Reed Canary Grass or RCG is another developing biomass fuel source, unlike Miscanthus, which is grown from rhizomes; RCG can be grown from seed. However the yields per acre of RCG are generally less than Miscanthus. With regards to burning RCG, its corrosion levels are slightly less than Miscanthus, and it produces roughly the same percentage of ash. Again check that your pellet burner can handle this.
We were donated a bale of RCG from a friend, the bale had a moisture content of roughly 30%, which is far too high for pelletizing so we placed the bale In the barn and spread some material out, so it could dry. When RCG is harvested the moisture content is practically ideal for pellet production, this bale however must have left outside. After a week or so we decided to process the RCG to see what would happen. As the material is not as dense as the Miscanthus it was easier to pelletize. With the first run through the pellet mill pellets were formed, but they did not have smooth surface, and were expanding slightly due to the moisture content still been too high. Once the pellet mill was up to temperature we placed the material through the mill again, and hard compact pellets were formed.
Our aim with every potential biomass fuel source it to learn the specific moisture contents required to produce a pellet first time, and design processes to make the process as simple as possible. Developing better knowledge in material preparation will result in high productivity.
Thank you for your interest
