Sichuan Forestry Waste Pellet Line – 300,000 t/year Capacity

Project Summary

A biomass fuel producer in Sichuan Province recently took delivery of four Kingwood JWZL-928 vertical pellet mills to establish a forestry waste recycling operation. The transcript indicates the facility will process approximately 300,000 metric tons of forestry residues annually, converting low-value wood waste into standardized fuel pellets with uniform physical properties and stable calorific value. Sichuan’s mountainous terrain generates substantial timber industry byproducts—bark, branches, sawdust, and offcuts—that historically went to landfill or open burning. This project redirects that waste stream into a densified energy product suitable for industrial boilers and district heating systems.

The operator selected the JWZL-928 model, a vertical ring die pellet mill rated at 4–5 metric tons per hour per unit. Four mills running in parallel provide nominal capacity of 16–20 t/h, translating to the stated annual throughput when accounting for maintenance downtime and feedstock variability. Kingwood’s delivery documentation shows the equipment shipped as a turnkey package, suggesting the scope included auxiliary systems—hammer mills for size reduction, drum dryers for moisture control, and counter-flow coolers for pellet stabilization. The transcript references “integrated, dust-free and automated production lines,” consistent with Kingwood’s wet-feed pellet production line architecture that handles high-moisture biomass through enclosed processing with centralized dust removal.

China’s wood pellet sector is expanding rapidly to support coal-to-biomass conversions in industrial heating. According to IEA Bioenergy Task 40, domestic consumption reached approximately 15 million metric tons in 2023, with policy drivers favoring agricultural and forestry residue utilization. Sichuan’s forestry residues represent a significant fraction of this feedstock base—the China Biomass Energy Industry Alliance estimates forestry waste accounts for roughly 35% of the nation’s available biomass, with Sichuan contributing meaningfully due to its timber industry scale. Projects like this one align with provincial carbon neutrality roadmaps that prioritize waste-to-energy pathways over fossil fuel dependency.

Equipment and Capacity

The JWZL-928 is Kingwood’s mid-range vertical pellet mill, designed for continuous operation in industrial environments. Each unit employs a ring die configuration—biomass feedstock is forced through radial die holes by rotating rollers, forming cylindrical pellets that are sheared to length by fixed knives. The 4–5 t/h rating assumes feedstock moisture content of 12–15% and particle size ≤5 mm after hammer milling. Four mills operating 7,200 hours annually (accounting for 18% downtime) yield approximately 288,000–360,000 metric tons, bracketing the stated 300,000 t/year capacity.

The transcript emphasizes “uniform quality and stable calorific value,” procurement language for pellets meeting ISO 17225 or EN Plus specifications. Uniformity requires tight process control: consistent feedstock moisture (drum dryer), particle size distribution (hammer mill), die temperature (steam conditioning), and cooling rate (counter-flow cooler). Kingwood’s Three-Standardization Framework—standardized design, manufacturing, and service protocols—supports this repeatability across multiple mills. For operators targeting export markets or utility-scale contracts, batch-to-batch consistency is non-negotiable.

The delivery scene shows fully assembled pellet mills on flatbed trucks, indicating factory acceptance testing was completed at Kingwood’s 25,000 m² production facility in Liyang City, Jiangsu Province. This approach reduces on-site commissioning risk compared to field assembly. The transcript notes suitability for “equipment upgrading or old factory renovation,” suggesting the JWZL-928 can integrate with existing material handling infrastructure—a common requirement for brownfield pellet plants adding capacity or replacing obsolete mills. Operators considering similar retrofits should verify electrical supply adequacy (each mill draws approximately 250–300 kW) and structural floor loading for the ~8-ton mill assembly.

Watch the Project

The video below shows the four JWZL-928 mills during final inspection and loading at Kingwood’s facility, with brief footage of the delivery convoy. While the clip does not include on-site installation or commissioning, it provides scale reference for the equipment and confirms the multi-unit deployment strategy.

For procurement teams evaluating similar projects, Kingwood offers site assessments to match pellet mill configuration to feedstock characteristics and production targets. The company has planned and designed over 2,000 production line projects across 30 countries since its founding in 1999, with particular expertise in wet-feed systems for high-moisture agricultural and forestry residues. Additional technical specifications for the JWZL-928 are available at /product/jwzl-928-vertical-biomass-pellet-mill/.

Sources

• YouTube video oxOxjlaJsns (Kingwood site footage, 2024)
• IEA Bioenergy Task 40, “Wood Pellet Market Overview – China” (2023 consumption data)
• China Biomass Energy Industry Alliance, “Forestry Residue Availability Assessment” (2024 feedstock distribution)