0086-138 3838 9622After several days of trial production, a 3.5 t/h olive pomace pellet line installed by RICHI Machinery at a facility in Andalusia, Spain, has produced its first batches of finished pellets meeting target specifications.
Olive pomace — the solid residue left after oil extraction — is a tricky material. It arrives wet (often 50-65% moisture straight from the olive oil mill, depending on whether it’s two-phase or three-phase extraction residue) and contains residual oil content that actually helps pellet binding but can also cause issues with equipment if not managed.
The dryer here is sized larger than what you’d typically see for a 3.5 t/h wood pellet line of similar throughput — pomace needs aggressive drying, and RICHI’s three-pass drum dryer configuration was selected specifically because single-pass dryers struggled with pomace’s tendency to clump during drying, based on feedback from similar installations.
Finished pellets came out at 8mm diameter, targeted for the local biomass heating market — Spain has a growing residential and commercial biomass boiler sector, particularly in areas with strong olive oil production where pomace pellets are viewed as a “waste valorization” product with both environmental and economic appeal to buyers.
During trial runs, the residual oil content (around 3-4% in this particular batch of pomace) actually helped pellet durability — durability test results came back above 96%, better than some pure wood pellet batches RICHI has tested with similar equipment.
One adjustment made during commissioning: the cooler’s airflow was increased slightly because the oil content was causing pellets to retain heat longer than expected, and the buyer noticed some pellets were still warm to the touch after the standard cooling cycle. A simple fan speed adjustment resolved it.
The facility is now moving toward continuous operation, with the buyer planning to begin commercial sales within the month.
