Description

ANNOTATION: The principal focus of biomass harvesting in the past has been the use of chipping systems to reduce a wide variety of woody materials down to small pieces for easier handling and transporting. However, chipping systems have several short comings that limit their operational environments. For example, a conventional chipping system might not be applicable for harvesting small diameter trees growing in powerline rights-of-ways and energy wood plantations. An alternative to conventional methods of harvesting small diameter trees for energy use is roll crushing/splitting. The concept involves the crushing and splitting of small diameter stems to expedite field drying and to facilitate handling by producing a uniform material for baling or modulating.