Effect of Chestnut-shell Tea Waste and Castor Oil as an Additive on Fuel Characteristics of Pellets Fabricated with Pitch Pine and Mongolian Oak

This study aimed to determine the optimal conditions for fabricating pitch pine (PCP) and Mongolian oak (MOK) pellets using chestnut-shell tea waste (CSW) and castor oil (CSO) as additives. For pellets fabricated using a pilot-scale flat-die pellet mill, all moisture content (MC) was in line with A1 wood pellet standards for residential and small-scale commercial uses designated by the National Institute of Forest Science at the Republic of Korea (NIFOS), regardless of fabricating conditions; the durability of PCP pellets prepared using PCP particles with 10% MC, and CSW addition also satisfied these criteria. The moisture tolerance of PCP pellets improved with combination of 2 wt% CSW and 2-6 wt% CSO. Overall, use of 20 mesh CSW as an additive, PCP with 10% MC, and MOK with 12% MC was found to be optimal. Moreover, using CSO as an additive, high-quality PCP and MOK pellets can be fabricated by adjusting the particles to 12% MC. However, the durability of PCP and MOK pellets prepared using these conditions did not meet the wood pellet standards for residential and small-scale commercial use. Therefore, further research is needed to improve the durability of these pellets.