Several Beast recyclers from Remus, Mich.-based Bandit Industries are playing a role in the international biomass fuel markets by reducing wood and grassy materials. A number of diesel-powered models have been working in Poland, processing grasses into biomass fuel for about a year, and a new electric-powered Beast recently started converting baled grasses into usable fuel.

A 700-horsepower Model 3680 Beast is supplying grasses for a cellulose paper plant in Swiecie, Poland. The plant uses the ground grassy material to fire a boiler that supplies steam and electricity to the plant. The higher-horsepower machine is preferred over a 500-horsepower machine, to allow for a reduction in fuel consumption per cubic meter of ground material, according to Bandit.

Although the round bales are larger than the opening into the Beast, the top feed wheel extends over the top of the bales of material and rolls the bales into the cuttermill, easily processing the material. Because of the long in-feed bed, bales can be set continuously into the machine, ensuring steady production. The end product is ideally sized for boiler fuel.

Beast recyclers also are being used in tough grass grinding applications. One power plant located in Opele, Poland, had a large supply of wet straw that could not be processed by any other machine, said Artur Glowa of ZUUZ, a Bandit Industries dealer in Poland.

“They asked us to try to process the wet straw with our equipment to make a product with a certain size requirement,” Glowa explained.

Glowa demonstrated that a 540-horsepower Model 3680 Beast recycler with a 3-inch diamond screen and a combination of shingle, carbide and butcher fan teeth would produce between 12 to 14 tons of biomass fuel per hour. The ground grassy material was then fed to the power plant.

“Because of our success grinding the wet straw, we are now testing a Beast that will be used as the primary reduction machine in a straw pellet application,” Glowa said.