0086-138 3838 9622The 6 t/h sunflower husk pellet plant RICHI Machinery has been constructing for a client in Argentina’s Pampas region has reached the final pre-commissioning stage — equipment installation is complete, and dry-run testing (without raw material) began this week.
Argentina is one of the world’s larger sunflower seed producers, and the husk byproduct from sunflower oil extraction has historically been underutilized — much of it ends up as low-value bulk material or disposed of. Pelletizing turns it into a transportable, higher-density fuel product suitable for industrial boilers.
Sunflower husk has relatively low bulk density (lighter than most wood residues) and a moderate natural oil content remaining after pressing, which actually assists with pellet binding similar to what’s seen with other oilseed residues.
The line: husk receiving and metering system, hammer mill (sunflower husk needs less aggressive grinding than wood — it’s already fairly fine after the oil extraction process, so this stage mostly handles any larger fragments), ring die pellet mill, cooler, and bulk loading system for truck transport (the buyer isn’t bagging product — it’s sold in bulk to a regional industrial boiler operator under a supply agreement).
Pellet diameter target is 8mm. Dry-run testing this week focuses on conveyor alignment, pellet mill motor load testing under no-load conditions, and verifying the cooler’s airflow rates against design specifications before introducing actual husk material.
Once dry-run testing clears — expected to take about three to four days — the first material test runs will begin, with RICHI’s commissioning engineer present to calibrate the pellet mill’s die gap and roller settings against the actual husk characteristics, which can vary somewhat depending on the sunflower variety processed at the source oil mill.
