Sizing

Technology
Technology details
Name:	Sizing
Category:	Pre-processing
Feedstock:	straws, wood, wastes
Product:	Flowable small-sized biomass

Sizing is a mechanical process to change the size of a material to use it in a conversion process. This normally means that a base feedstock with bigger parts is reduced to smaller pieces, which makes the biomass easier to handle and allows it to flow. Sizing includes chipping, extrusion, grinding, and milling as base technologies.

Feedstock

Origin and composition

Sizing is a pre-treatment technology for nearly all materials that consist of large particles like straws, wood pieces, plant fibres and other materials. It is needed to prepare smaller particles that can be processed in further steps.

Pre-treatment

Sizing is often performed as a first step in the process and requires no other pre-treatment. It is, however, not uncommon to first perform a coarse grinding before further grinding the biomass into smaller particles.

Process and technologies

Sizing technologies normally are divided into chipping or grinding technologies:

Milling

Some interesting links:

https://books.google.be/books?id=S8iHDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA47&lpg=PA47&dq=milling+preprocessing&source=bl&ots=xNCh8umufx&sig=ACfU3U1n6Nybja0bjwhCbFMByRnEx5NFyA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi1x6KE7vT0AhVtQEEAHRHYAjM4ChDoAXoECBUQAw#v=onepage&q=milling%20preprocessing&f=false

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29499610/

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b01186

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13399-021-01800-7

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2588912518300067

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b01186

Chipping

For chipping normally a chipper machine is used that consists of sharp cutting knives, that slice bigger parts into smaller chips. This is used e.g. for wood materials, straws, mixed garden residues and other feedstock that can be cut by a knife. Chippers are susceptible to knife wear from high soil content, metal contamination, rocks and stone, so the base feedstock normally needs to be cleaned before chipping.

Grinding

For grinding normally a grinder is used that cracks bigger parts into smaller particles. Grinding is achieved by shearing and/or friction and the grinding effect is achieved by multiple comminution in an increasingly narrowing grinding gap, which can usually be varied by axial displacement of a rotor or stator.

Extrusion

Some interesting links:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128035818120983

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9781884207587500217

https://www.ift.org/news-and-publications/food-technology-magazine/issues/2017/july/columns/processing-extrusion-and-applications-in-food-industry

Product

Products of sizing processes are chips, small particles or meals that can be directly used in a following process.

Technology providers

Technology comparison

Company name	Country	Technology category	Technology name	TRL	Capacity [kg/h]	Cooling system available	Feedstock: Food waste	Feedstock: Garden & park waste
Company 1	[Country HQ location]	[Technology category (if different sub-categories are defined this has to be specified here, the available categories can be found on each technology page under the chapter Process and technologies)]	[Technology name (the "branded name" or the usual naming from company side)]	[4-9]	[numeric value]	●	●	●
Company 2	[Country HQ location]	[(if different sub-categories are defined this has to be specified here, the available categories can be found on each technology page under the chapter Process and technologies)]	[Technology name (the "branded name" or the usual naming from company side)]	[4-9]	[numeric value]	●	●	●

Company 1

Sizing provider

General information
Company:
Country:
Contact:
Webpage:
Technology and process details
Technology name:		Technology category:	Pre-processing (Physical processes and technologies), Post-processing (Physical processes and technologies)
TRL:		Capacity:	kg·h-1
Size (feedstock):	(LxWxH) [mm]	Size (product):	(LxWxH) [mm]
		Other:
Feedstock and product details
Feedstock:		Product:

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Patents

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