Sunflower Shell Pellet Machine
Introduction to the Sunflower Shell Pellet Machine
Market research indicates that sunflower shell pelleting machines can increase product value by 30%-100% or more by pressing loose sunflower shells into compact sunflower kernels. Previously, sunflower shells, a waste product from oil extraction, were simply burned. This not only pollutes the environment but, more importantly, consumes a significant amount of manpower, making it a completely unprofitable method.
Now, sunflower shell pelleting machines have discovered the commercial value of sunflower seeds. As a highly automated pelleting device, it can quickly and continuously produce firm, cylindrical pellets. The pressed pellets are small in size and high in density, making them ideal for combustion. They can be widely used in industrial combustion, energy supply, and many other fields.
RICHI Machinery is a professional manufacturer of pelleting equipment. We have designed various waste pelleting production lines for over 140 countries worldwide. Please feel free to contact us if you have any pelleting needs.
Advantages of using a sunflower shell pellet machine to produce sunflower shell pellets
Sunflower shell pelletizing machines truly utilize sunflower shells. The compression and pelleting process changes more than just their shape. More importantly, the reduced volume and increased density make sunflower shell pellets more suitable for long-distance transportation and storage. Simultaneously, the calorific value per unit area can be increased more than tenfold. Therefore, purchasing a sunflower shell pelletizing machine is a highly profitable investment for oil processing plants, agricultural cooperatives, and biomass fuel producers.
The table below provides a more intuitive understanding of the high value of sunflower seed shells:
| Material | Ash Content | Bulk Density | Moisture Content | Heating Value |
| Sunflower Husk | 2%–4% | 80–150 kg/m³ | 8%–15% | 4.3–4.5 kWh/kg |
| Sunflower Husk Pellets | 2%–4% | 550–700 kg/m³ | 6%–10% | 4.5–5.2 kWh/kg |
- As the table shows, sunflower hull pellets have a calorific value as high as 4.5–5.2 kWh/kg. This figure is comparable to that of coal. To put it more directly, the heat released by burning one ton of high-quality sunflower hull pellets is equivalent to the heat produced by approximately 500–650 cubic meters of natural gas or 0.7–0.9 tons of standard coal. This type of fuel has the potential to become a viable alternative to traditional energy sources.
- These fuel pellets are a clean energy source. During combustion, they do not produce large amounts of sulfur dioxide or ash. In short, sunflower shell pellets, as fuel, not only do not pollute the environment , but also reduce the manpower required for residue disposal.
- The pellets are small and very strong. More fuel pellets can be loaded at once, and they won’t easily break during loading and unloading. This ensures that every batch of pellets shipped to the market meets the highest standards.
- After a series of processes including drying, granulation, and cooling, the resulting granules have a moisture content of only about 8%. Dried sunflower shell granules have a longer shelf life and will not mold. This advantage is particularly significant for manufacturers that need to produce and sell in large quantities.
- They offer high returns. Sunflower shells are often considered waste, so you can obtain this raw material at a relatively low or even free price. This significantly reduces production costs, allowing you to generate greater profits.
Sunflower husks contain lignin—a natural binder—which is crucial for successful pelleting. This means that other raw materials with similar properties, such as peanut shells, straw, and sawdust, are also suitable for pelletizing sunflower husks.
Working principle of sunflower shell pellet machine
Since sunflower shells have extremely high commercial value, how can a sunflower husk pellet mill be used to produce high-quality pellets? The process mainly involves three steps: feeding→pelleting→cutting.
Sunflower shell raw materials enter the pelleting hopper through a forced feeding system. Pressure rollers drive the ring die to rotate, creating a compression space between them and continuously compacting the material.
When the material exits the ring die holes, it has formed a compacted cylindrical strip. At this point, cutters on both sides of the ring die quickly cut it into sunflower shell pellets of 4-12mm.
Technical advantages of sunflower shell pellet machine
Our sunflower shell pellet machine can continuously and efficiently produce sunflower shell pellets. This is thanks to a series of improvements and upgrades made by RICHI Machinery specifically to the characteristics of sunflower shell raw materials, including feed uniformity, wear resistance, and pressing strength. Here, you don’t need to worry about product quality. All our equipment has passed the stringent international CE and ISO standards, ensuring long-term operation at various production scales.
- Sunflower shells are lightweight, so we improved the feeding method. It’s equipped with an arch-breaking feeder and a forced feeder, allowing the material to enter the pelleting hopper more smoothly.
- Our ring die features several innovative designs, such as a unique tapered feed and an extended compression section. This allows such difficult-to-press materials to pass through smoothly and increases compression time to compact the pellets.
- The unique dual-roller design applies pressure to the material simultaneously from both the left and right rollers, effectively reducing the rebound of lightweight materials. More importantly, compared to a single-roller design, this approach roughly doubles the contact area with the material, allowing for the pressing of more particles in the same amount of time.
- All wear-resistant parts, especially ring dies, pressure rollers, and cutters, are made of alloy steel, extending their service life.
- It adopts gear transmission and a variable frequency Siemens motor. The transmission is more stable and can adapt to various production scenarios.
- The sunflower seed husk pellet mill is equipped with an automatic grease filling system, eliminating the need for frequent machine shutdowns.
- To prevent damage to the equipment from overloading, we have equipped it with a safety pin. This ensures that the main switch can be shut off promptly in case of an emergency, preventing further damage to components.
Sunflower shell pellet machine specifications
The output of sunflower shell pellet machines can be flexibly selected between 0.3T/H and 4.5T/H. If you are a self-use manufacturer or a startup, you can choose a compact model first to enter the sunflower shell pellet market quickly with a low-cost investment. For large-scale commercial production, we have industrial-grade models that can handle continuous production. Since different customers have different raw material conditions, budgets, and site plans, consulting an expert before selecting the appropriate equipment is the most reliable and convenient method.
| Model | MZLH320 | MZLH350 | MZLH420 | MZLH520 | MZLH678 | MZLH768 |
| Main Motor Power(kw) | 22 | 37 | 90 | 132 | 200 | 250 |
| Anti-arching Feeder Power(kw) | 2.2 | 2.2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Forced Feeder Power(kw) | 0.75 | 0.75 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Ring Die Inner Diameter(mm) | 320 | 350 | 420 | 520 | 673 | 762 |
| Finished Particle Diameter(mm) | 4~12 | |||||
| Output (T/H) | 0.2-0.3 | 0.3-0.5 | 1.0-1.2 | 1.5-2.0 | 2.5-3.0 | 3.0-4.0 |
(Standard output may vary depending on the condition of the raw materials. Specific parameters need to be determined based on actual production conditions.)
Application of Sunflower shell pellet machine
Sunflower shell pellet machines are easy to operate and highly flexible. They are now widely used in the field of biomass combustion.
Industrial boilers
The equipment can produce sunflower seed shell pellets as an alternative clean energy source. Used to supply food factories, textile mills, paper mills, and timber processing plants.
Biomass power
Biomass power plants are among the most promising sales targets. Large-scale power plants, in particular, often require a long-term, continuous supply of fuel pellets.
Home heating
Especially in Europe, many people often use sunflower shell pellets for fireplaces, household pellet stoves, and central heating systems. It’s inexpensive and pollution-free.
District heating
In some regions with cold winters, centralized heating systems use large quantities of biomass fuel pellets to provide heating and hot water for residential areas and schools.
How to make sunflower shell pellets?
Sunflower shell pellet machines are the core equipment for pellet production. However, for commercial sunflower shell pellet manufacturers, establishing a complete production line is the best option. Through efficient coordination between each stage, continuous production can be achieved.
1
Raw material cleaning
The first step is to use cleaning equipment to remove impurities and iron filings from the sunflower shells. This facilitates further granulation.
2
Crushing Sunflower Husks
Actual production experience shows that powder with a diameter of 3-5mm is easier to form and less prone to breakage. Therefore, if your raw materials are not too large, we generally arrange for a pulverizer to control the material size.
3
Raw material drying
If the raw materials are too wet, the granules will be too loose. Furthermore, excessive moisture will increase resistance during granulation and reduce production efficiency. Therefore, controlling the moisture content of the raw materials within a suitable range is crucial.
4
Sunflower Husk Pelletizing
Sunflower shell pellet machines have die holes of different sizes, allowing them to produce pellets of various sizes. Generally, sunflower shell fuel pellets are 6mm, 8mm, or 12mm in diameter.
5
Cooling section
Freshly produced pellets remain hot and soft, preventing them from entering the packaging process. Otherwise, they are easily broken or deformed. Cooling machines can set the pellets in shape within a short time.
6
Packaging Section
For customers with continuous production needs, we recommend using automatic packaging machines. These machines can automatically weigh, quantitatively package, transport, and seal the packages. They are highly efficient and have low reliance on manual labor.
Case Study of Sunflower Shell Pellet Machine
— Richi Machinery —
RICHI Machinery has successfully provided sunflower shell pellet machines and granulation solutions to thousands of customers worldwide. Our professional design team will tailor a production plan based on each customer’s specific production situation, striving to ensure that every customer can achieve stable and efficient production.
1-1.5T/H sunflower husk shell pellet mill in Romania
The client is a small to medium-sized agricultural operator. He has his own oil pressing workshop, which produces a significant amount of sunflower shells daily. He wants to process these residues into fuel for his daily energy supply. Therefore, he commissioned us to build a simple production line, emphasizing ease of operation and low cost.
- Main raw materials: sunflower hulls, corn stalks (can improve combustion performance)
- Production line equipment: sunflower hull pelletizer, crusher, dryer
- Particle size: 6-8mm
2.5-3T/H sunflower seed shell pellet machine in Russia
This is a sunflower shell biomass production line requiring continuous operation. The client has a long-term government energy supply contract. They already had one production line, but much of the equipment was aging and gradually failing to meet supply demands. Therefore, upgrading the production line was urgent. When designing the solution, we focused on the seamless integration between the old and new equipment to ensure that the new equipment would not cause production interruptions. Specifically, the client required that the new production line not require large-scale modifications to the power system.
The main equipment in the production line includes a crusher, sunflower shell pellet machine, dryer, cooler, automatic packaging machine, and electrical control system.
4-5T/H Sunflower Seed Shell Pellet Granulator in Ukraine
Ukraine is one of the world’s major sunflower seed processing centers, generating a large amount of sunflower shell byproducts annually. The client has already secured a stable source of raw materials through partnerships with local rapeseed oil processing plants. This provides him with the foundation to process and export sunflower shell fuel pellets. Now, he needs a fully automated production line capable of continuous processing. This would reduce labor costs and ensure product stability and consistency, facilitating better sales in the international market.
Main equipment: Sunflower shell pellet mill, PLC intelligent control system, dryer, cooler, automatic packaging machine
Why Choose RICHI?
By choosing RICHI Machinery, you work with a manufacturer with over 30 years of experience in animal feed equipment production and gain a reliable long-term partner. We provide affordable and transparent pricing, along with efficient and comprehensive after-sales service, so you can carry out your feed production with confidence.
Excellent after-sales service
After the sunflower shell pellet machine arrives, we will carry out professional commissioning and acceptance. Our technicians will repeatedly commission the equipment in each production section to ensure the equipment operates up to standard. Additionally, if you are unfamiliar with our equipment, RICHI technicians will provide one-on-one on-site training until your team can operate the entire production line independently.
Customized design
RICHI has a dedicated R&D and design team to provide you with customized services. We offer over 200 products to meet all types of chicken feed production needs. In addition, we provide full-process design services, including site planning and equipment layout. Whether you are new to the feed industry or already operating a mature production line, just share your requirements with us, and we will deliver a tailored solution based on your actual situation.
High-quality equipment production
The production stage is the core link of the entire project implementation. We own two modern intelligent manufacturing bases and operate a strict quality control system. Every piece of equipment meets international first-class standards. The company has passed BV certification, ISO9001 International Quality Management System Certification, European CE Certification, and Swiss SGS Certification, among others.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions. You can also contact us at any time for answers.
What are the moisture requirements for raw materials when using a sunflower shell pelletizing machine?
The optimal moisture content for raw materials in pelleting is generally between 13% and 18%. If the sunflower husks are too wet, you can choose to air dry them naturally or use a professional dryer to reduce the moisture content. However, if the raw materials are too dry, it will also affect pellet formation. In this case, you can add a small amount of water to the mixing system to improve the plasticity of the material.
How long is the service life of the equipment?
As a type of heavy machinery, sunflower shell pellet mills have a service life of 10-15 years under standard operating conditions. Wear-prone components such as the ring die and pressure rollers can last 3000-6000 hours. Processing high-fiber raw materials like sunflower shells can cause even greater wear on these components. Therefore, it is essential to remove impurities from the raw materials before pelleting and to perform regular inspections and lubrication.
What is the price of a sunflower shell pellet machine?
Generally, the price of a sunflower seed shell pellet granulator ranges from 10,000 to 100,000. However, the specific price will vary depending on your production needs, process configuration, and other factors. If you would like a definitive price quote, please contact our sales team directly. They will reply to you within one business day.
What is the typical installation cycle for a sunflower shell pellet production line?
RICHI Machinery offers comprehensive and rapid installation services.
First, we will provide equipment layout diagrams and foundation drawings based on the size of your production site. Before shipment, we will conduct trial runs and tests on the production line equipment to ensure all equipment is up-to-date and qualified. After the equipment arrives, we will dispatch professional engineers to provide on-site installation guidance and simultaneously train operators to help them quickly get started.
The entire process allows for installation cycles of most production lines within 20-60 days. However, for some large or complex projects, the installation cycle can reach over 90 days.
For example, our 20-ton wood chip production line in the US had a total installation cycle of 6 months. This large-scale production line is not simply about equipment installation; it requires steel frame construction, integrated electrical systems, and modular commissioning to ensure high-intensity and stable operation.
