Spent Coffee Grounds as a Lubricant in Pelleting of Wood

Abstract

Pellets and a process for producing pellets are disclosed. The process includes recovering spent coffee grounds from a coffee production facility. The coffee grounds are then subject to a drying process to remove moisture from the coffee grounds to form dried coffee grounds. A mixture of about 0.5-5% dried coffee grounds and wood material is then formed. The mixture is then compressed in a pellet mill to form wood pellets including about 0.5-5% coffee grounds. The coffee grounds in the wood material acts as a lubricant for the pelleting machinery and eliminate the need for other lubricants in the process.

1 . A process for producing pellets using coffee grounds as a lubricant, comprising:
 providing coffee grounds having an initial moisture content;   drying the coffee grounds to a second moisture content of 3-15%, by weight;   forming a mixture of about 0.5-5%, by weight, dried coffee grounds and about 95-99%, by weight wood material, said mixture having a third moisture content;   compressing the mixture in a pellet mill to form pellets including wood material and about 0.5-5%, by weight, coffee grounds, wherein the coffee grounds act as a sole lubricant in the process for producing pellets.   
     
     
         2 . (canceled) 
     
     
         3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the coffee grounds are dried to the second moisture content of about 10% or less, by weight. 
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the third moisture content is about 8% to 14%, by weight. 
     
     
         6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the pellets are extruded through a die to form pellets having a diameter of 10/64 inches to 48/64 inches. 
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 7 , wherein the pellets are subsequently transferred by gravity to a cooler where the pellets are cooled. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 8 , wherein air is drawn through the pellets and passed to a dust collection device. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 9 , wherein fines are routed back to the mixture for reprocessing. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the process further includes a step of adding a binder to the mixture and the pellets further includes a binder. 
     
     
         12 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the pellet mill includes an ammeter to allow for adjustment of a feed rate to secure a maximum capacity of the pellet mill without overloading a motor. 
     
     
         22 . A process for producing pellets using coffee grounds as a lubricant, comprising:
 providing coffee grounds having a moisture content of about 3-10%, by weight;   forming a mixture of about 0.5-5%, by weight, coffee grounds and about 95-99%, by weight of a wood material, said mixture having a moisture content of about 8% to 14%, by weight;   compressing the mixture in a pellet mill to form pellets including wood material and about 0.5-5%, by weight, coffee grounds, wherein the coffee grounds act as a sole lubricant in the process for producing pellets.   
     
     
         23 . (canceled) 
     
     
         24 . The process of  claim 22 , wherein the process further includes a step of adding a binder to the mixture and the pellets further includes a binder. 
     
     
         25 - 26 . (canceled) 
     
     
         27 . The process of  claim 22  wherein the pellet mill includes an ammeter to allow for adjustment of a feed rate to secure a maximum capacity of the pellet mill without overloading a motor.