Overview
ISO 17827-1:2024 - Solid biofuels - Determination of particle size distribution for uncompressed fuels - Part 1 specifies a standardized laboratory method for measuring the particle size distribution of uncompressed solid biofuels using a horizontally oscillating screen method. The procedure applies to fuels with nominal top sizes of 3.15 mm and above (for example, wood chips, hog fuel, olive stones) and is intended to characterize material up to particle size class P63.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Method principle: Separation of a test portion by horizontally oscillating (two-dimensional) sieves to sort particles into decreasing size classes.
- Sieve set and apertures: Sieves with round perforated holes conforming to ISO 3310‑2; typical aperture sizes used include 3.15 mm, 16 mm, 31.5 mm, 45 mm, 63 mm.
- Minimum sieve area: Each sieve should have an effective area of at least 1 200 cm² (e.g., ~400 mm diameter).
- Sample size and preparation:
- Test portion extracted per ISO 18135 / ISO 21945 and subdivided with volume reduction methods per ISO 14780.
- Minimum test portion: 8 litres (4 litres acceptable where 100% passes a 45 mm sieve).
- Moisture conditioning: Material must be sieved at moisture content below 20% (wet basis); pre-drying procedures referenced.
- Sieving operation:
- Use horizontal oscillation equipment; report machine settings (frequency, amplitude, duration).
- Minimum sieving time determined by pre-tests; recommended alternative duration 15 minutes.
- Stop criteria: continue until mass change between sequential sieves does not exceed 0.3% of sample mass per 1 min of sieving.
- Avoid excessive sieving to prevent abrasion and increased fines.
- Weighing and precision: Balance readable to 0.1 g; record masses of retained fractions and express results as percentage of total mass.
- Special cases: Particles ≥100 mm must be hand-sorted and weighed; larger P- and PL-classes primarily characterized by hand sorting.
Applications and users
ISO 17827-1:2024 is intended for:
- Biomass quality laboratories performing particle size distribution analysis.
- Solid biofuel producers, suppliers and traders (wood chip grading and compliance).
- Power plants, industrial boilers and pellet/feeding system designers assessing fuel handling, transport and combustion behavior.
- R&D groups and process engineers optimizing feeding systems (to avoid clogging, bridging or excessive fines) and safety specialists concerned with dust/fines.
The standard supports consistent reporting of particle-size data for procurement, compliance with fuel specifications (ISO 17225 series), and performance tuning of biomass conversion systems.
Related standards
Keywords: ISO 17827-1:2024, solid biofuels, particle size distribution, oscillating screen method, sieves 3.15 mm, wood chips, hog fuel, biomass sieving.