Chomper vs chipper

[boreality]

Biomass/branch debris balers are being developed and produced for forestry. Something to watch. I'm going to have a industrial biomass generator in my area starting and I could possibly sell my debris to them.

Ideally a small bailer right under the tree would be the solution. A bale the size of a square straw bale would be easy to handle.

Don't tell me let me guess you TCIA guys have already read 5 articles on this.



http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&...O6Bz3Ec1MnOUcRA

That's one example. Timberjack/JD has one as well.

 

[nuthin_special]

I don't see it. How could baling be more efficient than chipping at any end of the biomass chain? Everything the forestry sector does to process biomass is geared towards chipped debris to flow through drying and burning systems. Seems like a lot of handling to deal with those bales as opposed to dumping and scooping chips.

I guess I'm missing something.

Vince

 

[SumoClimber]

I've been following/researching alternative energy since the mid nineties, especially with biomass. I like the idea of the balers, especially in a forestry clearing application. I had the opportunity to see a demo of the JD/Timberjack 1490, pretty impressive machine, especially in the pine plantation we were in. They used a feller/buncher to take the tree down and strip it of limbs, then the 1490 came in and picked up nearly all of the cut branches in short order.


Nut, I think that with most of these systems the bale would still wind up being chipped/shredded, the difference being that the baler/biomass system would do the chipping at the plant or the plant's processing center. In many cases, the bales, chips, etc that come into the processing plant are shredded down to sawdust and run through a pelletizer. The reasoning behind this is to provide a uniform and consistent feedstock.

 

[boreality]

Learned my lesson when the Harley Owners Group rolled by with 500 I'm guessing loud harleys and I couldn't hear them over the chipper. Could be less maintenance with a baler and possibly safer.