Cotton Stalk Pellet Machine

China is currently the largest cotton producer in the world. The annual output reached 6.84 million tons. Cotton is grown in most parts of the country.

To carry out cotton stalk stem pellet processing, we must first have sufficient raw materials, and the source of this raw material is in the cotton producing area.

According to data from the International Cotton Advisory Committee, in 2022-2023, the global cotton planting area will be 32.274 million hectares, and cotton production will be 25.304 million tons. So, which country produces the most cotton in the world?

The countries with large cotton production in the world are mainly China, India, the United States, Brazil, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Argentina, Burkina Faso and Benin. Other major cotton producing countries include Mexico, Australia, Greece, Mali, Turkmenistan, etc.

Customers in these countries have very good raw material advantages. For investors in this country, it is easier to carry out cotton stalk stem pellet processing business to obtain high profits, because the cost of cotton stalk stem  raw materials will be very low.

However, this does not mean that pellet processing investors in other countries are completely unsuitable for investment. The acquisition cost of main raw materials is low. No matter where you are, you can find raw materials suitable for pellet processing.

Both cotton stalks solid pellet fuel and cotton stalks pellet feed use straw as the main raw material. Pellet feed generally uses crop straw as raw material. In addition to various crop straws, the raw materials for straw solid pellet fuel include fruit tree prunings, fruit shells, sawdust, etc.

The following is a comparison of the raw materials used in the processing of cotton stalk fuel pellets and cotton stalk feed pellets:

Item	pellet feed	pellet fuel
Raw ingredients and additives	Add protein, starch, fat, sugar and other substances	The raw materials are relatively simple, and generally no or a small amount of additives are added.
Raw material moisture	16%~18%	10%~15%
Raw material particle size	<10 mm, and >6 mm	<10 mm, and >6 mm
Pellet diameter	2-12mm	6-12mm

When selecting and purchasing a cotton stalk pellets machine, you can consider the following factors to help you choose a more suitable pellet machine equipment.

• No matter which manufacturer you want to buy a pellet machine from, please remember that quality comes first. A good quality pellet machine can not only ensure stable production, but also save some unnecessary maintenance costs.
• When purchasing a cotton stalk pelletizer machine, be sure to confirm whether the manufacturer’s after-sales service is timely and reliable, because customers may encounter unexpected situations that they cannot handle at any time during the production process. At this time, if the manufacturer cannot help you deal with it in time, the customer will be in trouble. There may be a risk of discontinuation of production.
• Ease of operation is also an important factor, because if a pellet machine is too complicated to operate, it will lose many customers because not all customers are engineers.
• Fully consider the safety of the pellet machine. A cotton stalk pellet processing machine produced by a reliable manufacturer will be very safe. Customers don’t have to worry about flying screws during the cotton pellet production process that will hurt you or damage other equipment. Responsible manufacturers will undergo complete safety testing before their equipment leaves the factory.
• Ask the manufacturers some professional questions and require them to respond within a limited time. Whether a complete solution can be provided within a limited time is also a test of the manufacturer’s technical strength.
• Can we promise to replace parts free of charge during the warranty period? Of course, every customer hopes to buy satisfactory equipment at the lowest price. As far as the current market is concerned, the price of cotton stalk pellet machines is almost transparent. If the price given by the manufacturer is significantly lower than the market price, then the manufacturer should be abandoned decisively. Don’t cause yourself more trouble just for the sake of petty gains.

To sum up, at present, there are more and more cotton stalk pelleting machine manufacturers, and the quality of their products is also uneven. Customers should spend some time doing research to choose the best pellet machine manufacturer.

RICHI is a leading supplier of straw biomass pellet mill machines in the industry. If you want to start a cotton stalks pellet production business, contact us and we will be happy to be on your shortlist.

The price of cotton stalk stem pellet machine is 10,000-100,000 USD. This is the price of a single machine, while a 1-90t/h straw pellet production line requires an investment cost of $30,000-3 million.

Different manufacturers, different raw materials, and different countries will have different prices for straw pellet machines and straw pellet production lines. So, what are the factors that affect the purchase price of straw pellet machine and straw pellet production line?

1. Raw material factors.
   Raw materials are one of the factors that affect the price of straw pellet machines. Raw materials are a very important factor in the entire biomass solid pellet industry.
   For example, if the raw material is dry straw powder, it only needs to be directly granulated; if your raw material is long straw with high moisture and low impurities, then a variety of pre-treatment equipment such as dryers, mowers, straw crushers, and cleaning equipment are required.
   In addition, the more types of raw materials used, the more pre-processing equipment is required and the greater the investment. For example, some customers want to process fuel pellets, but use a variety of raw materials such as straw, tree trunks, bamboo, etc. The investment in such a production line will of course be large, but the future profits will also be higher.
2. Cost factors.
   Are local raw materials abundant? Is the transportation convenient? How much does straw recycling cost? What are the utility bills? These will affect the investment and production costs of cotton stalk pellets machines and pellet systems.
   Having abundant raw materials, a low straw recycling price, and convenient transportation are prerequisites for investing in a straw pellet machine and a straw pellet production line.
3. Local policies.
   Pellet machines have only begun to develop in recent years. Therefore, local governments need to adopt a series of policies to encourage the development of this industry. Some countries and regions provide subsidies for the processing of biomass agricultural and forestry waste pellets.

As a cotton stalk pellet machine manufacturer, RICHI MACHINERY specializes in the production of straw pellet machines, biomass pellet machines, feed pellet machines and a full set of biomass pellet production line equipment.

It has won many honors with its exquisite craftsmanship and advanced technical level, adhering to the “customer-oriented, pursuit of excellence” philosophy values. Following the quality policy of being responsible for every process, every product, and every user, we serve our customers wholeheartedly.

At present, cotton stalks in many areas is not processed but fed directly. Livestock mainly eats the leaves and the upper part of the stem, resulting in serious waste of straw.

Relevant studies have shown that the caloric value and cellulose and lignin content of different parts gradually increase from the upper part to the lower part of the straw, while the hemicellulose content gradually decreases, while the opposite is true for nutrients.

According to the actual situation, the method of mutual use of straw between feed mills and fuel plants can be used.

In areas where straw is directly fed, the remaining straw after livestock consumption is exchanged with the straw collected by the fuel plant in an equal amount of 1:1; in areas where there are pellet feed plants, the method can be adopted. The upper and lower parts of the stem are cut off so that the upper part is used for feeding and the lower part is used for burning.

This not only increases the utilization rate of straw, reduces the cost of straw raw materials, but also solves the problem of competition between feed and fuel use of raw materials, achieving a win-win goal for feed mills and fuel plants.

Whether it is cotton straw feed processing or cotton straw fuel processing, there is great potential. Currently, more and more investors are beginning to establish cotton straw feed and fuel composite pellet production lines.

The pressure roller ring die system of the cotton stalk pellet press machine is the main working part of the ring die pellet machine. Its main parts include: ring die, pressure roller, pressure roller support shaft, bearing and sealing end cover, as well as other auxiliary parts.

The pressure roller is one of its main components. It is used in conjunction with the ring die. The two squeeze the raw materials to shape the materials. The selection of the material and basic parameters of the pressure roller is directly related to the performance of the pellet machine, so it is very important.

1. Design of the pressure roller of the cotton stalk pellet machine.
   The pressure roller assembly is mainly composed of an eccentric shaft, a pressure roller shell, a rolling bearing, etc. Generally speaking, a ring die pellet machine has at least two pressure rollers in the pelletizing chamber.
2. Pressure roller parameters of cotton stalk pellet machine.
   The diameter of the pressure roller directly affects the material intake angle during granulation. Therefore, a large-diameter pressure roller should be used. For a two-roller ring-die pellet machine, the relationship between the pressure roller diameter d and the inner diameter of the ring die is D>2d. Considering factors such as gap adjustment, d=(0.4~0.485)D is generally selected.
3. Cotton stalk pellet machine pressure roller material.
   RICHI uses high-quality 50 steel and 100Cr6 bearing steel, of which 100Cr6 bearing steel is equivalent to the national standard GCr15. It has exquisite high-temperature quenching technology, good wear resistance and high contact fatigue strength. It ensures the hardness and wear resistance of the pellet machine roller from the source. Use The lifespan is at least twice that of ordinary products in the domestic market.
4. Cotton stalk pellet machine roller technology.
   Since the working process of the pressure roller is a process of constant friction and extrusion with the material, and when the raw cotton stalks granulator is working, the linear speeds of the die and the roller are basically the same, and the diameter of the pressure roller is smaller, so the wear rate of the pressure roller is greater than that of the ring die.
   In order to replace the mold and roller at the same time as much as possible, the hardness of the pressure roller should be 5-6HRC higher than that of the ring die. The production process of the pressure roller of the pellet machine is equally important. Users should ask clearly about the material and process of the pressure roller when choosing the pressure roller. , choose a pressure roller with higher wear resistance.

The above is the content of the cotton stalk pellet machine pressure roller materials and processes. The pressure roller is a key working part of the pellet machine. If the pressure roller wears too fast, it will not only reduce the pellet forming rate and increase production costs, but also directly affect productivity.

The main factors that affect the production efficiency of the molding machine include: the number of pressure rollers, the opening rate, radius and width of the ring die, and the rotation speed.

The increase in any one of the parameters will increase the productivity of the molding machine, but each parameter is restricted by factors such as the structure of the molding machine, the mechanical properties of the component materials, and energy consumption.

• Increasing the diameter and width of the ring die and increasing the diameter of the pressure roller are effective ways to improve productivity. However, increasing the width of the ring die will affect the uniformity of material distribution and cause vibration; the diameters of the ring die and the pressure roller are limited by the rationality of the overall structure of the cotton stalk pellet machine.
• Increasing the rotational speed will increase productivity, but the rotational speed will be limited by the motor power. In addition, as the rotational speed increases, the mechanical energy will increase and the overall energy consumption will increase.
• Increasing the number of pressure rollers will also increase productivity, but increasing the number of pressure rollers will limit the diameter of the pressure rollers, which will also reduce productivity. In addition, the rationality of the stress on the pressure rollers must also be taken into consideration. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the reasonable number of pressure rollers through theoretical analysis and calculation.

Factors such as raw material moisture content, raw material crushing particle size and heating temperature will have a great impact on the forming of cotton stalk pellets. Therefore, when using cotton straw granulator, you need to pay attention to the following aspects:

1. Due to the high lignin content, the relaxation density of cotton stalk stem pellets is better than that of agricultural straw and gray straw. agricultural straw is rich in extracts, which reduces the friction between raw material particles during the molding process. Therefore, its molding energy consumption of molded pellets is lower than that of woody biomass and ash-rich straw, but its durability is better than that of ash-rich straw.
2. The moisture in the raw material acts as a natural lubricant in the cotton stalk stem pelleting process. A too low moisture content of the raw material will reduce the ductility of the raw material particles and increase the friction between the particles, resulting in an increase in molding energy consumption; while an excessively high moisture content will reduce the ductility of the raw material particles and increase the friction between the particles.
   The rate will reduce the tightness between particle layers, making biomass molding difficult. When the moisture content is 15%, the quality of cotton stalk molded pellets is the highest.
   Therefore, when the moisture content of the raw material is controlled within the range of 10% to 15%, the relaxed density, compressive strength and durability of the molded pellets can be effectively improved, and the molding quality can be ensured within an acceptable range.
3. The smaller the particle size of the raw material, the larger the contact area of the raw material particles during the molding process, the stronger the force between particles, and the higher its relaxed density, compressive strength and durability.
   In addition, when the particle size is less than 1mm, the raw material particle size has little impact on the energy consumption of its molded pellets. When the particle size is greater than 1 mm, the internal particle fit of the cotton plant stem pellets decreases, and the quality characteristics of the molded pellets decrease significantly.
4. In cotton plant stem pelleting, the higher the molding temperature, the higher the softening degree of lignin in the biomass raw material, and the more obvious the improvement in the relaxation density, compressive strength and durability of the cotton pellets.
   In comparison, cotton stalks are most sensitive to molding temperature due to their high lignin content. Therefore, it can be considered that for cotton stalks, the molding temperature should be 170°C.

Judging from the impact of raw material characteristics and process parameters on the quality characteristics of cotton pellets and molding energy consumption, the quality characteristics of cotton pellets are uneven due to large differences in their own characteristics.

Therefore, pre-treatment methods can be used to modify the raw materials to reduce the quality differences of molded pellets caused by cotton stalks types.

Below, RICHI provides some product quality evaluation indicators, inspection methods and inspection rules for straw pellet feed presses. This method is suitable for product quality evaluation of ring die raw cotton stalks feed pellet making machine.

1. Quality requirements

(1) When processing 6 mm feed pellets:

The performance of a cotton stalk pellet machine with a die diameter of 6 mm and the quality of pellet feed should meet the following requirements:

• Productivity shall not be lower than design requirements;
• Power consumption per ton of material ≤70 kW·h/ton;
• Noise: ≤90 decibels when the host power is not greater than 55 kilowatts, and ≤110 decibels when the host power is greater than 55 kilowatts;
• Dust concentration ≤10 mg/cubic meter; pellet feed forming rate ≥95%;
• The temperature of granulating working parts is ≤ 100 degrees Celsius;
• The density of finished pellets is 900-1500 kg/cubic meter;
• The moisture content of finished granules is 9%-14%;
• The solidity of the finished cotton stalk pellets is ≥90%.

(2) When processing 8 mm pellets:

The performance of the cotton stalk pellet machine with a die diameter of 8 mm and the quality of the pellet feed should comply with the following regulations:

• Productivity shall not be lower than design requirements;
• Power consumption per ton of material ≤ 60 kW·h/ton;
• Noise: ≤90 decibels when the host power is not greater than 55 kilowatts, and ≤110 decibels when the host power is greater than 55 kilowatts;
• Dust concentration ≤10 mg/cubic meter;
• The forming rate of pellet feed is ≥95%;
• The temperature of granulating working parts is ≤ 100 degrees Celsius;
• The density of finished pellets is 900-1500 kg/cubic meter;
• The moisture content of finished granules is 9%-14%;
• The solidity of finished cotton stalk pellets is ≥90%.

2. Safety requirements

• Couplings and other exposed moving parts should have safety protection devices. The protection devices should have sufficient strength and stiffness to ensure that they are protected during normal use. There should be no cracks, tears or permanent deformation.
• Protective devices, door covers and other parts that may affect personal safety should have safety signs that comply with regulations.
• The pellet machine body should have an eye-catching grounding mark.
• The cotton stalk pellet machine should be equipped with an overload protection device.
• Under normal conditions, the insulation resistance between the electrical terminals of each motor and the pellet machine body should be no less than 20 megohms.

3. Effectiveness of use

The effectiveness of the cotton stalk pellet maker machine should be no less than 95%.

1. Pellet shape

The appearance of cotton stalks pellet fuel is cylindrical, with a smooth surface and a slight luster, a density >1, a grayish-yellow color, an outer diameter of 6 to 12 mm, and a length ranging from 10 to 36 mm.

2. Calorific value

The heat released when a unit mass of cotton stalks pellet fuel is completely burned is called the calorific value of this fuel. Due to the high density of straw pellets, the combustion efficiency is high. During combustion, the core temperature can reach 1100°C, the calorific value can reach 3700-4000 kcal per kilogram, the density is 1.1 tons per cubic meter, and the ash content is <8%. Compared with coal, , oil, also shows its own unique advantages.

3. Strong firepower and less residual ash

Cotton stalks pellet fuel has the characteristics of not deforming or falling apart as a whole during combustion, and is easy to burn. Due to high-pressure molding, the pellet density is high, so it is flame-resistant, has strong firepower and high temperature. Coupled with reasonable air distribution and sufficient oxygen supply, secondary combustion can be achieved, so it is pollution-free and has high fuel efficiency.

Compared with coal burning, there is less residual ash. The collected residual ash can be directly returned to the fields and used as potassium fertilizer. It is a comparative Ideal clean energy.

4. Clean and environmentally friendly

Using cotton stalks pellet fuel, it is clean, environmentally friendly and has little pollution. When cotton stalks pellet fuel is burned, the dust concentration is less than 40 mg per cubic meter, and the sulfur dioxide emissions are 1/15 of coal and 1/7 of fuel. Therefore, using cotton stalks pellet fuel is an effective way to improve air quality and avoid the greenhouse effect.

5. Easy to transport and store

In addition, cotton stalks pellet fuel is easy to transport and store. Since the volume of straw is compressed nearly 9 times after being made into pellets, it is easy to transport and store, greatly reducing storage and transportation costs. Cotton stalks pellet fuel is not prone to mildew in summer, is fire-proof and flame-retardant, and is easy to store for a long time. It can be used as reserve fuel in disaster prevention and prevention.