US Patent 11286439 Anti-autooxidative wood pellet binder

Formulations and methods of making wood pellets treated with lignin sulfonate as an anti-autooxidative component to reduce the rate of self-heating of bulk wood pellets. The lignin sulfonate may be used as a binder in the wood pellets or the wood pellets may be sprayed with lignin sulfonate for an encapsulated wood pellet. Wood pellets having the lignin sulfonate have a lowered potential of self-heating below high reactivity pellets and better structural durability during storage and transportation without adversely affecting the fuel value of the wood pellets.