Industrial Crops & Products 197 (2023) 116604

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Industrial Crops & Products

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/indcrop

Short rotation woody crops and forest biomass sawdust mixture

pellet quality
Paweł Stachowicz a, *, Mariusz J. Stolarski a, b
a
University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Genetics, Plant Breeding and Bioresource Engineering, Plac Łódzki 3,
10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
b
University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Centre for Bioeconomy and Renewable Energies, Plac Łódzki 3, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Global pellet production has been growing steadily, and it was higher in 2021 by approximately 6.8% compared
Black locust pellet with 2020, with EU production increasing by 9%. In consequence, the demand for sawdust is growing while its
Poplar pellet availability is increasingly limited, and the prices are increasing. This is why woody biomass from short-rotation
Willow pellet
woody crops (SRWC) may have to be used to satisfy the demand for this raw material. Therefore, the aim of this
Scots pine pellet
Silver birch pellet
study was to determine the thermophysical properties and elemental composition of pellets produced from forest
Mixed biomass pellets wood (pine, birch) sawdust and biomass from SRWC (black locust, poplar and willow) and from their mixtures.
Moreover, the study also seeks to demonstrate which types of pellets met the parameters laid down in selected
standards which categorize pellets into various classes. A total of 23 types of pellets were produced – two from
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk forest-derived biomass, three from SRWC biomass and 18 from mixtures of forest-derived and SRWC biomass.
mengetahui sifat termofisika The lower heating value of all pellet types met the strict criteria for class A1 pellets (≥16.5 MJ kg–1). Further­
dan komposisi unsur pelet yang more, only three pellet types: those obtained from Scots pine and mixed pellets from 75% of Scots pine biomass
dihasilkan dari hutan and 25% willow or poplar biomass, met the strict criteria for class A1 and Grade 1 with respect to all the analyzed
parameters. The quality of pellets from biomass mixtures decreased with increasing portions of SRWC biomass
kayu (pinus, birch) serbuk
relative to pure sawdust from forest wood, especially due to the increasing content of ash, nitrogen, sulfur and
gergaji dan biomassa dari chlorine.
SRWC (black locust, poplar dan
willow) dan dari campurannya.
1. Introduction Wood biomass, both forest-derived and coming from agricultural
SRWC cultivation, is used as an energy feedstock in the generation of
In 2020, solid biofuels accounted for the majority of primary energy heat and electricity, as well as for gasification (Monedero et al., 2015;
production from renewable energy sources in the EU and Poland, with Aghaalikhani et al., 2017; Nordborg et al., 2018; Stolarski et al., 2020).
40.2% and 71.6%, respectively. (Statistics Poland, 2022). Currently, Incidentally, biomass as production residue (e.g. sawdust, shavings,
solid biomass used as energy feedstock comes mainly from forests, the chips) is a non-homogeneous solid biofuel, which is why it is not very
wood processing industry and agriculture, including production waste attractive because of its unfavorable mass-to-volume ratio, with conse­
from cereal and oilseed crops and the food industry (Picchio et al., quent high costs of transport. These limitations can be overcome by
2020). However, perennial industrial crops (PIC), including short rota­ pelletization (Acampora et al., 2021), which improves this solid bio­
tion woody crops (SRWC), could be a major source of biomass (Lab­ fuel’s usability as energy feedstock (Picchio et al., 2020; Stolarski et al.,
recque and Teodorescu, 2005; Serapiglia et al., 2013; Manzone et al., 2020, 2022a). This is also a consequence of the fact that pellets are a
2014; Amaducci et al., 2017; Matyka and Radzikowski, 2020; Scordia standardized solid biofuel, which facilitates logistics and supplying
et al., 2022). The cultivation of SRWC over multiple years, coupled with power plants and small individual boiler rooms (Thomson and Liddell,
the regrowth of new plants after each harvest, low nutrient demand, and 2015; Cardozo and Malmquist, 2019). Global pellet production has seen
minimal agricultural procedures, leads to decreased greenhouse gas steady growth, with a 6.8% increase in 2021 compared with 2020.
emissions and increased carbon accumulation in the soil (Pacaldo et al., Within the EU, production has grown by 9%. Countries with the greatest
2014; Cunniff et al., 2015; Krzyżaniak et al., 2019). increases include Lithuania, Poland and Canada, where the production

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: pawel.stachowicz@uwm.edu.pl (P. Stachowicz).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2023.116604
Received 22 January 2023; Received in revised form 2 March 2023; Accepted 17 March 2023
Available online 20 March 2023
0926-6690/© 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
P. Stachowicz and M.J. Stolarski Industrial Crops & Products 197 (2023) 116604

grew by approximately 500,000 tons, whereas relative growth rates in Table 1

2021 were 32%, 38% and 15%, respectively (Bioenergy Europe, 2022). Biomass types, plant species and their mixtures used for pellet production.
This shows that the increase between 2020 and 2021 was the greatest. Biomass type Species Species share (% Pellet
The largest pellet production output in 2021 (over 9000,000 tons) was w/w, dry basis) code
noted in the USA. Meanwhile, Germany was definitely the largest pro­ Forest-derived Scots pine 100 SP
ducer in EU-27, with 3355,000 tons, while the second country (Latvia) Silver birch 100 SB
produced 2108,400 tons of pellets. It is noteworthy that seven out of the Agricultural – short rotation Black locust 100 BL
ten greatest global pellet producers are in the EU. Apart from Germany woody crops (SRWC) Poplar 100 P
Willow 100 W
and Latvia, these include Sweden, France, Poland, Austria and Estonia. Forest + Agricultural Scots pine + 75 + 25 SP75
Pellet production in Poland amounted to 1800,000 tons in 2021. Black locust +BL25
As a result, the demand for raw materials for pellet production is on 50 + 50 SP50
the rise. Pellets can be made from a variety of materials (Picchio et al., +BL50
25 + 75 SP25
2020), but most are still produced from production residue from the
+BL75
wood processing industry, primarily sawdust, shavings, and chips Scots pine + 75 + 25 SP75
(Garcia et al., 2018). The forest tree species whose residues are used as Poplar +P25
raw material for pellet production include pine, birch and larch, with 50 + 50 SP50
hardwood residues being regarded as less suitable for the purpose +P50
25 + 75 SP25
(Rastvorov et al., 2017; Thiffault et al., 2019). In consequence, pine +P75
sawdust is in growing demand in pellet-producing plants, and its Scots pine + 75 + 25 SP75
availability is becoming increasingly limited, and the prices are Willow +W25
increasingly high (Picchio et al., 2020). The problem of biomass avail­ 50 + 50 SP50
ability has become even more acute in the face of the war in Ukraine and +W50
25 + 75 SP25
the crisis in the fossil fuel market. However, this war also caused +W75
disruption to imports of solid biomass and pellets from Ukraine. Silver birch + 75 + 25 SB75
Therefore, other biomass types, including those obtained from broad­ Black locust +BL25
leaved trees, have to be used in order to satisfy the demand for the raw 50 + 50 SB50

material (Monedero et al., 2018). Moreover, this could be supplemented

+BL50
25 + 75 SB25
by woody biomass from SRWC plantations. However, it should be noted +BL75
that woody biomass is highly diversified in terms of its properties, which Silver birch + 75 + 25 SB75
are affected by the plant species, place and method of cultivation, and Poplar +P25
50 + 50 SB50
the raw material logistics and preparation (Gillespie et al., 2013; Sto­
+P50
larski et al., 2022a; b). This is why it is important to assess the quality of 25 + 75 SB25
pellets produced from various substrates and their mixtures when de­ +P75
mand for this solid biofuel is growing, from the perspective of entities Silver birch + 75 + 25 SB75
which trade in biomass on the market, pellet producers and its end users Willow +W25
50 + 50 SB50
(Thiffault et al., 2019). This will help to reduce the uncertainty with
+W50
respect to the impact of the raw materials on the pellet quality and the 25 + 75 SB25
resulting meeting or failure to meet the market standards and norms. +W75
The literature does not provide much data characterizing the ther­
mophysical and chemical properties of pellets produced from a mixture
of forest-derived or agricultural woody biomass, and especially that obtained in a field experiment conducted at the Department of Genetics,
harvested in short harvesting rotations from SRWC plantations, which Plant Breeding and Bioresource Engineering, University of Warmia and
can provide important support for wood pellet producers and customers. Mazury in Olsztyn (UWM), also located in northeastern Poland. All of
Therefore the goal of the current study was to evaluate the thermo­ the species were cultivated at the density of 11,111 plants per hectare.
physical properties and conduct proximate and ultimate analysis of SRWC biomass comprised of leafless whole shoots (bark and wood)
pellets made from forest wood (pine, birch), SRWC biomass (black lo­ harvested in December 2021 after the end of the third consecutive four-
cust, poplar, willow), and their blends. Additionally, the study aimed to year rotation. Immediately after the harvest, the whole SRWC shoots
determine which types of pellets meet the criteria established in selected were cut up with a Junkkari HJ 10 G woodcutter into 1–3 cm large
standards that categorize pellets into different classes. woodchips. The chips were transported to the drier room for heat dry­
ing. Dry chips were ground in a hammer mill on a 12 mm sieve, and the
produced fraction was ground on another hammer mill with a 6 mm
2. Materials and methods
sieve. The same procedure was followed to obtain similar fractions of
forest and agricultural biomass, which were subsequently pelletized in
2.1. Raw materials used for pellet production
various options. The moisture content in all biomass types was 7–8%,
which means that it was suitable for testing pellet production. A total of
Five types of woody biomass, including two derived from forest
23 pellet types were produced, including two from forest-derived
trees, were used for pellet production: Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.);
biomass (Scots pine, silver birch), three from SRWC biomass (black lo­
silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) and three types of agricultural biomass
cust, poplar, willow) and 18 from mixtures of forest-derived and SRWC
from SRWC plantations: willow Żubr variety (Salix viminalis L.); poplar
biomass (Table 1, Fig. 1).
Max-5 clone (Populus nigra × P. maximowiczii Henry); black locust
Individual mixtures were produced by adding 25%, 50% or 75% (w/
(Robinia pseudoacacia L.) (Table 1). Forest-derived biomass as produc­
w, dry basis) of SRWC biomass (black locust, poplar or willow) to forest-
tion residue in the form of sawdust produced in the process of sawing
derived biomass (Scots pine or silver birch). Sawdust was weighed in
debarked wood was obtained in January 2022 from a sawmill located in
plastic containers and then spread onto a tarpaulin and mixed manually
northeastern Poland. Since the sawdust was moist before pelletization, it
until a uniform fraction was obtained. Production tests for each pellet
was dried and then milled in a hammer mill with a 6 mm sieve to make
type were conducted in three replicates, i.e. a total of 69 tests were
the fraction more homogeneous.
conducted. Ca. 40 kg of pellets were produced in one test, which means
Agricultural SRWC biomass – black locust, poplar and willow – was

2
P. Stachowicz and M.J. Stolarski
Fig. 1. Pellets from forest-derived (Scots pine, silver birch) and SRWC biomass (black locust, poplar, willow) and from their mixtures.
that ca. 120 kg of each pellet type was obtained, and the whole exper­
iment yielded ca. 2.8 Mg of pellets.
The pelletization process was performed on a granulator powered by
an electric motor, with a power of 30 kW and a production output of
350 kg h–1 (BMG Pelleting Experts Sp. z o.o., Poland). The granulator
was fitted out with a horizontal, 35 mm long matrix, and the hole
diameter was 6 mm. The matrix choice was based on earlier test results,
which demonstrated that it was the best option for the biomass types
under study. Each test was conducted on a hot matrix. Biomass was
supplied to the granulator manually on a continuous basis. The granu­
lator was left in a continuous operation mode between different biomass
types without supplying the material for about 10 min when the previ­
ous pellet type was removed from the matrix. Moreover, the first batch
of the produced pellets was rejected after the next test with a different
biomass type was begun to eliminate potential contamination with
previous biomass, which could remain in the matrix. The cutting knives
situated after the granulator matrix were dismantled during the pellet
production tests so that the pellets broke off spontaneously. This was
done to determine the differentiation of the pellet length for pellets
produced from various biomass types. One sample of ca. 3–5 kg was
collected from each replicate for each pellet type, i.e. a total of three
pellet samples with a total weight of ca. 9–15 kg were collected for each
type. After being cooled down, a pellet sample was packed in a plastic
bag and then transported to a laboratory for the determination of the
thermophysical properties and elemental composition.
2.2. Evaluation of pellet properties
The pellet length was measured with a calliper on 50 randomly
selected pellets in each replicate, and an arithmetic average was then
calculated for each pellet type. The pellet bulk density (kg m–3) was
determined in accordance with the EN ISO 17828:2016 standard. The
3
Industrial Crops & Products 197 (2023) 116604
pellet mechanical durability (%) was determined in accordance with PN-
EN ISO 17831–1. The fine fraction (%) was calculated as the difference
between the total sample weight (100%) and the weight of the fine
fraction. The pellet moisture content was determined by drying at
105 ◦ C (PN-EN ISO 18134–1:2015) with a laboratory drier (FD BINDER)
and weighing. The dried pellet samples were ground in an analytical mill
(Retsch SM 200) with a 1 mm sieve. After being ground, the biomass of
various pellet types was kept in closed laboratory metal containers.
The carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and sulfur (S) contents were deter­
mined in accordance with PN-EN ISO 16948:2015–07 and PN-EN ISO
16994:2016–10 with an automatic ELTRA CHS-500 analyzer. The ni­
trogen (N) content was determined by the Kjeldahl method with a K-435
mineralizer and a BUCHI B-324 distilling device. The chlorine (Cl)
content was determined in accordance with PN-ISO 587:2000, with the
Eschka mixture. An Eltra Tga-Thermostep thermogravimetric oven was
used to determine the ash content at 550˚C as well as the volatile matter
and fixed carbon content at 650˚C, in accordance with PN-EN ISO
18122:2016–01 and PN-EN ISO 18123:2016–01. The higher heating
value (HHV) was determined by the dynamic method in an IKA C2000
calorimeter. The lower heating value (LHV) was determined from the
HHV and the previously determined moisture content and the H content
in accordance with PN-EN ISO 18125:2017–07. All laboratory analyses
were performed in three replicates for each produced pellet type, i.e. a
total of 69 analyses were performed for each of the solid biofuel pa­
rameters determined.
2.3. A comparison of the pellet properties and the selected quality
standards
Three norms from three continents were used to compare the pellet
properties and their potential classification: (i) Europe – ISO
17225–2:2021–10 (ISO) – Specification of graded wood pellets for
P. Stachowicz and M.J. Stolarski
commercial, residential applications and for industrial use (six pellet
classes: A1, A2, B, I1, I2, I3); (ii) North America − Pellet Fuels Institute
(PFI) − Standard Specifications for Residential/Commercial Densified
Fuel (three pellet classes: Premium, Standard, Utility); (iii) East Asia
− Korea Forest Research Institute (KFRI) − Specifications and Quality
Standards for Wood Pellets (four pellet classes: Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade
3, Grade 4).
Not all the standards contained all the analyzed parameters, i.e. they
did not specify the given parameter, e.g. for a maximum and/or mini­
mum value. If that was the case, the pellets were regarded as meeting the
standard with respect to this particular parameter. The mean parameters
for each pellet type from forest-derived and agricultural biomass and
their mixtures were referred to the strictest level in each of the three
norms. Meeting the highest standard of a particular type indicates the
highest quality class within that norm. Therefore, it would be classified
as an A1 model according to the ISO standard, a Premium model ac­
cording to the PFI standard, and a Grade 1 model according to the KFRI
standard. Due to the vast study scope and the nature as well as the
number of standards and quality classes under analysis (a total of 13
classes), reference of the pellet parameters to the three strictest classes
(A1, Premium and Grade 1) was interpreted and illustrated in the main
manuscript. The pellet parameters, as referred to the other ten classes of
the three norms: ISO, PFI and KFRI, were described synthetically in the
main manuscript and presented in the supplementary data.
2.4. Statistical analysis
The Shapiro-Wilk test was performed to verify the normality of the
parameters under study before the statistical analysis was performed.
The statistical analyses of all data were based on single-factorial
ANOVA. The pellet type was a factor in this analysis. The arithmetic
means and the standard deviation were calculated for each parameter
under study. Homogeneous groups were identified with Tukey’s hon­
estly significant difference (HSD) test at the level of significance of
P < 0.05. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the attributes was
also determined, and the significance (P < 0.05) of the correlations
between them was tested. Moreover, agglomerative hierarchical clus­
tering analysis was performed for the determined parameters of pellets
produced from forest-derived and agricultural biomass and their mix­
tures. The input data were standardized in the columns before the an­
alyses. Ward’s method was applied for data agglomeration, and the
Euclidean distance was the measure of distance. Clusters were identified
with Sneath’s criterion. Two cut-off lines on the dendrogram were
applied: the first at 2/3 Dmax, and the second at 1/3 Dmax, where Dmax
denoted the maximum measure of distance D. The cluster analysis
produced dendrograms showing similarities between the pellet types
under study and the analyzed parameters. All statistical analyses were
performed with STATISTICA 13 (TIBCO Software Inc.).
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Thermophysical characteristics
The majority of the pellet thermophysical characteristics under
analysis: length, bulk density, mechanical durability, fine fraction, vol­
atile matter, fixed carbon, HHV, and LHV, were differentiated signifi­
cantly by the biomass type (P < 0.001), except moisture content
(P = 0.065) (Table 2).
Willow pellets produced from cultivated SRWC biomass were the
significantly longest: 20.2 mm, with a standard deviation of 0.7 mm
(Fig. 2a, Table S1). Forest-derived pellets from Scots pine were the
shortest (12.4 mm), with a standard deviation of 0.4 mm. The length of
pellets produced from a mixture of agricultural and forest-derived
biomass ranged from 14.5 to 17.2 mm. The length of all the pellets
under study lay within the range laid down in the quality standards
(Fig. 2a). Moreover, the length of the pellets in this study lay within the
4
Industrial Crops & Products 197 (2023) 116604
Table 2
Analysis of variance (F and P values) for the analyzed features.
Feature F P-value
Length 21.89 < 0.001*
Bulk density 21.28 < 0.001*
Mechanical durability 43.17 < 0.001*
Fine fraction 43.17 < 0.001*
Moisture content 1.70 0.065
Ash content 110.75 < 0.001*
Volatile matter 15.75 < 0.001*
Fixed carbon 5.43 < 0.001*
Higher heating value 21.11 < 0.001*
Lower heating value 22.54 < 0.001*
Energy density 8.32 < 0.001*
C 10.18 < 0.001*
H 6.71 < 0.001*
N 125.55 < 0.001*
S 32.69 < 0.001*
Cl 1.85 0.040*
*
significant values (P < 0.05)
ranges observed in other studies, where the pellet length was diverse and
even exceeded 60 mm (Tumuluru et al., 2010; Gilvari et al., 2020;
Jägers et al., 2020; Stolarski et al., 2022a). The length of raw pellets can
reach up to 100 mm (Sikanen and Vilppo, 2012). It also depends on the
conditioning parameters and the raw material moisture content, where
it is assumed that the pellet length can be greater when more moist
material is used (Molenda et al., 2021). The pellet length under the
process conditions can be regulated by the length of the matrix holes and
by the cutting knives after the matrix (Lavergne et al., 2021). As was
stressed in these authors’ earlier studies, the cutting knives were
dismantled, which made the pellets break off from the matrix sponta­
neously and enabled determining the length diversity for pellets from
the biomass types under study. Moreover, the pellet length is significant
from the practical perspective, as shorter pellets facilitate their more
uniform movement along the feeder worm. This, in turn, can reduce the
combustion temperature in the boiler and the exhaust gas temperature,
as shorter pellets have a greater surface area/volume ratio, i.e. a larger
surface of the fuel is burnt, which makes the whole burning process more
effective (Sikanen and Vilppo, 2012).
The pellet diameter also depended on the diameter of the holes in the
matrix used for pelletization. The pellet diameter in this study was
6 mm, and it lay within the range laid down in the quality standards
(Fig. 2b). This feature ranged from 4 up to 20 mm in other studies
(Theerarattananoon et al., 2011; Toscano et al., 2013; Paulauskas et al.,
2015; Gilvari et al., 2020; Pegoretti Leite de Souza et al., 2021). This
pellet parameter is equally important, as the decreasing diameter is
associated with increasing bulk density, which allows for the ware­
housing of a larger mass of this solid biofuel in a specific volume
compared with the pellet of a greater diameter. Moreover, in general,
the greater the pellet length/diameter ratio, the lower the mechanical
durability of this solid biofuel (Gilvari et al., 2020).
The highest mechanical durability pellet from pure biomass was
observed in pellets from Scots pine – 99.1% (Fig. 2c, Table S1), in which
the length/diameter ratio was the lowest (2.05). The mechanical dura­
bility of the other pellet types produced from forest-derived or agricul­
tural biomass alone was lower (97.3–98.9%), although the differences
were not statistically significant, and the length/diameter ratio was
higher and ranged from 2.3 to 3.4. In contrast, the mechanical durability
of pellets from mixed biomass lay within a broader range (from 96.2% to
99.7% for SB25 +BL75 and SP50 +W50 pellets, respectively). This is
why the pellets with the lowest mechanical durability (SB25 +BL75) did
not meet the requirements for this parameter with respect to the strict
criteria of any of the three standards: ISO, PFI or KFRI (Fig. 2c). More­
over, four other pellet types produced from black locust biomass
(SB50 +BL50, SB25 +P75 and SB25 +W75) did not meet the re­
quirements of the KFRI or ISO standards. The remaining 18 pellet types
P. Stachowicz and M.J. Stolarski
Fig. 2. Length (a), diameter (b) and mechanical durability (c) of the pellets under study, as referred to the strictest three pellet classes: A1, Premium and Grade 1, in
the quality standards, respectively: ISO, PFI and KFRI.
met the requirements of all three standards with respect to this param­
eter. Therefore, the share of the fine fraction in this study lay within the
range of 0.34–3.81% for the pellets produced from SP50 +W50 and
SB25 +BL75, respectively (Table S1). In general, the mechanical dura­
bility of pellets produced from softwood biomass of Scots pine and its
mixtures with biomass from cultivated SRWC was found to be higher
5
Industrial Crops & Products 197 (2023) 116604
(and consequently, the share of the fine fraction was lower) compared
with the forest-derived and agricultural hardwood biomass and its
mixtures. Nevertheless, this condition was only fulfilled by five pellet
types with respect to the strict criteria of the KFRI standard (≤0.5%
share of the fine fraction) and nine pellet types – with respect to the ISO
standard (Fig. 3a).
P. Stachowicz and M.J. Stolarski Industrial Crops & Products 197 (2023) 116604

Fig. 3. Share of fine fraction (a), bulk density (b) and higher heating value (c) of the pellet types under study as referred to the three strictest pellet classes: A1,
Premium and Grade 1 in the quality standards: ISO, PFI and KFRI, respectively.

6
P. Stachowicz and M.J. Stolarski
The durability of Scots pine pellets was also the highest (99.7%) of
the eight types of pellets from forest-derived biomass, as determined in
other studies (Stolarski et al., 2022a). It was also found in that study that
pellets produced from forest softwood had higher mechanical durability
(99.6%) by approx. 1.9% point (pp.) compared with pellets from hard­
wood biomass. The mechanical durability of pellets produced from the
sawdust from Pinus spp. growing under various climate conditions was
98–99% (Dyjakon and Noszczyk, 2019; Garcia et al., 2018), and it was
higher than the feature determined for pellets from silver birch wood
(92.3%) (Makovskis et al., 2016). The higher durability of softwood
pellets compared with hardwood pellets was also observed in other
studies (Masche et al., 2019, 2021). It should be noted that pellets with
higher mechanical durability can be more resistant to abrasion in
handling and transport because of the mechanical stress present during
these actions (Tang et al., 2018). This is a consequence of the higher
lignin content in softwood compared with hardwood. Lignin is a
biopolymer which acts as a particle binder in pellet production (Shang
et al., 2012). However, pellets obtained from SRWC hardwood can also
have satisfactory mechanical durability when produced under specific
process conditions. This parameter for pellets produced from willow
S. viminalis harvested in five-year and annual harvest rotations was
96.9% and 94.0%, respectively (Gehrig et al., 2019; Stolarski et al.,
2022b). The mechanical durability of pellets from poplar biomass
(bark+wood) ranged from 90% to 95% (Monedero et al., 2015; Stolarski
et al., 2022b).
The significantly highest bulk density (720.3 kg m–3) was measured
for pellets from silver birch, with a standard deviation of 10.5 kg m–3
(Fig. 3b, Table S1). The bulk density of pellets produced from forest-
derived second-grade biomass, i.e. from Scots pine, was significantly
lower (by approx. 72 kg m–3), but it still met the strictest criterion for
pellet classes according to the ISO, PFI and KFRI standards. Among the
pellets produced from SRWC biomass, the highest bulk density was
determined for that produced from black locust (675.9 kg m–3), fol­
lowed by willow and poplar. The highest standard deviation was
calculated for pellets produced from poplar wood (17.7 kg m–3).
Increasing the share of SRWC biomass from 25% through 50–75%
relative to Scots pine biomass resulted, in general, in an increase in the
bulk density of the pellets produced from those mixtures. In contrast, it
was different with mixtures of SRWC biomass with silver birch, as
increasing the share of SRWC biomass resulted in a decrease in the bulk
density of the obtained mixtures. Moreover, pellets from a mixture of
silver birch and SRWC biomass had a higher density (range
655–694 kg m–3) compared with the respective pellets produced from a
mixture with Scots pine biomass (range 643–669 kg m–3), although the
differences were not always statistically significant.
Despite this diversity, it must be stressed that the mean bulk density
of all the pellet types met the strictest criterion for the top pellet classes
according to the ISO, PFI and KFRI standards (Fig. 3b). The standard
deviation calculated for two pellet types (SP75 +P25 and SP75 +W25)
showed that there was a risk of failure to meet the lowest acceptable
value with respect to the PFI and KFRI standards by some of these pellets
and, in consequence, of the pellets not being classified into the highest
quality class. On the other hand, there was no such risk with respect to
the ISO standard. The bulk density of pellets from silver birch
(702 kg m–3) was also found to be higher than that from Scots pine
(671 kg m–3) in a different study (Stolarski et al., 2022a), although the
values were lower and higher, respectively, compared with this study.
The bulk density of pellets from Pinus spp. (647–650 kg m–3) was found
to be similar to the bulk density in the current study in different studies
conducted by Núñez-Retana et al. (2020) and Miranda et al. (2015). In
turn, pellets produced from annual shoots of willow and poplar had a
lower bulk density (523 and 499 kg m–3, respectively) (Stolarski et al.,
2022b) compared with the pellets from four-year shoots of these species
in the current study. The bulk density of pellets from poplar wood was
also lower than 500 kg m–3 in a different study (Monedero et al., 2015).
It should also be noted that apart from the properties of biomass from
7
Industrial Crops & Products 197 (2023) 116604
various plant species, pellet bulk density is affected by the raw material
moisture content (Lee et al., 2020), the method of its pretreatment
(Stolarski et al., 2022b), grinding degree and pressure in the pelletiza­
tion process (Poddar et al., 2014).
Pellets from Scots pine sawdust had the highest HHV – 20.73 MJ kg–1
d.m. (Fig. 3c; Table S2). The HHV of pellets from silver birch also
exceeded 20 MJ kg–1 d.m., but it was lower by approx. 3%. This
parameter lay within the range of 19.75–19.86 MJ kg–1 d.m. for SRWC
pellets, i.e. it was lower by 4–5% compared with the highest HHV
measured for pellets from Scots pine. Therefore, increasing the share of
SRWC biomass from 25% to 50% and to 75% relative to forest biomass
Scots pine and silver birch resulted, in general, in a decrease in the HHV
of the pellets produced from those mixtures, except for pellets
SB75 +P25 and SB75 +P50. The HHV of biomass mixtures from Scots
pine and SRWC decreased by 0.1–3.6%. The HHV decrease for mixtures
of silver birch with SRWC ranged from 0.8% to 2.0%, and it increased by
1% for SB75 +P25. The HHV of all the pellet types met the strict criteria
for pellet class according to KFRI (Fig. 3c). The HHV, as measured in the
current study, was significantly and positively correlated with carbon
content (0.59) and significantly negatively correlated with the contents
of ash (− 0.63), nitrogen (− 0.66), sulfur (− 0.74) and chlorine (− 0.37)
(Fig. 4).
While the positive correlation with carbon concentration and the
negative correlation with nitrogen content is of no surprise, the negative
correlation between HHV and sulfur content is definitely apparent
because it is generally accepted that HHV is correlated positively with
sulfur content (Tarasov et al., 2013). This information is important for
pellet production from biomass of nitrogen-fixing species, such as alder
(Temperton et al., 2003) or black locust (Redei et al., 2011), as this
would imply their potentially lower HHV. Pellets produced from black
locust biomass in this study had lower HHV compared with the other
SRWC species, but the differences were not statistically significant.
The HHV determined for pellets from softwood sawdust of Scots pine
was also the highest in a different study (Stolarski et al., 2022a) – 20.55
MJ kg–1 d.m., whereas this parameter for silver birch was lower by
nearly 1 MJ kg–1 d.m. Higher HHV determined for softwood pellets
(20.09 MJ kg–1 d.m.) compared with that from hardwood (18.59 MJ
kg–1 d.m.) was also demonstrated in other studies (Telmo and Lousada,
2011). High HHV was also determined for SRWC pellets produced from
annual shoots of poplar and willow, 19.89 and 19.75 MJ kg–1 d.m.,
respectively (Stolarski et al., 2022b), and the values were similar to
those determined in this study. Lower values of this parameter were
determined for pellets produced from three- and six-year shoots of black
locust, 19.19 and 19.68 MJ kg–1 d.m., respectively (Latterini et al.,
2022).
The pellet moisture content lay within a narrow range from 5.7% to
6.5%, and it was not statistically significantly differentiated between the
biomass types. Therefore, all pellet types met the strictest criterion laid
down in the ISO, KFRI, and PFI standards (Fig. 5a). The moisture content
in pellets from forest-derived biomass of Scots pine and silver birch was
slightly higher (7.4% and 8.5%, respectively) (Stolarski et al., 2022a).
Pellets from the biomass of willow (6.1%) and poplar (7.3%) contained
similar moisture levels (Stolarski et al., 2022b). This was similar (7.9%)
to pellets produced from a mixture of non-debarked shoots of two poplar
clones (Strandberg et al., 2019).
It should be noted that the moisture content in the starting material is
an important factor with a strong impact on the process of pelletization
and final moisture content, as well as the pellet quality (Samuelsson
et al., 2012). The use of starting materials of low moisture content
(5–10%) can result in more compact, stable and durable pellets
compared with those with high moisture content (15%) (Mani et al.,
2006). Commercial pellets usually have a moisture content ranging from
7% to 10% (Jachniak and Holubcik, 2015), and the wood processing
industry points out that the range can be expanded (Molenda et al.,
2021). It is important to note that a higher moisture content should not
solely be viewed negatively due to its impact on lower LHV. In fact, an
P. Stachowicz and M.J. Stolarski
Fig. 4. Pearson correlation coefficient between the studied features.
increase in moisture content (up to around 12%) can lead to improved
mechanical durability of pellets, enhancing the stability of the solid fuel
during transportation, handling, and storage (Filbakk et al., 2011).
When the moisture and hydrogen content in the pellets was taken
into account, LHV was found to reach at least 18.0 MJ kg–1 only for three
pellet types (SP, SP75 +P25, SP75 +W25) (Fig. 5b, Table S2). In
contrast, LHV for pellets produced from silver birch or SRWC biomass
ranged from 17.23 to 17.36 MJ kg–1 for black locust and silver birch, and
poplar, respectively. These values were lower by approx. 4% compared
with Scots pine pellet LHV. Increasing the share of SRWC biomass from
25% through 50–75% relative to Scots pine and silver birch biomass
resulted in a decrease in LHV of the pellets produced from those mix­
tures to up to 2.8% (except for SB75 +P25). The LHV for mixtures of
silver birch with SRWC decreased by up to 1.6%, and the LHV increased
by 1.6% and 0.7% for SB75 +P25 and SB50 +P50, respectively. The
LHV of all the pellet types met the strict criteria for pellet class A1
(≥16.5 MJ kg–1) according to the ISO standard (Fig. 5b).
The LHV determined for pellets from Scots pine was also the highest
of the seven pellet types as determined in a different study (17.69 MJ
kg–1 d.m.) (Stolarski et al., 2022a), whereas this parameter for silver
birch pellets was lower (16.58 MJ kg–1 d.m.). A higher silver birch pellet
LHV (17.87 MJ kg–1) was determined in a study in which the hydrogen
content was not included in calculating this parameter (Zawiślak et al.,
2020). The LHV of pellets produced from three-year shoots of willow
(SRWC) grown in Canada was lower (16.3 MJ kg–1), and the hydrogen
content was not taken into account in calculating this parameter (Dias
et al., 2017). Pellets from three-year poplar shoots had higher LHV
(17.67 MJ kg–1), which was also calculated without taking into account
the hydrogen content (Civitarese et al., 2019). The LHV of annual poplar
and willow shoots, with the hydrogen content taken into account, was
17.1 and 17.2 MJ kg–1, respectively (Stolarski et al., 2022b). In general,
all things considered, pellets from forest-derived wood have higher LHV
compared with SRWC, which was also reported by Dias et al. (2017).
When bulk density was taken into account, the highest energy den­
sity (12.51 GJ m–3) was found for pellets from silver birch (Table S2). A
value exceeding 12 GJ m–3 was calculated only for the SB75 +P25 mixed
pellets. This parameter lay within the range of 11.52–11.67 GJ m–3 for
the other four types of pure forest-derived and SRWC biomass. The en­
ergy density for mixtures of Scots pine and SRWC biomass lay within the
range of 11.55–11.82 GJ m–3 and ranged from 11.35 to 11.98 GJ m–3 for
mixtures with silver birch.
The lowest energy density (13.07 GJ m–3) was determined for pellets
from Norway spruce (Stolarski et al., 2022a). This parameter was lower
for Scots pine and silver birch in the cited paper (11.86 and 11.64 GJ
m–3, respectively). Therefore, compared with this study, the value was
8
Industrial Crops & Products 197 (2023) 116604
lower for silver birch and slightly higher for Scots pine. Miranda et al.
(2015) determined the energy density of pellets from sawdust of Pinus
sp. to be 11.50 GJ m-3, which is similar to that made from sawdust of
Scots pine and their mixtures with SRWC in the current study. In the
cited study, pellets from vine shoots had a lower energy density, 10.93
GJ m–3. Jiang et al. (2016) report much higher energy density for pellets
from softwood and hardwood – 16.36 and 16.66 GJ m–3, respectively.
However, the authors in the previous study used energy density based on
HHV and pellet proper density instead of LHV and bulk density, leading
to higher results. As a result, their findings cannot be directly compared
with those of the current study.
Pellets from the biomass of all SRWC species contained highly
significantly more ash compared with forest-derived biomass (Fig. 5c,
Table S3). The highest value of this parameter (1.85% d.m.) was found
in black locust pellets. The other two pellet types from SRWC, i.e. poplar
and willow, contained less ash (by 3.8% and 14.6%, respectively). The
ash content in pellets from silver birch (0.4% d.m.) and Scots pine
(0.19% d.m.) was lower by up to 78% and 90%, respectively, compared
with black locust. Therefore, increasing the share of SRWC biomass from
25% through 50–75% relative to Scots pine and silver birch biomass
resulted in a higher ash content in the pellets produced from those
mixtures. This was an increase by as much as 332–742% in mixtures of
Scots pine and black locust, by 237–616% in mixtures with poplar and
by 200–489% in mixtures with willow. The addition of black locust
biomass to silver birch sawdust caused the ash content in the pellets to
increase by 76–278%, by 85–258% in mixtures with poplar, and by
75–173% in mixtures with willow. Therefore, this condition was met
only by four pellet types, i.e. Scots pine, silver birch, SP75 +W25 and
SP75 +P25, with respect to the strict criteria (≤0.7% d.m.) for pellet
classes A1 according to the ISO standard and Grade 1 according to KFRI,
as the mean ash content and the standard deviations did not exceed
0.7% d.m. (Fig. 5c). Furthermore, an analysis of the standard deviations
indicated that another three pellet types: SB75 +BL25, SB75 +P25 and
SB75 +W25, could meet this criterion under certain conditions,
although the mean ash content in them was equal to or slightly higher
than 0.7% d.m. When the ash content was referred to the less strict PFI
standard, 11 out of the 23 produced pellet types would be included in
the Premium class (≤1.0%) (Fig. 5c).
Pellets produced from annual willow and poplar shoots contained
slightly more ash (1.62% and 1.94% d.m., respectively) (Stolarski et al.,
2022b) compared with those examined in the current study, which can
be attributed to the younger age of SRWC shoots and, consequently,
higher bark share, which results in higher ash content. Furthermore,
pellets produced from biomass of willow S. viminalis SRWC, obtained in
a five-year harvest rotation, contained 1.6% d.m. of ash (Gehrig et al.,
P. Stachowicz and M.J. Stolarski Industrial Crops & Products 197 (2023) 116604

Fig. 5. Moisture content (a), lower heating value (b) and ash content (c) of the pellets under study, as referred to the three strictest pellet classes: A1, Premium and
Grade 1, in the quality standards, respectively: ISO, PFI and KFRI.

2019), which was very similar to the ash content in the pellets from (Latterini et al., 2022). The ash content in pellets from forest-derived
willow biomass as measured in the current study. Lower values of this biomass of Scots pine (0.37% d.m.), as determined in a different study
feature were also determined for pellets produced from three- and (Stolarski et al., 2022a), was higher, and for silver birch, it was com­
six-year black locust plants (1.30% and 1.00% d.m., respectively) parable to the findings of the current study. More diverse ash contents in

9
P. Stachowicz and M.J. Stolarski
pellets from the biomass of both of these species (0.27% and 0.77% d.m.,
respectively) were found in a different study (Dubodelova et al., 2012).
High ash content (0.60–0.81% d.m.) was also found in pellets from
P. sylvestris wood from China (Oh et al., 2014).
Pellets from silver birch sawdust contained the highest level of vol­
atile matter (80.56% d.m.), with the consequently lowest fixed carbon
content (19.04% d.m.) (Table S3). These parameters, as determined for
pellets from Scots pine, were 80.12% d.m. and 19.69% d.m., respec­
tively. Pellets from SRWC biomass contained lower volatile matter levels
(77.61–78.24% d.m.) and higher fixed carbon levels (20.18–20.55% d.
m.) compared with pellets from forest-derived biomass. Further, the
volatile matter content in pellets from mixtures of forest-derived and
agricultural biomass lay within the range of 77.53–79.79% d.m., and
that of fixed carbon ranged from (19.47–20.87% d.m.). A higher volatile
matter content and lower fixed carbon content compared with pellets
from Scots pine was also found in other studies (Stolarski et al., 2022a).
Similar volatile matter (79.93% d.m.) and fixed carbon (19.85% d.
m.) content to the levels determined in the cited study were found in
different pellet types from softwood (Nhuchhen and Afzal, 2017). Pellets
from the biomass of annual willow and poplar shoots (Stolarski et al.,
2022b) contained lower levels of volatile matter compared with the
current study. Furthermore, high volatile matter content (82.09% d.m.),
higher than in each of the pellet types produced in the current study, was
determined in pellets from wood and bark of Norway spruce (Holubcik
et al. (2016).
3.2. Elemental composition
Pellets from forest-derived biomass of Scots pine and silver birch
contained significantly higher carbon levels and significantly lower ni­
trogen and sulfur levels compared with pellets from the biomass of
SRWC (black locust, poplar and willow) (Table S4). An analysis of
various element level diversity in the biofuels under study showed the
pellets from Scots pine to contain the significantly largest amounts of
carbon (58.40% d.m.). Equally high levels of this element were found in
pellets from silver birch. In contrast, the carbon content in pellets from
SRWC biomass was lower compared with that from Scots pine by
6.6–8.9% for poplar and black locust, respectively. Therefore, increasing
the share of SRWC biomass from 25% through 50–75% relative to Scots
pine and silver birch biomass resulted in lower carbon content in the
pellets produced from those mixtures. This was a decrease of 2.0–7.8%
in the case of mixtures of Scots pine and black locust, by 1.4–7.4% in
mixtures with poplar, and by 1.0–7.6% in mixtures with willow. The
addition of black locust biomass to silver birch biomass caused the
carbon content in the pellets to decrease by 2.2–8.1%, by 1.8–5.2% in
mixtures with poplar, and by 2.2–8.2% in mixtures with willow.
The carbon content as determined in pellets from Scots pine and
silver birch in a different study (Stolarski et al., 2022a) was lower
(55.5% and 52.1% d.m.) compared with the findings of the current
study. An even lower carbon content (50.67% d.m.) was found in pellets
from Norway spruce wood with bark (Holubcik et al., 2016). Further,
pellets from annual willow and poplar shoots (Stolarski et al., 2022b)
contained ca. 53–54% d.m. C, which was similar to the levels found in
pellets from these species in the current study. In contrast, pellets from
S. viminalis SRWC obtained in a five-year harvest rotation were found to
contain less C (50.7% d.m.) (Gehrig et al., 2019).
Regarding the hydrogen content, the 22 pellet types were found to
contain hydrogen at levels exceeding 6% d.m., with SP25 +P75 being
the only pellet type with a hydrogen content below this value (5.94% d.
m.) (Table S4). The highest hydrogen content (6.7% d.m.) was deter­
mined in pellets from silver birch. It was also found in other studies that
six pellet types from woody biomass contained more than 6% d.m. of the
element, with pellets from Quercus robur being the only type with levels
below 6% (5.8% d.m.) (Stolarski et al., 2022a). The hydrogen content, as
determined in the cited study in pellets from Scots pine and silver birch
(6.1–6.2% d.m.), was lower than in the current study. Similar H content
10
Industrial Crops & Products 197 (2023) 116604
(approx. 6.2% d.m.) was also found in other pellet types from forest tree
biomass (Santana et al., 2020; Kang et al., 2017). Lower H levels (5.9%
d.m.) were found in pellets from Korean mixed wood sawdust (Lee et al.,
2018). Further, pellets from annual willow and poplar shoots (Stolarski
et al., 2022b) contained 6.1–6.2% d.m. H, which was similar to the
levels found in pellets from these species in this study. In contrast, pellets
from S. viminalis were found to contain more H (6.6% d.m.) in a different
study (Gehrig et al., 2019).
The lowest nitrogen content was found in pellets from Scots pine
(0.09% d.m.) (Fig. 6a, Table S4). It was higher by 122% than the other
pellets from forest-derived biomass. The nitrogen content was still
higher in pellets from the biomass of SRWC willow and poplar, by 456%
and 467%, respectively, compared with pellets from Scots pine. The
nitrogen content in the third pellet from SRWC biomass, i.e. in black
locust, was the significantly highest (1.00% d.m.), which means that it
was higher by up to 1011% compared with Scots pine. Therefore,
increasing the share of SRWC biomass from 25% and 50–75% relative to
Scots pine and silver birch biomass resulted in a higher nitrogen content
in the pellets produced from those mixtures. It was an increase by as
much as 278–789% in mixtures of Scots pine and black locust, by
88–289% in mixtures with poplar and by 78–322% in mixtures with
willow.
The addition of black locust biomass to silver birch sawdust caused
the nitrogen content in the pellets to grow by 90–305%, by 30–80% in
mixtures with poplar, and by 45–85% in mixtures with willow. There­
fore, this condition was met by nine pellet types, i.e. Scots pine, silver
birch, SP75 +W25, SP50 +W50, SP75 +P25, SP50 +P50, SB75 +P25,
SB50 +P50 and SB75 +W25, with respect to the strictest criterion
(≤0.3% d.m.) for pellet classes A1 according to ISO and Grade 1 ac­
cording to KFRI, as the mean nitrogen content and the standard de­
viations did not exceed 0.3% d.m. (Fig. 6a). This was correlated
positively and significantly with the content of ash, sulfur and chlorine
and with the fine fraction, and correlated significantly negatively with
the carbon and volatile matter content, HHV, LHV and mechanical
durability (Fig. 4).
The lowest N content was also found in sawdust from Pinus spp.,
including pellets from Scots pine, in a different study (Stolarski et al.,
2022a), and it was the same level as found in the current study. The
nitrogen content, as determined in the cited study in pellets from silver
birch (0.16% d.m.), was lower than in the current study. Further, pellets
from annual willow (0.56%) and poplar (0.73%) shoots (Stolarski et al.,
2022b) contained more N than found in pellets from these species in the
current study. A similar N content (0.54% d.m.) was found in pellets
from five-year willow shoots (Gehrig et al., 2019).
The lowest sulfur content was found in pellets from Scots pine
(0.007% d.m.) (Fig. 6b, Table S4). The relationships with respect to the
sulfur content in the pellets under study were similar to those for ni­
trogen, although the percentage differences between the pellet types
were mostly smaller. The sulfur content was higher by 71% in the second
pellets from forest-derived biomass. Further, this value was still higher
in pellets from SRWC biomass (poplar, willow and black locust) by
243%, 271% and 400%, respectively, compared with pellets from Scots
pine. Therefore, increasing the share of SRWC biomass from 25% and
50–75% relative to Scots pine and silver birch biomass resulted in a
higher sulfur content in the pellets produced from those mixtures. This
was an increase of up to 129–314% in mixtures of Scots pine and black
locust, 57–114% in mixtures with poplar and 86–271% in mixtures with
willow. The addition of black locust biomass to silver birch biomass
caused the ash content in the pellets to increase by 33–167%, by up to
117% in mixtures with poplar and by 50–142% in mixtures with willow.
Therefore, this condition was met by all the pellet types produced in this
study with respect to the strictest criterion for pellet classes A1 (≤0.04%
d.m.) according to ISO and Grade 1 (≤0.05% d.m.) according to KFRI.
6b). The sulfur content in the pellets was significantly and positively
correlated with the content of nitrogen (0.80), ash (0.75), the fine
fraction (0.63) and chlorine (0.40) (Fig. 4). However, a negative
P. Stachowicz and M.J. Stolarski Industrial Crops & Products 197 (2023) 116604

Fig. 6. The content of nitrogen (a), sulfur (b) and chlorine (c) in the studied pellets for the three highest pellet classes A1, Premium and Grade 1 in the quality
standards: ISO, PFI and KFRI, respectively.

correlation was found between the content of sulfur, carbon, mechanical the findings of the current study. Further, pellets from annual willow
durability, HHV, LHV and volatile matter (from − 0.61 to − 0.74). (0.043%) and poplar (0.049%) shoots (Stolarski et al., 2022b) contained
The sulfur content as determined in pellets from Scots pine and silver twice as much S as found in pellets from these species in this study. An
birch sawdust in a different study (Stolarski et al., 2022a) was similar to even higher S content (0.067% d.m.) was found in a different pellet type

11
P. Stachowicz and M.J. Stolarski
from S. viminalis biomass (Gehrig et al., 2019). In general, pellets from
SRWC biomass contained more S compared with pellets from
forest-derived wood.
The chlorine content in pellets from forest-derived biomass (0.015%
d.m.) was lower by 27–40% compared with that found in pellets from
SRWC biomass (for poplar and black locust, respectively) (Fig. 6c,
Table S4). The chlorine content in pellets from a mixture of Scots pine
and SRWC biomass was higher by 7–33% compared with the chlorine
content in pellets from Scots pine alone. The differences reached 47% in
pellets from a mixture of silver birch and SRWC biomass. Despite these
differences, and considering the mean Cl content, 21 pellet types were
found to meet the requirements with respect to the strictest criterion for
pellet class A1 according to ISO (≤0.02% d.m.) (Fig. 6c). Eight pellet
types were close to the upper limit and, taking into account the standard
deviation, in some cases, theoretically, this value could be higher. This
criterion was not met by pellets from black locust biomass or
SB25 +BL75.
All of the pellet types met the requirements regarding the chlorine
content with respect to the strictest criterion for pellet class Premium
according to PFI (≤0.03% d.m.) and for pellet class Grade 1 according to
KFRI (≤0.05% d.m.) (Fig. 6c). The mean chlorine content in seven pellet
types from forest-derived wood sawdust, as determined in a different
study, was 0.016% d.m. (Stolarski et al., 2022a), i.e. it was comparable
to the findings of the current study. The chlorine content, as determined
in the cited study, was lower in pellets from Scots pine and silver birch.
Further, pellets from willow and poplar biomass (Stolarski et al., 2022b)
contained less Cl, and pellets from willow biomass analyzed in a
different study (Gehrig et al., 2019) contained more Cl compared with
the levels found in the current study in pellets from these species. A
higher Cl content was found in pellets from driftwood (0.42% d.m.)
(Bartocci et al., 2017).
3.3. General characteristics of pellets
Cluster analysis showed the pellets under study to be classified into
two different clusters at the cut-off of 2/3 Dmax (Fig. 7a). One cluster
contained 14 pellet types, including two types made from forest-derived
biomass of Scots pine and silver birch, seven types made from a mixture
of Scots pine and 25–50% willow, poplar, or black locust and five types
made from a mixture of silver birch with 25–50% willow, poplar, or
black locust. The second cluster included nine pellet types, with three
pellet types from agricultural SRWC biomass of willow, poplar and black
locust and six pellet types from biomass mixtures containing a larger
(75% and 50%) share of SRWC species biomass. Further, five clusters
were identified among the 23 pellet types at the cut-off of 1/3 Dmax. Five
pellet types made up one cluster, including those from Scots pine and
Fig. 7. The dendrogram of a hierarchical cluster analysis showing the similarities between pellets (a) and their properties (b). The red vertical line marks the Sneath
criterion (2/3 Dmax) and (1/3 Dmax). D – linage distance; Dmax – maximum linage distance.
12
Industrial Crops & Products 197 (2023) 116604
from a mixture of Scots pine with 25% of willow or poplar or black locust
and with a 50% share of poplar. The second cluster comprised another
five pellet types, including a mixture of Scots pine with 50% of willow or
black locust and a 75% share of willow and a mixture of silver birch with
a 50% share of willow or poplar. The third cluster comprised pellets
from silver birch biomass and from a mixture of silver birch biomass
with a 25% share of willow or black locust or poplar. The fourth cluster
comprised five pellet types, including three from SRWC biomass alone
and from a mixture of Scots pine with 75% of poplar or black locust. The
fifth cluster comprised four pellet types, including all from a mixture of
silver birch with a 50% share of black locust and a 75% share of each of
the three SRWC species. Two clusters were isolated for the pellet quality
parameters at the cut-off of 2/3 Dmax and three clusters at the cut-off of
1/3 Dmax (Fig. 7b). In the latter case, one cluster comprised length, fine
fraction, fixed carbon, ash, sulfur, nitrogen and chlorine content. The
second cluster included bulk density, energy density, moisture content,
volatile matter, carbon and hydrogen content. The third cluster
comprised mechanical durability, HHV and LHV.
Table S5 shows the requirements for 13 pellet classes according to
the ISO standards (six classes: A1, A2, B, I1, I2, I3), PFI (three classes:
Premium, Standard, Utility) and KFRI (four classes: Grade 1, Grade 2,
Grade 3, Grade 4). As shown above, referring the parameters of the
pellets under study to the strictest classes (A1, Premium and Grade 1) is
presented in the main manuscript in Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 5 and Fig. 6.
Tables S6–S28 show the parameters of the pellets under study in refer­
ence to the other ten pellet classes in each of the three standards: ISO,
PFI and KFRI. Meeting or failure to meet a specific criterion was counted
in the arithmetic means obtained for individual pellet types.
It should be noted that when referring to the strictest model in the
standards (Table S5), only pellets from a biomass mixture SP75 +P25
had all the parameters under study (considering the mean values)
meeting the strictest criterion for pellet classes – A1 (ISO), Premium
(PFI), Grade 1 (KFRI). When it comes to class A1 according to ISO and
Grade 1 according to KFRI, all the parameters of three pellet types (Scots
pine, SP75 +P25, SP75 +P25) met them, with the ash content being the
main limiting factor. Four pellet types met the criterion for the Premium
class (PFI): SP50 +BL50, SP75 +P25, SP50 +W50, and SP25 +W75,
with the share of the fine fraction being the limiting factor. The standard
for the Premium class was the strictest standard for the pellet types in
this study (especially because of the low level of the share of the fine
fraction), although it standardized the smallest number of features
(Table S5). Further, standards for classes A1 (ISO) and Grade 1 (KFRI)
were restrictive for the pellets in this study because of the low ash
content. However, one must add that all 23 pellet types met the re­
quirements regarding the maximum diameter, moisture content, length,
and sulfur content, as well as the minimum bulk density, HHV and LHV.
P. Stachowicz and M.J. Stolarski
When it comes to meeting the less stringent requirements of the ISO,
PFI, and KFRI standards, pellets made from Scots pine (as seen in
Table S6) fulfilled all of them. Pellets from silver birch did not meet the
requirements for five classes with respect to the share of the fine fraction
(Table S7). Pellets from black locust did not meet the requirements for
several classes with respect to mechanical durability, the share of fine
fraction, ash, nitrogen and chlorine content (Table S8). Pellets from
poplar (Table S9) and willow (Table S10) did not meet the requirements
for several classes with respect to the share of fine fraction, ash and
nitrogen content. Pellets from a mixture of Scots pine and black locust
did not meet the requirements for several classes, mainly with respect to
nitrogen and ash content (Table S11–S13). Pellets SP75 +P25 and
SP50 +P50 met all the requirements (Table S14–S15), and SP25 +P75
pellets did not meet the requirements for four classes with respect to
nitrogen and ash content (Table S16). It was similar for pellets from a
mixture of various portions of Scots pine and willow biomass, as pellets
SP75 +W25 and SP50 +W50 met all the requirements (Table S17–S18),
and SP25 +W75 pellets did not meet the requirements for two classes
with respect to nitrogen and ash content (Table S19).
Pellets from a mixture of silver birch and black locust did not meet
the requirements for several classes, mainly with respect to the share of
fine fraction, mechanical durability, nitrogen, ash and chlorine content
(Table S20–S22). Pellets SB75 +P25 and SB50 +P50 did not meet the
requirements for several classes with respect to the share of fine fraction
(Table S23–S24), and SB25 +P75 pellets did not meet the requirements
for several classes with respect to the share of fine fraction, mechanical
durability, nitrogen and ash content (Table S25). SB75 +W25 pellets did
not meet the requirements for several classes with respect to the share of
fine fraction (Table S26), SB50 +W50 pellets did not meet the re­
quirements for several classes with respect to the share of fine fraction
and nitrogen content (Table S27), and SB25 +W75 pellets did not meet
the requirements for several classes with respect to the share of fine
fraction, mechanical durability and nitrogen content (Table S28). To
sum up, one should stress that there was not a pellet which did not meet
the requirements for any class of the three standards under analysis.
Moreover, in general, all the pellets met the conditions of most of the 13
pellet classes indicated by the three standards under analysis. Therefore,
the production of pellets from forest-derived wood sawdust, as well as
from SRWC and from mixtures of these two biomass types, is possible.
Obviously, it is very important whether the conditions for a specific class
according to a specific standard are or are not met, as this will determine
the market price of the produced pellets, which, in turn, will affect the
economic effectiveness of the process.
4. Conclusions
This study confirmed that the production of pellets from a mixture of
biomass from forest-derived wood and from an SRWC plantation is
possible and justified. It was found that not only pellets from forest-
derived sawdust (Scots pine and silver birch, which are now the main
raw materials) had favorable thermophysical properties and elemental
composition, but also an addition of SRWC biomass (willow, poplar,
black locust) to the sawdust allowed for the production of pellets which
met the requirements of quality standards for pellets: ISO, PFI and KFRI.
However, one should add that the quality of the pellets from biomass
mixtures deteriorated (mainly with respect to the content of ash, ni­
trogen, sulfur and chlorine) with an increasing share of SRWC biomass
relative to forest-derived wood sawdust. Nevertheless, this study has
shown that SRWC biomass is a high-quality material, and it has the
potential to supplement and expand the supply of materials that can be
used in pellet production while maintaining the selected quality features
of this solid biofuel. Obviously, it must be pointed out that due to the
diversity of and difference between SRWC biomass and forest-derived
biomass, an addition of 25% of willow or poplar biomass to Scots pine
helped to maintain the quality features of the produced pellets at the
highest level laid down in the quality standards. Therefore, when
13
Industrial Crops & Products 197 (2023) 116604
referring only to class A1 according to ISO and Grade 1 according to
KFRI, three pellet types met the requirements: Scots pine, SP75 +P25,
and SP75 +W25. One should stress that when referring to the strictest
criterion in the ISO (A1 class), PFI (Premium class), KFRI (Grade 1)
standards, only pellets from a biomass mixture (SP75 +P25) had all the
parameters under study meeting the strictest criterion for pellet classes
in these standards, with the share of the fine fraction being the limiting
factor. Moreover, there was not a pellet among the 23 types produced
which did not meet the requirements for any class of the three standards
under analysis. Therefore, the analyses and findings presented here can
provide grounds for taking SRWC biomass into consideration in creating
mixtures with forest-derived woody biomass in pellet production, which
would be important for both pellet producers and end users of this very
important solid biofuel. However, it will be a necessary step in com­
plementing this study to conduct an analysis of the economic, energy-
related and environmental effectiveness of production and the end use
of pellets produced from a mixture of SRWC biomass with sawdust from
forest-derived wood.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Paweł Stachowicz: Conceptualization; Methodology; Validation;
Formal analysis; Investigation; Resources; Data curation; Writing –
original draft; Writing – review & editing; Visualization; Project
administration; Mariusz Jerzy Stolarski: Conceptualization; Method­
ology; Validation; Formal analysis; Investigation; Resources; Data
curation; Writing – original draft; Writing – review & editing; Supervi­
sion; Funding acquisition.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Data Availability
Data will be made available on request.
Acknowledgements
This research is the result of a study carried out at the University of
Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry,
Department of Genetics, Plant Breeding and Bioresource Engineering,
topic number 30.610.007-110. We would also like to thank the staff of
the Department of Genetics, Plant Breeding and Bioresource Engineer­
ing and the Quercus Sp. z o.o. for their technical support during the
experiment. Paweł Stachowicz is a participant in the third edition pro­
gram of the “Industrial doctorate” supported by the Ministry of Educa­
tion and Science, contract number DWD/3/19/2019.
Appendix A. Supporting information
Supplementary data associated with this article can be found in the
online version at doi:10.1016/j.indcrop.2023.116604.
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