Bandit Industries Introduces Sawdust Processing Technology

Bandit Industries, based in Remus, Mich., has introduced a new technology that allows a ¼”-minus sawdust-type material, known as bio-sawdust, to be produced from debarked round wood in a single pass. The company says benefits of this new system include greater fuel efficiency, higher production levels in pellet mills and the potential for expansion into biofuel and bioelectricity production.

Because the process used to produce bio-sawdust is a cutting action, as opposed the beating action used in hogs and hammermills, far less energy is consumed in producing the fine material, the company says. When using Bandit’s diesel-powered Beast, up to three tons of material can be produced per gallon of diesel fuel consumed. 

Additionally, the wood fibers are cut, not fractured. Pellet operations report that this type of material packs much more efficiently into the pellet dies, yielding greater production, according to the release. Pellet operations in British Columbia, Canada, receiving material from the Beast are reporting a 10 to 12 percent increase in production at the pellet mills when running material from the Beast compared to other grinders, Bandit says.

In another application, a stationary unit with electric power is regrinding all of the material that comes to the pelleting operation before the material goes to the hog. By using the cutting system in the Beast, the amount of energy required to size the material is also reduced, according to the release. 

The chipping application is ideal when the material is relatively clean and free of stone and dirt.  Producing fine material is also possible when processing dirtier materials, such as the material found in raked slash piles. Carbide cutting teeth and/or splitting teeth are used for these applications, which Bandit says are far more efficient tools for processing the materials than a grinding tooth because of the cutting characteristics of these two teeth. The material produced is much more uniform in size and finer in consistency than the material from a typical grinder, but larger than the bio-sawdust chip, the company adds. 

The secret to producing bio-sawdust is in the unique, patented design of the cutterbody in the Beast Recyclers. The cutterbody is shaped like a sawtooth on a chain saw, which enables the chipping system to make a precise, regulated cut. The material entering the Beast is also controlled by the infeed system, which forwards material to the cutting system at the exact speed required to produce the desired chip length. The screening system keeps end-cuts and slivers inside the chamber until the material is properly sized.  When producing bio-sawdust, Bandit says the chipping operation generally yields better than 95 percent acceptable material in one pass. Similar results are achieved in regrind applications when processing chips and hogged material, the company adds.

If Bandit’s predictions are accurate, bio-sawdust will also likely find its way into biofuel production. Given its unique size and shape, bio-sawdust will break down faster than other feedstocks in the production of cellulosic ethanol, and carbon-based biofuel plants will also benefit from bio-sawdust’s ability to break down rapidly, thus speeding up the gasification process, the company says.

Beast Recyclers have larger openings than what are commonly found in whole tree chippers, allowing them to process larger diameter material and simplifying feeding. Thus, over-sized material and cull logs can easily be converted into biomass fuel without splitting.

More information is available at www.banditchippers.com.