood Pellets Use
1. Grilling
One of the most common uses of wood pellets for smoking and grilling. Many manufacturers have designed grills in such a way that it makes use of pellets as a source of fuel. Pellet grills are one of the best types of grills to get. However, they are quite expensive. A pellet grill gives you the luxury of enjoying real smoke flavor in your food and the convenience to ignite and regulate the temperature easily. Unlike traditional charcoal grills, pellet grills are by far easier to use. Moreover, pellets can be flavored, giving your food a fantastic aroma.
2. Animal Bedding
Another use of wood pellets is as beddings for animals. When small water is added to pellets, they quickly reverse and turn to sawdust, and can be used as beddings for animals such as horses and donkeys. The ease of storage and transporting wood pellets makes them a better option for bedding than traditional bedding. However, take note, some pellets like walnuts can be toxic to horses. Pellets like rice husk pellets are the best to use for animal beddings. Rice husk pellets have a high water absorption rate, making it perfect for animal beddings.
3. Fodder
Some wood pellets were made with edible wood making it suitable for use as fodder. Biomass pellets can be used as fodder for cattle, sheep, camel, deer, alpaca, etc. Pellet feeds have higher nutrition density, higher economic benefits, and easier to store and transport. We can classify livestock feed pellets into four kinds: pure corsage feed pellet, concentrated feed pellet, complete feed pellet, and premix feed pellet.
4. Industrial Broiler
Another widespread use of wood pellets is in the industrial sector. Industries make use of pellets to power their broiler. Pellet is an excellent alternative fuel source because of its reduced cost. Additionally, pellets cause minimal air pollution than other fuel sources like crude oil and heavy oil. Today, many industries adopt biomass pellets because it is a safe and cleaner source of fuel.
5. Electricity Generation
Lastly, wood pellets can serve as an excellent source of fuel for power plants. There isn’t much difference between the qualities of heat produced from pellets and the heat value of coal. For instance, the heat value of 8 thousand tons of biomass of coal is equal to the heat value of 10 thousand tons of biomass of pellets. And with emphasis on the environment, using pellets for electricity generation is not as harmful to the environment as other heavy oil. Moreover, with the increase in fossil fuel shortage, pellets have become a more promising alternative.
Conclusion
To sum things up, wood pellets are an excellent fuel source and burn at a high British thermal unit. More so, the numerous advantages that come with using wood pellets make it more and more popular every day. The most important advantage of using pellets is the little waste or ash residue it leaves behind. Now that you know what wood pellets are used for, it’s left to you to take advantage of it. Kindly leave a comment or share your experience with pellets in the comment section below.