Vertical Wood Pellet Machine
Introduction to Vertical Wood Pellet Machines
Depending on the type of ring die, wood biomass pellet machines can be divided into vertical ring die pellet mills and horizontal ring die pellet mills. Their biggest difference lies in the feeding method. Vertical ring die pellet mills use a horizontally placed pellet bin. This means that when processing lightweight, easily clogged wood materials, it’s not necessary to rely solely on the forced pushing method of the feeder. The material can also fall naturally from above using its own weight. This dual protection ensures a more stable and smoother feeding process.
From a cost control perspective, vertical wood pellet mills are becoming an ideal choice for many small and medium-sized biomass pellet projects.
RICHI Machinery has 30 years of experience in biomass pellet production projects. We can provide professional equipment and complete wood pellet production solutions. Please feel free to contact us.
Core components of vertical wood pellet machines
Actually, compared to horizontal wood pellet machines, their core components are not significantly different. They mainly consist of key components such as the feeder, ring die, pressure roller cutter, and gearbox. The difference lies in the fact that vertical wood pellet mills are more adaptable to different raw materials. This is because the vertical structure allows materials to enter the pelleting chamber more easily.
Let’s break down the core components of the equipment together to give you a more detailed understanding.
Variable frequency feeder
To ensure that different types of wood-based raw materials can easily enter the pellet mill, we have equipped it with an adjustable feeder. This reduces raw material loss and further helps you save on energy costs. It can be configured to meet your specific needs.
Pelletizing chamber
As mentioned above, vertical wood pellet machines primarily feature horizontally mounted ring dies. Imagine that when the raw material enters from the feed inlet, it can fall directly into the pelleting chamber in a straight line. This shortens the feeding distance and prevents machine clogging.
Ring die
In this machine, the ring die can be used on both sides. Due to gravity, material tends to accumulate more in the lower half of the ring die, while the upper half bears less load. Therefore, after a period of operation, the operator rotates it 180 degrees, allowing the less worn side to handle the pressing work. This reduces the cost of frequent ring die replacements.
gearbox
The gearbox converts the high-speed rotation of the motor into greater compressive force. Each tooth is made of wear-resistant alloy steel and undergoes carburizing and quenching. It can operate smoothly even under high loads. Compared to traditional gearboxes, its wear resistance is 5-10 times higher.
Advantages of the new vertical wood pellet machine
- With a larger feeding opening, more raw materials can be fed in at once, significantly improving production efficiency.
- Siemens motors have excellent cooling systems, which prevent overheating and motor burnout. This is especially important when operating in hot summer weather or tropical regions.
- High degree of automation: The equipment is equipped with an electric ring die lifting device, an automatic lubrication system, and intelligent control systems, etc.
- High safety performance. In the event of equipment overload, the safety pin will automatically cut off power to protect the main components.
- Key pelletizing components such as the ring die, pressure roller, and cutter are all made of alloy steel. Under normal production conditions, their service life can reach 1000-3000 hours.
How does a vertical wood pellet machine work?
The vertical wood pellet machine is a new type of biomass pellet machine. It can compress wood raw materials into pellet-shaped products. The pellets are uniform in size, smooth, and compact. A video of the equipment in operation is attached below. Let’s see how it works.
During processing, the crushed material, under its own weight and the combined action of the feeder, smoothly enters the pelleting chamber from the feed inlet.
At this point, the pressure rollers and ring die continuously compress the material. In this high-temperature, high-pressure environment, the lignin inside the material gradually softens, forming a natural binder. When the material exits the die, it forms a smooth, cylindrical strip.
With the help of the cutter, the wood raw material is transformed into compact, smooth biomass pellets.
Throughout the entire process, all you need to do is feed the raw material to the feed inlet. Then you can simply wait at the discharge outlet for the high-quality pellet product.
Is a vertical wood pellet machine suitable for you?
If you want to achieve high-quality pellet production, it’s not just about whether the machine is good or not. More importantly, you need to determine if the equipment is suitable for your needs. Otherwise, buying the wrong equipment will only be a waste of your money.
Next, you can compare these aspects to see if a vertical biomass pellet machine is the best choice for you.
1. Check your raw materials
If you’re struggling with how to process materials that have poor flowability and are prone to clogging, such as wood, sawdust, straw, rice husks, bamboo, and other agricultural and forestry waste, then this vertical wood pellet press is perfect for you. The vertical ring die structure allows raw materials to smoothly enter the pressing area. However, it’s important to note that the equipment has certain requirements regarding the moisture content and size of the raw materials. Especially when processing mixed materials, you’ll need to use a dryer and a crusher to maintain consistent material condition to avoid affecting the stability of the pellets.
2. Think about your application scenarios
Vertical wood pellet machines process a wide variety of pre-treated biomass raw materials. This is great news for biomass pellet manufacturers. It means you can choose the most cost-effective wood and combine it with various scientifically formulated raw materials to produce combustible pellets, wood-based cat litter, and organic fertilizer pellets. Depending on the type of pellets you want to produce, our professional technical team can provide you with the most suitable production process plan, thus enabling more competitive pellet production.
3. Check your production output
Vertical wood pellet mills offer advantages such as strong raw material adaptability, convenient operation, high flexibility, and lower investment. For small and medium-sized processing plants and startups, they allow for faster production without a significant financial burden. However, for large-scale biomass pellet mills, we recommend horizontal wood pellet mills for higher production efficiency and continuous operation.
Finally, it’s essential to assess the professionalism, reliability, and experience of the manufacturers producing this type of equipment. You can ask the manufacturer some technical questions and see if they can provide complete solutions within a limited timeframe. If possible, a site visit to their factory will provide a more accurate and comprehensive assessment.
After reviewing the above purchasing guide, if you are certain that this is the equipment you want, please contact us now to start your biomass pelleting project.
Technical parameters of the vertical wood pellet machine
RICHI offers various models of vertical wood pellet machines to meet the needs of production scales ranging from self-use to medium to large-scale biomass pellet plants. All equipment has passed the stringent international CE and ISO quality standards. You can be completely confident in the quality. We also provide customization services to meet your unique requirements. If you are unsure how to choose, please feel free to contact our sales staff. They will be happy to assist you.
| Model | V-MZLH 560A | V-MZLH 560B | V-MZLH 850A | V-MZLH 850B | V-MZLH 928 | V-MZLH 1180 |
| Main Motor Power (kW) | 90 | 160 | 220 | 280 | 355 | 630 |
| Finished Pellet Diameter (mm) | 4~12 | |||||
| Output (T/H) | 1-1.2T/H | 1.5-2T/H | 2.5-3T/H | 3-4T/H | 4-5T/H | 7-10T/H |
| Vertical Wood Pellet Machine Price | $10,000-$100,000 | |||||
(Because our products are constantly being updated and upgraded, the final output will depend on the actual production situation.)
Complete vertical wood pellet machine production system
A wood pellet production line includes all stages: cleaning, crushing, pelletizing, cooling, and packaging. It is essentially the same as a biomass wood pellet production line. Below is the complete process.
1
Cleaning wood
To produce high-quality pellets, we must control the raw materials from the very beginning. This involves using cleaning equipment to thoroughly remove all impurities from the raw materials.
2
wood crushing
This step is essential, especially when the raw materials include logs and large pieces of wood. For these larger materials, we typically use chippers and pulverizers to break them into powder.
3
drying wood
As mentioned earlier, overly wet raw materials are not suitable for feeding into the pellet mill. Otherwise, the machine can easily slip, affecting pellet formation. Of course, if your raw material has the appropriate moisture content, we will omit this step for you.
4
Wood pelleting
The vertical wood pellet machine is the core equipment in this process. Please select the appropriate output level after a professional evaluation. This will be key to your efficient and continuous production.
5
Cooling section
The freshly produced granules are hot and soft. After the cooling machine cools and shapes the granules, it removes moisture from their surface. This prevents them from easily becoming moldy or breaking during transportation and storage.
6
Screening and Packaging
The automatic weighing system accurately weighs qualified particles and then bags and seals them according to the specified weight.
Case Study of vertical wood pellet machine
— Richi Machinery —
Here are some classic case studies for your reference. RICHI has provided wood pelleting solutions and vertical wood pellet machines to customers in more than 140 countries worldwide, helping them achieve stable and efficient production. You can click the button below for more case studies.
1.5-2T/H vertical wood pelletizer in South Africa
The client, a local timber processing plant, wanted to use leftover wood waste to process into fuel pellets. On the one hand, these pellets could serve as an energy source for daily production. More importantly, he wanted to sell some of the fuel pellets to neighboring factories to generate additional income.
Our engineers considered the client’s small production site and limited investment. Therefore, they recommended a small Vertical ring die wood pellet machine, helping him achieve stable, low-cost production.
- Raw materials: pine sawdust, forestry waste, tree bark
- Production equipment: Vertical wood pellet making mill for biomass fuel, small crusher, basic drying system
2.5-3T/H Vertical Wood Pellet press in the United States
This is a cat litter production line. The client operates a pet supplies manufacturing plant, primarily producing eco-friendly wood-based cat litter. Their raw materials mainly come from waste from various wood processing plants, leading to frequent changes in the types of raw materials. To ensure the consistency of the final product, the client chose a vertical wood pellet machine. It is better suited for processing complex and varied materials.
During trial production, the pellet forming rate reached 96%, and it can quickly and stably absorb water within 25-30 seconds. This perfectly meets the standards for cat litter entering the market.
- Raw materials: Pine sawdust, wood flour, plant fiber, recycled wood waste (raw material types change frequently)
- Main equipment: Vertical cat litter pellet machine, wood crusher, dryer, cooling and screening system, packaging machine
3-4T/H Vertical Pellet Machine For Wood Waste in India
Considering India’s high temperatures, we optimized the lubrication system in key areas to reduce direct friction between metal parts, thereby achieving heat dissipation. Simultaneously, because the customer’s raw materials contained hard nutshell waste, we added crushing and drying stages to the production line before pelleting to ensure consistent particle size and moisture content of the raw materials, reducing production burden.
Ultimately, even in temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, this wood production line can still achieve an output of 3.5 tons per hour.
- Raw materials: Wood chips, sawdust, coconut shells, palm shells, and other biomass waste.
- Main equipment: Vertical wood pelletizing mill, wood crusher, drum dryer, cooling and screening system, packaging machine.
5-6 ton vertical wood pellet mill in Brazil
The client wanted a fully automated biomass pellet production line. This line utilizes wood waste from furniture factories to produce 6-12mm pellets for sale to local industrial boilers and biomass power plants. The production line has low labor dependence, requiring only 3-4 workers for continuous pelleting.
Over the long term, the client’s overall profit margin has been significantly improved through raw material cost control and labor cost savings alone.
- Raw materials: wood chips, eucalyptus waste, bamboo strips, sawdust
- Main equipment: Raw materials: wood chips, eucalyptus waste, bamboo strips
- Main equipment: Vertical Sawdust Pellet Mill, wood crusher, dryer, cooling and screening system, automatic packaging machine, PLC system
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 vertical wood 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.
Can a vertical wood pellet machine process fresh wood?
Yes, but some pretreatment of the raw materials is necessary.
As we all know, fresh wood has a moisture content of 40%-60%. If it enters the pellet mill in this state, it’s impossible to produce high-quality pellets. Therefore, the moisture content of the raw materials needs to be reduced.
We recommend a professional dryer. It can reduce the moisture content of the raw materials to between 13% and 18%, which is the optimal state for pelleting.
What are the advantages of the combustion pellets produced by this equipment?
Vertical ring die wood pellet mills have larger pelleting chambers and stronger extrusion pressure. The resulting pellets have a compact structure and a calorific value typically reaching 4200–4800 kcal/kg, comparable to coal. Furthermore, the pellets have very low moisture content, making them more resistant to burning and leaving less ash after combustion. They can completely replace traditional energy sources in the energy sector.
What if we don’t know how to install the equipment?
You don’t need to worry about that. We’ve already test-run the equipment before shipping to ensure it arrives in optimal condition.
Upon arrival, a detailed installation manual and video tutorials will be provided. Furthermore, our professional after-sales team is available 24/7 to answer any technical questions you may have.
If needed, we will dispatch a professional technical team to provide on-site installation guidance and one-on-one operation training. This ensures you can start wood pellet production in the shortest possible time.
What is the warranty period for a vertical wood pellet machine?
All equipment comes with a 12-month warranty. For any issues with the equipment itself, our professional repair team will respond within 72 hours. In addition, we provide lifetime technical support.
