VyatSU's scientists have found an economical way to recycle sawdust at lumber-camps

 Scientists of the Vyatka State University (VyatSU) have developed a small-sized and easily transportable crusher for grinding sawdust with their subsequent molding into fuel granules

The new device will solve the problem of processing waste from the wood processing industry. The description of the development was published in the scientific journal "IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science".

According to the authors of the study, to date, waste from wood processing enterprises in Russia is not used, since existing technologies do not allow grinding materials with a low specific gravity. In addition, those technologies are too large, which makes it difficult to move them to a specific production plant. At the same time, waste from small wood processing industries in Russia is estimated at about 1.5 million tons per year, so the task of processing them is especially urgent.

The novelty of the development, confirmed by a patent in 2017, in comparison with existing technologies, lies in a more energy efficient grinding technology and the possibility of easy transportation of the device.

Recently, scientists have managed not only to create a working structure, but to achieve advantages over competitors in energy efficiency along with small size and weight. This crusher can be installed in small sawmills and other wood processing enterprises - separately or as part of a pelleting line.

    Now no one in production has such samples. We have set ourselves the task of intensifying the process of grinding bulk materials with a small mass (sawdust, wood chips), without increasing the size of the crusher and the engine power, -

told us Andrei Zykin, Associate Professor of the Department of Industrial Safety and Engineering Systems, VyatSU.

The result was achieved as follows: the raw material is fed into the grinding chamber from two sides (feed pipes are opposite each other), which causes collision and deceleration of the material particles. Also, a vortex chamber is installed above the nozzles, which creates the turbulent movement of the material. In general, this leads to particles of the material being in the grinding zone for much longer than in existing installations. This is what makes it possible to efficiently grind materials with a low specific gravity.

The use of a new system for feeding material into the grinding chamber, as well as a vortex formation system, made it possible to increase the specific energy consumption (the ratio of the amount of crushed product to the consumed energy) by 25-30 percent compared to key foreign counterparts, with comparable weight and size characteristics.

    Prototype crushers have been successfully tested. Now we are talking about creating an industrial design and establishing small-scale production. In general, there is a demand from manufacturers for such equipment, and it is significant, -

noted Andrey Zykin.

The development won the "Start" competition organized by the Innovation Promotion Foundation. The invention is protected by RF patent No. 2621567.

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