Technical Report

NREL/TP-7A2-45843

November 2009

Assessment of Biomass 

Pelletization Options for 

Greensburg, Kansas

Executive Summary

S. Haase
National Renewable Energy Laboratory

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Technical Report

NREL/TP-7A2-45843

November 2009

Assessment of Biomass 

Pelletization Options for 

Greensburg, Kansas

Executive Summary

S. Haase

Prepared under Task No. IDKS.1070
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iii

NREL Contacts

Laboratory Point Scott Haase

of Contact: Phone: 303-275-3057 

scott.haase@nrel.gov

Project Team: Scott Haase

Lynn Billman 

Anelia Milbrandt 

Dave Peterson 

Chris Gaul 

Rachel Gelman

Alexander Dane

Project Name: Assessment of Biomass Pelletization Options for Greensburg, Kansas:

Executive Summary
iv

Acknowledgments

This work was conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable 

Energy Laboratory (NREL) to provide input on the potential to establish a biomass pelletization 

or briquetting plant in or around the community of Greensburg, Kansas.

A number of organizations and individuals contributed information that was useful in the 

analysis. The authors wish to thank the following persons and organizations for their assistance 

with this project (listed alphabetically):

• Bob Dickson, Mayor of Greensburg, Kansas

• Kelly Estes, BTI Industries

• Mike Estes, BTI Industries

• Josh Harden, Biomass Energy Development Company

• Steve Hewitt, Greensburg City Administrator

• Brian Hoffman, Pratt Area Chamber of Commerce

• Roger Masenthin, USDA, Sunflower Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D)

Program

• Mike Mayberry, USDA, Sunflower RC&D Program

• Don Queal, Queal Enterprises 

• Jeanette Siemens, Kiowa County Economic Development

• Terry Studer, Local Agricultural Producer.

At NREL, staff who contributed to the effort in addition to the main author include: Lynn 

Billman, Alexander Dane, Chris Gaul, Rachel Gelman, Anelia Milbrandt, and Dave Peterson.
1

Executive Summary

In May 2007, the town of Greensburg, Kansas, was struck by a large tornado that destroyed more 

than 90% of the buildings and infrastructure of the town. After this devastating event, the 

citizens of Greensburg decided to rebuild their town in a green manner, incorporating the most 

efficient energy technologies possible in the reconstruction effort. The U.S. Department of 

Energy, through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), has been providing 

technical assistance to Greensburg to help facilitate the various efforts. As part of this support, 

NREL conducted an assessment of potential opportunities to develop a biomass pelletization or 

briquetting plant in the region.

Major activities conducted for this assessment include the following:

• Detailed analysis of the biomass resource base in the region, including quantity, physical 

and chemical properties, availability, cost, and collection potential

• Assessment of demand for thermal energy in the region, and opportunities for biomass to 

be utilized to meet some of that demand

• Overview of the pellet manufacturing process, including equipment needs, capital costs, 

and manufacturing costs

• Overview of briquette and bripell manufacturing technologies and costs

• Discussion of end-use conversion technologies

• Conclusions and recommendations for next steps.

Biomass Resource Assessment

Biomass Quantity and Geographic Distribution. NREL conducted a detailed, county-level 

assessment of the biomass residues found in the region. The primary agricultural biomass types 

located in the region include corn stover, corn cobs, sorghum residue, and wheat straw. There is 

also significant potential to collect woody biomass in the form of eastern red cedar. Eastern red 

cedar is considered an invasive species, and it is spreading rapidly from Oklahoma into 

southwestern Kansas. Cedar trees are being aggressively cut and removed to prevent its 

continued spread into agricultural lands. 

Counties were included in the analysis if all or most of the county boundary is located within a 

50-mile radius of either Pratt or Greensburg, Kansas. Using data available from the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), NREL estimated the 

quantities of residues that are produced in the region. NREL used a 10-year average of values to 

account for potential year-to-year fluctuations in market conditions, weather patterns, and 

harvest. Based on total residue produced, NREL then used standard factors to estimate the 

amount of biomass that could safely be removed from agricultural lands while still maintaining 

nutrient cycling, soil health, and erosion mitigation. We estimated the quantity of eastern red 

cedar available through interviews with a local cedar clearing company. The full methodology is 

documented in Appendix A of this report.
2

Table ES-1 shows the total residues available in the study area, by county. A total of 1.7 million 

bone dry tons per year (bdt/yr) are available within counties that intersect 50 miles of Pratt and 

Greensburg. The value under “other forestry removals” for Pratt County is an estimate of the 

quantity of eastern red cedar available in the area. Even though this material is collected from 

many counties in the region, this quantity has been assigned to Pratt County because it is the 

location of the contractor’s business. It should also be noted that the values for corn are based 

only on residues available from irrigated acres. We found that non-irrigated corn is in a netdeficit situation, meaning that more residue should be left on the land than is actually being 

produced.

Table ES-1. Summary of Biomass Residues

Figure ES-1 shows the geographic distribution of the residues in the study area. Notice that, in 

general, greater quantities of residues are produced in the eastern counties of the region.

County Wheat Corn Sorghum Soybean Sunflower Cotton Logging 

Residues

Other 

Forestry 

Removals

Corn Cobs Total

Barber 25,283 407 4,004 1,337 46 210 161 2,818 623 34,888

Barton 74,604 17,556 47,399 14,320 222 - 22 14,760 168,882

Clark 469 9,681 345 - - - 218 10,713

Comanche 3,835 285 5,357 627 - - - 450 10,554

Edwards 31,955 39,921 18,599 21,961 60 - - 31,913 144,409

Ford 55,368 22,632 53,883 10,214 136 - - 21,533 163,765

Harper 96,815 146 9,270 1,821 65 436 0 135 108,687

Hodgeman 21,536 2,228 18,130 1,287 - - - 4,200 47,380

Kingman 78,586 5,270 8,869 6,458 185 - - 3,810 103,177

Kiowa 17,281 15,562 12,205 12,255 24 - - 15,113 72,438

Pawnee 59,127 21,710 35,327 16,494 52 - - 18,915 151,626

Pratt 58,679 38,472 19,270 17,711 377 1,122 12,500 33,533 181,663

Reno 89,693 13,495 51,240 22,829 1,253 - 15 13,118 191,642

Rice 111,254 14,194 50,816 15,130 931 - 24 8,190 200,539

Stafford 35,258 18,182 20,366 14,845 85 - - 31,935 120,670

Total 759,742 210,058 364,416 157,632 3,435 1,768 222 15,318 198,443 1,711,034

Residues Available (bdt/yr)
3

Figure ES-1. Biomass residue distribution

Looking in greater detail at the production of agricultural residues, we present in Table ES-2 the 

yields of biomass per acre of land harvested. The values for corn are only from irrigated acres. 

The table indicates that irrigated sorghum and irrigated corn will yield the greatest amount of 

biomass per acre. Thus, if one is interested in collecting agricultural residues, these two 

feedstocks should be considered as the top priority, as fewer acres will be needed to collect the 

most material.
4

Table ES-2. Yields of Biomass per Acre of Crop Land (bdt/acre/yr)

Biomass Physical and Chemical Properties. Table ES-3 shows the results of lab tests for some 

of the feedstocks in the region. The column labeled SMEC pellets shows the results of tests 

performed on a 50-50 blend of wood and agricultural residues made by Show Me Energy 

Cooperative (SMEC) of Centerview, Missouri. These pellets have moderate Btu value, high 

percentage of ash, and high alkalis. Most pellet-burning appliances are designed to handle lowash (< 1%) fuels and low-alkali fuels. Values higher than 0.4 pounds of alkali per million British 

thermal units (lb/Mbtu) are likely to cause slagging or clinker formation during the combustion 

process. Pellets made from wood and agricultural residues in Greensburg would exhibit similar 

characteristics if similar blend ratios are used. In general, the SMEC pellets are better suited for 

use in large-scale utility plants (mixed with coal) or in large industrial- or commercial-scale 

biomass combustors designed to handle high-ash, high-alkali fuels. Appendix B contains the 

detailed lab results of the analysis of these samples, and of samples of corn stover, corn cobs, and 

sorghum residue.

Potential end users of biomass pellets in the region would likely want a price concession on the 

cost of the product in order to offset the higher operations and maintenance costs associated with 

using a high-ash, high-alkali fuel.

Table ES-3. Biomass Physical and Chemical Properties

Corn 

(bdt/acre)

Wheat Irrigated

Wheat Nonirrigated Wheat Total Sorghum IrrigatedSorghum NonirrigatedSorghum 

Total

Corn Stover 

and Cobs

Barber 0.52 0.22 0.22 0.50 1.24

Barton 0.67 0.46 0.46 1.35 0.80 0.86 1.64

Clark 0.27 - 0.01 1.22 0.70 0.65 0.75

Comanche 0.44 0.05 0.06 1.23 0.37 0.55 1.23

Edwards 0.70 0.27 0.33 1.13 0.60 0.71 1.69

Ford 0.57 0.31 0.33 1.28 0.71 0.80 1.54

Harper 0.61 0.44 0.44 0.57 1.56

Hodgeman 0.64 0.17 0.21 1.09 0.64 0.69 1.15

Kingman 0.69 0.40 0.41 1.20 0.54 0.59 1.79

Kiowa 0.47 0.22 0.25 1.27 0.63 0.73 1.52

Pawnee 0.74 0.42 0.45 1.29 0.73 0.83 1.61

Pratt 0.58 0.39 0.40 1.25 0.64 0.70 1.61

Reno 0.68 0.37 0.38 1.17 0.67 0.71 1.52

Rice 0.57 0.75 0.75 1.07 0.63 0.85 2.05

Stafford 0.56 0.23 0.26 1.24 0.69 0.75 1.18

Average 0.51 0.26 0.28 1.05 0.52 0.58 1.47

Wheat (bdt/acre) Sorghum Residues (bdt/acre) County

Value

Wheat 

Straw

Freshly Cut 

Cedar

Seasoned 

Cedar

SMEC 

Pellets

Btu content as received HHV (Btu/lb) 7,125 8,143 8,056 7,059

Btu content bone dry (Btu/lb) 7,709 8,827 8,976 7,680

Moisture content as received (%) 7.57 7.75 10.25 8.09

Percentage Ash (%) 7.83 1.63 0.88 9.04

Lb Alkali/Mbtu 1.3 0.08 0.05 1.44

Lb ash/Mbtu 10.99 2.00 1.09 12.81

Potassium in ash as K2O (%) 11.4 3.25 4.55 10.8
5

The values for cedar shown in Table ES-3 indicate that this material would make an excellent 

feedstock for a biomass system. A product made of only cedar, or mostly cedar, is going to have 

much better combustion properties than a 50-50 blend of agricultural residues and cedar. For this 

reason, entrepreneurs wishing to develop a plant in the region may want to use either 100% cedar 

or a small blend percentage of agricultural residues. Test batches of various blend percentages 

would need to be made in order to test for ash content and alkali values before any full-scale 

production begins. The size of any potential pellet enterprise may be limited by the quantity of 

cedar that can economically be collected in the region.

Biomass Cost. Biomass collection cost is one of the major factors influencing the final cost of 

pellets. One of the challenges of using agricultural residues for feedstock is that the resource is 

dispersed on the land and relatively expensive to collect. Remember, too, that biomass pellets are 

competing against fossil fuels–primarily natural gas and propane. In recent months, the 

wholesale price of natural gas has fallen from $14/Mbtu to less than $4/Mbtu. 

Figure ES-2 shows the cost of biomass in $/Mbtu versus various costs to collect and deliver a ton 

of agricultural residues. Based on results of this and other studies referenced herein, we estimate 

that biomass collection costs will be in the range of $55-$60 per field-dried ton for agricultural 

residues. Note that at $60 per ton, the fuel cost alone is equivalent to $4.29/Mbtu. When pellet 

manufacturing costs (labor, energy, packaging, debt, transportation) are added to this, it is clear 

that pellets will have a difficult time competing with fossil fuels at today’s prices.

Figure ES-2. Fuel costs of agricultural residues ($/Mbtu versus $/delivered ton)

The delivered cost of cedar biomass is likely to be somewhat lower than that of agricultural 

residues. We estimate that cedar can be delivered to a regional pellet manufacturing plant for 

about $35/green ton. Assuming 8,800 Btu per dry pound and 40% moisture, this equates to 

$1.43 

$2.14 

$2.86 

$3.57 

$4.29 

$5.00 

$-

$1.00 

$2.00 

$3.00 

$4.00 

$5.00 

$6.00 

$20 $30 $40 $50 $60 $70

$/Mmbtu

$/ton delivered
6

$3.31/Mbtu. Cedar is an important feedstock in the region, as it is likely to be the lowest cost 

resource; at the same time it has the best physical and chemical qualities of all the regional 

biomass sources. 

Regional Demand for Thermal Energy and Competing Fuel Costs

Comparison of Fuel Prices. Table ES-4 shows the delivered costs of energy from various fuels 

used in the region. The delivered cost of energy takes into account appliance efficiency and thus 

represents the cost to deliver a therm of useful energy to the building space. The natural gas 

prices used in the table are based on statewide averages for Kansas for the months of April 

through December 2008. Although the natural gas prices are based on average values for the 

period, note that the most recent prices for November and December 2008 were considerably 

lower than the averages. So while the commercial cost per therm is listed as $1.57 in table ES-4, 

the value for December 2008 was $1.00 per therm, which would make the delivered cost of 

energy $12.00/Mbtu as compared to the $19.63 shown in Table ES-4.

Table ES-4. Delivered Cost of Thermal Energy for Various Fuels ($/Mbtu)

When assessing the market for pellets, it is important to remember that fossil fuel prices fluctuate 

considerably, and while prices are low, end users may not be as interested in alternative fuels as 

they would be when prices are high. One of the selling points of biomass should be that biomass 

prices typically remain stable and seldom exhibit the wild price swings evident with fossil fuels.

Chipped cedar at $50 per ton has the lowest delivered cost, followed by straw bales. However, 

the use of these fuels will require additional on-site labor and higher up-front capital costs when 

compared with systems that burn pellets or other densified fuels. Notice that wood/ag pellets at 

$130 per ton are about $0.67 less per Mbtu than the cost of energy at the average industrial rate 

for gas in Kansas. It is difficult to compete with natural gas if your fuel is just slightly less 

expensive yet takes more labor and maintenance and requires an up-front purchase of a new 

appliance. Ag pellets at $130 per ton compare nicely, however, with hardwood pellets at $185

per ton, fuel oil at $2.17 per gallon, propane at $2.13 per gallon, and electrical resistance heat at 

$0.10 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Ag pellets also compare well with commercial natural gas rates 

of $19.63/Mbtu. Ag pellets at $160 per ton compare favorably with fuel oil, commercial and 

residential gas, propane, and electricity. Note that it may be a challenge for a pellet plant to 

deliver wood/ag pellets to its customers at $130 per ton, even when using bulk shipments instead 

Source Units

Cost to User 

($)

Efficiency 

(%) Btu/unit $/Mbtu

Chipped Cedar $/green ton 50.00 75 13,200,000 5.05

Wheat straw bales $/ton 55.00 70 14,000,000 5.61

Natural gas (industrial) $/therm 0.69 80 100,000 8.63

Wood/ag pellets ($130/ton) $/ton 130.00 80 15,000,000 10.83

Wood/ag pellets ($160/ton) $/ton 160.00 80 15,000,000 13.33

Hardwood pellets $/ton 185.00 80 16,600,000 13.93

Natural gas (commercial) $/therm 1.50 80 100,000 18.75

Fuel oil $/gallon 2.17 85 135,000 18.91

Natural gas (residential) $/therm 2.10 80 100,000 26.25

Propane $/gallon 2.13 85 91,600 27.36

Electricity $/kWh 0.10 100 3,413 29.30
7

of plastic bags. A cost of $160 per ton for bulk pellets delivered to a regional customer may be 

more likely. 

Table ES-5 shows the average natural gas rates in Kansas by customer type. Data are shown 

through October 2008. It is likely that in the near term these rates will show a continued 

downward trend. The value for “electric power price” is the rate paid for gas used to generate 

electricity. The Energy Information Administration reports the data in terms of dollars per 

thousand cubic feet ($/Mcf). We have reported these values in $/Mbtu to be consistent with the 

other units used in this report.

Table ES-5. Average 2008 Monthly Natural Gas Prices in Kansas,

by Customer Type ($/Mbtu)

Figure ES-3 shows historic wholesale prices of Kansas natural gas, adjusted to 2008 dollars. 

Prices have experienced significant volatility over the 36-year period. From the early1990s until 

about 2000, prices were around or below $4/Mbtu and relatively stable. Since the year 2000, 

prices had been on a steady upward trend until the fall of 2008. With the recent economic 

downturn, prices have fallen significantly. On January 22, 2009, the Henry Hub natural gas 

prices closed at $4.72/Mbtu. Although prices have fallen precipitously over the last few months, 

the long-term trend line is still upward, at least for now.

Figure ES-3. Industrial customer natural gas prices (1970-January 2009)

Sector Apr-08 May-08 Jun-08 Jul-08 Aug-08 Sep-08 Oct-08 Nov-08 Dec-08 Average

Residential 15.29 17.14 22.41 23.81 24.90 21.82 18.73 12.71 10.41 18.58

Commercial 14.57 15.71 18.61 19.11 19.32 17.54 15.15 11.64 10.06 15.75

Industrial 9.30 9.64 10.09 11.09 10.11 8.35 6.95 7.84 9.25 9.18

Electric Power 10.22 10.98 11.65 10.85 8.97 6.67 4.50 4.88 8.59

Kansas Natural gas Price in Real Dollars

$-

$2.00

$4.00

$6.00

$8.00

$10.00

$12.00

1970197219741976197819801982198419861988199019921994199619982000200220042006

Jan - Aug 2008

Oct-08

Dec-08

Year

$/MMBtu
8

Regional Demand for Natural Gas. NREL contacted regional natural gas providers to request 

aggregate data on natural gas sales by zip code or town/city place name. NREL staff then 

aggregated these data to the county level. Table ES-6 shows the estimated regional demand for 

thermal energy based on natural gas consumption. These numbers do not account for customers 

heating with propane, fuel oil, or other sources such as electricity, corn, or wood pellets, or 

customers on well-head gas. Overall, nearly 235 million therms of natural gas are consumed each 

year by more than 225,000 customers in the study area. The largest county in terms of both 

consumption and users is Sedgwick, which contains the city of Wichita. Reno and Ford counties 

also consume significant quantities of natural gas. While it is clear that it is not possible for 

pellets to replace 100% of regional natural gas use, the annual consumption of natural gas in the 

region is equivalent to approximately 1.6 million tons of pellets, assuming 7,000 Btu/lb for the 

pellets. This is tied very closely to the potential supply in the region of 1.8 million bdt/yr.

Table ES-6. Regional Demand for Natural Gas by Customer Type

Adding the pellet potential across the commercial and industrial sectors yields 700,000 tons per 

year maximum potential. Assuming pellets can capture 5% of this market, we get a total of about 

35,000 tons per year local potential in these sectors. This is not to suggest that the market in the 

area is limited to 35,000 tons. It may be possible to identify several larger customers that alone 

could consume more than 35,000 tons at a single facility. These large potential users should be 

contacted directly to discuss their possible interest in biomass pellets. It is also possible to 

develop markets outside of the local area, either by truck or rail.

Entrepreneurs interested in starting a pellet facility should be prepared to spend significant 

amounts of time educating potential end users and developing the market before constructing any 

facility. One of the biggest challenges associated with building a facility to make pellets in the 

region is that there are no existing customers beyond perhaps some residential or farm users of 

pellet or corn appliances. This is the proverbial “chicken and egg” problem—end users will only 

be willing to invest in conversion technologies to burn pellets if there is a reliable, affordable, 

high-quality product available, and the builders of a pellet mill must have a reliable, creditworthy customer base to ensure that the product they make can be sold. Under present market 

conditions, there are few compelling reasons for potential end-users to be early adopter adapter.

Possible Local Commercial Customers. A successful biomass fuel production facility would 

need to develop off-take contracts with customers in order to obtain financing. Two industrial 

County Therms # of 

Users

Average 

Use

Therms # of 

Users

Average 

Use

Therms # of 

Users

Average 

Use

Therms # of Users

Barber 1,040,442 1,481 702 391,788 256 1,532 0 0 0 1,432,230 1,737

Clark 576,868 777 743 181,722 133 1,366 233,991 7 33,427 992,581 917

Comanche 457,942 626 732 266,810 128 2,089 0 0 0 724,752 753

Edwards 691,173 911 758 500,976 188 2,660 142,831 16 8,927 1,334,980 1,116

Ford 6,609,854 10,616 623 4,433,399 1,071 4,139 14,841,118 189 78,524 25,884,371 11,876

Kingman 1,354,386 1,990 680 588,138 306 1,919 180,679 5 35,543 2,123,203 2,302

Kiowa 634,912 689 922 285,830 135 2,111 408,839 37 11,050 1,329,581 861

Pawnee 1,528,536 2,029 753 529,844 256 2,069 169,351 8 21,169 2,227,731 2,293

Prattt 2,386,993 3,201 746 1,498,291 487 3,074 234,771 18 13,043 4,120,055 3,706

Reno 13,864,507 20,655 671 4,683,720 1,907 2,457 23,068,579 27 854,392 41,616,806 22,588

Sedgwick 106,217,438 162,805 652 34,022,082 12,565 2,708 11,267,245 75 150,230 151,506,766 175,445

Stafford 1,032,418 1,348 766 398,222 257 1,549 84,910 9 9,434 1,515,550 1,615

Total 136,395,468 207,128 47,780,823 17,690 50,632,314 391 234,808,605 225,209

RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL Total
9

plants in the area, Orion Ethanol in Pratt and National Gypsum in Medicine Lodge, may be 

potential customers. The Pratt ethanol plant is not operating at this writing but presumably could 

be reactivated when more favorable business conditions return. There are many other potential 

customers in Dodge City and Wichita that could be identified and contacted.

As an example of a potential customer, the National Gypsum drywall manufacturing plant in 

Medicine Lodge could utilize biomass fuel. The plant presently consumes about 900,000 Mbtu

per year of natural gas in its dryers. Offsetting 75% of this load would require on the order of 

45,000 tons of biomass pellets (or 50,000 tons of 25% moisture content cedar chips) per year. As 

of February 2009, National Gypsum is interested in exploring the economics of switching from 

gas to biomass. 

National Gypsum currently purchases natural gas for the NYMEX price, plus about 45 cents for 

delivery. Biomass costs must compete with those of natural gas. National Gypsum’s delivered 

cost of gas is presently about $5.00/Mbtu, although this price fluctuates daily. We do not believe 

that biomass pellets can be delivered to National Gypsum for $5per million Btu. If a ton of 

biomass pellets has 15 Mbtu, then the delivered cost would need to be $75 per ton to meet 

$5/Mbtu gas. The only biomass feedstock that can come close to meeting this cost at present is 

cedar chips. 

It is interesting to consider emissions of carbon dioxide. Consumption of 675,000 Mbtu/yr of 

natural gas (75% of National Gypsum’s estimated use) emits 39,500 tons of CO2 per year. Since 

biomass is considered CO2 neutral by the U.N. International Panel on Climate Change, 

conversion to biomass could potentially free up carbon credits for National Gypsum under a cap 

and trade system. Some of these credits may need to be given to the biomass supply company to 

offset the emissions of the biomass pellet operation (from field to customer). Alternatively, the 

price of natural gas would go up by about $1.20/Mbtu if CO2 is taxed at $20 per ton. This would 

make biomass pellets more attractive to the plant.

Abengoa Ethanol Plant, Hugoton, Kansas. Abengoa is presently moving forward with plans to 

construct a 100 million gallon per year combination corn/cellulosic ethanol plant in Hugoton, 

Kansas. As of the writing of this report, Abengoa is in the process of conducting its 

environmental studies and developing its feedstock supply infrastructure. Abengoa has stated 

that the plant will require nearly 500,000 “as is” tons of biomass—primarily wheat straw and 

corn stover—as inputs for the cellulosic ethanol process, as well as to provide thermal energy for 

the plant. At this time, Abengoa has stated that it plans to collect feedstocks from within 50 miles 

of Hugoton, which would keep transportation costs as low as possible. At this time, we are 

unsure if Abengoa will need to go beyond this 50-mile radius and obtain feedstocks from closer 

to the Greensburg/Pratt areas. However, interested entrepreneurs should contact Abengoa to 

discuss the potential for supplying the ethanol plant with densified biomass feedstocks.

Summary of Local Market Potential. For any densified biomass product to be commercially 

viable, it must be at least as cost-competitive and somewhat as convenient as competing fuels. 

This includes wood pellets as well as fossil fuels. In most cases, pellets are truly a commodity 

product. A lower cost producer can ship farther and thus compete with smaller, higher 

production cost pellet mills, even in the smaller mill’s own backyard. Agricultural residue 

pellets are generally lower in grade than wood pellets. If agricultural residue pellets are available 
10

in the same market as wood pellets, they would have to sell at a lower price to compete with both 

wood pellets and natural gas. Biomass pellets are likely to compete very favorably with propane, 

fuel oil, commercial natural gas rates and electricity, but so will wood pellets. Any entrepreneur 

who seeks to develop a biomass pelletization facility in the Greensburg/Pratt region should be 

prepared to spend considerable time and effort on educating potential consumers and developing

the market.

Densification Options

We evaluated three potential densified products that could be made from local biomass: pellets, 

briquettes, and bripells. All three options represent commercial technologies that would create 

viable market products, and all three can be used in commercial boiler systems to produce heat, 

power, or combined heat and power. We estimate that a 24,000-ton-per-year plant is the 

minimum size that should be built to take advantage of economies of scale, labor requirements, 

and infrastructure. It may be possible, however, to start with a smaller briquette or bripell 

production level, and scale up as the market develops.

Of the three products, pellets are associated with the most acceptance and consumer awareness, 

especially in the residential and small commercial sectors. However, the pellet market is still 

dominated by demand for premium, bagged pellets (less than 1% ash, high Btu) for the 

residential sector. Most pellet-burning appliances being sold to the residential market today are 

designed to handle low-ash fuels. Based on the feedstocks available in the Greensburg region, 

pellets made from a mixture of wood and agricultural residues will be high in alkalis, produce 

high ash, and contain medium Btu content (see the chemical analysis of the biomass sample 

pellets located in Appendix A). Without changes to pellet stove technology, there is not likely to 

be a high demand for this type of pellet from the residential sector. If pellets are the desired 

product, we suggest they be made either from 100% wood or perhaps a blend of 85%–90% wood 

with the remainder coming from agricultural residues. The exact blend could be determined 

through lab tests of various mixture percentages. 

For the large commercial or industrial sectors, there are a number of boilers or furnaces on the 

market that are capable of handling higher ash pellets. Briquettes and bripells are also well-suited 

for commercial use. Appendix E contains a list of manufacturers of technologies that could burn 

any of these products in larger applications. 

Table ES-7 shows the estimated costs of pellets, briquettes, and bripells. It must be stressed that 

these numbers are estimates only, and interested entrepreneurs are encouraged to develop their 

own detailed cost analyses before selecting one technology over another. The numbers below are 

sensitive to many factors, and changing one assumption can change any value. All of the 

numbers below were developed assuming a biomass feedstock cost of $65/bdt delivered to the 

plant.
11

Table ES-7. Summary of Manufacturing Costs

Conclusions

There is sufficient biomass located in the region to supply at least one plant creating pellets, 

briquettes, or bripells. Because cedar represents the highest quality feedstock in the region, the 

interested entrepreneur may wish to consider sizing a plant based on the quantity of cedar 

available. Agricultural residues can be added into the product mix at a later date as markets 

mature. We estimate that 12,500 bdt of cedar can be collected easily, although to get to a 

minimum sized plant (24,000 tons per year), additional cedar will need to be collected, or ag 

residues will need to be added. Due to the dry climatic conditions in the region, only agricultural 

residues from irrigated lands should be considered. Potential target feedstocks include corn 

stover, corn cobs, sorghum residue. and wheat straw.

There is also sufficient demand for thermal energy in the region. Given the current price of 

natural gas, it may be more difficult than it was a year ago to convince large commercial or 

industrial users to switch heating fuels. They could be reminded, however, that fossil fuel prices 

fluctuate considerably, and it is only a matter of time before prices begin to increase again. But 

while fossil fuel prices are low, considerable market conditioning and educational efforts will 

still be needed to persuade current natural gas customers to consider installing a biomass heating 

system. Biomass fuel will compete better with fuel oil or propane, as these two fuels are more 

expensive on a $/Mbtu basis.

A pellet, briquette, or bripell plant in the region will create six to 15 jobs, depending upon the 

technology selected.

Suggestions for Next Steps

This report has confirmed that there is a potential business opportunity in the region to develop 

some form of densified biomass business, be it pellets, bripells, or briquettes. The following 

actions are suggested as potential next steps for interested parties:

• Product Development

o Make sample blends of various feedstock combinations (e.g., cedar/corn stover, 

cedar/sorghum) in various percentage mixtures

o Send samples to the lab for chemical analysis, especially to asses ash percentages, 

Btu content, and alkali content

o If possible, conduct test burns of products in candidate appliances to assess ash, 

feed handling, slagging, and odor.

Product

Plant 

Capacity 

(tons/year)

Capital 

Costs ($)

Employees 

(FTEs)

Estimated 

Cost 

Bagged 

($/ton)

Estimated 

Cost Bulk 

($/ton)

Cost for 

100% Cedar 

($/Mbtu 

Bulk)

Cost for 50/50 

Ag-Cedar 

Blend ($/Mbtu 

Bulk)

Pellets 24,000 5,500,000 15 159 135 8.42 8.98

Briquettes 25,000 4,700,000 6 143 123 7.66 8.17

Bripells 24,000 3,000,000 10 154 134 8.36 8.92
12

• Feedstock Procurement

o Identify producers interested in biomass supply options

o Develop contract mechanisms for biomass supply

o Assess potential for planting Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land in 

switchgrass, mixed grass prairie, or other biomass for specific production of 

biomass for pellets or bricks. Some sample questions to answer would be:

What is the best mix of plants for the local region?

What are the yields and economics versus alternative CRP options?

What is the best mix of plants in terms of energy content and use?

• Market Development

o Perform additional market development efforts and educate potential end users 

about biomass energy 

o Seek state support to organize a local biomass heating workshop in the region

o Contact large commercial energy users to analyze their actual energy usage and 

costs. For example, potential regional targets in Kansas could include National 

Gypsum in Medicine Lodge; the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center in Wichita; 

the new Kiowa County Memorial Hospital in Greensburg; Pratt Community 

College in Pratt; agricultural processing plants in Dodge City; and any federal 

facilities

o Continue to identify end use technologies that are commercially available and can 

be deployed at customer sites.

• Business Analysis

o Conduct detailed pro forma analyses for bripells, briquettes, and pellets

o Develop a business plan and conduct a detailed plant design.
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Assessment of Biomass Pelletization Options for Greensburg, 

Kansas: Executive Summary

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DE-AC36-08-GO28308

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This executive summary provides an overview of a technical report on an assessment NREL conducted in 

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