No matter the raw material is single or mixed, keeping the consistency of the raw material is very essential for the pellet production in a pellet plant. After the material is milled and dried, a batch mixer is required to blend the raw material evenly. If the raw material is inconsistent, the moisture percentage will be unstable and result in the changes in material density and poor binding properties, which will severely affect the quality of pellets made by an homemade or industrial wood pellet mill.
In order to increase the biomass pellet production efficiency, we can add some binders or lubricants to the lignin-lacked raw material in the process of mixing to compress into the pellets more easily. Common binders are not very expensive. Water and vegetable oil can also act as the role of binder and lubricant.
However, whether mixing is needed or not depends on different raw materials. Some materials may not require mixing for they already have a good consistency. Besides, for example, some material, rape cake, have a low density and oily characteristic, so they are blended very well without utilizing a mixer. But there are still many materials need to be mixed in order to produce qualified pellets. There are various kinds of mixing equipments for your choices from rolling drums to agitators.