Engineered Woody Biomass Baling System

Abstract

A woody biomass baler having a baling chamber adapted to receive woody biomass material, a compression system adapted to compact the material into a rectangular bale in the chamber, and an ejection system adapted to move the bale from the chamber, wherein the baling chamber has a front wall consisting of a reciprocating compression platen corresponding in dimensions to the width W and height H of the bale, opposing upper and lower walls corresponding in dimensions to the length L and either of the W and H of the bale, and opposing sidewalls corresponding in dimensions to the L and the other of the W and H of the bale, wherein each chamber wall selected from among the upper wall, the lower wall, and each of the sidewalls can withstand a minimum distributed force perpendicular to the selected wall of at least (0.11×Pp psi×Aw) pounds, wherein Pp is the maximum pressure that the compression system can apply to the material and Aw is the area of the selected wall expressed in square inches, and wherein the compression system can apply at least one platen pressure between 26 psi and 126 psi to the material. Preferably the compression system can apply at least one platen pressure between 46 psi and 86 psi to the woody biomass material in the baling chamber. Most preferably, the compression system can apply at least one platen pressure between 50 psi and 71 psi to the material. The baling chamber may be open-ended, or closed by a back wall corresponding in dimensions to the front wall. One of the side walls can be reversibly opened as an ejection door, in which case the ejection system should apply a force greater than or equal to (Pp×w)(1.2h+0.132l) pounds to move the bale from the chamber through the opened sidewall door, wherein w is the width of the compression platen, h is the height of the compression platen, and l is the length of the chamber.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.