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What is biomass fuel?
A renewable fuel already being produced across the USA, Canada and Europe.
A fuel already providing energy to over ONE MILLION homes, businesses and schools in North America.
Economical and sustainable energy source that continues to grow internationally.
A fuel that burns cleaner than nonrenewable fossil fuels.
A growing industry that has the potential to create many jobs, especially in rural areas, and positively boost regional economics.
A competitive, price-stable fuel that costs less than oil, propane or natural gas.
THIS IS THE REALITY OF WOOD PELLET FUEL.
Cordwood, wood pellets, wood chips, waste paper, along with dozens of other agricultural by-products capable of being used for energy, are all examples of biomass fuel. The most compelling principle of biomass is that it is renewable. Given proper forest and agricultural management, biomass is virtually limitless, and has proven to be price stable. The environmental benefit of the fuel is that it turns readily available waste products into clean and efficient energy.
Sustainable forest initiatives, wood manufacturing by-products and other forms of forest agricultural management provide cost effective pellet fuel manufacturers with low cost materials by retrieving biomass materials from these programs. The majority of North America’s forest is second-growth and requires periodic treatment in order to address forest health and fire mitigation. A tremendous amount of unusable material remains on the forest floor after such treatment; material rejected by high-end wood product manufacturers but a perfect resource for commercial pellet manufacturers.
By engineering waste such as cornstalks, straw, wastepaper, wooden shipping pallets, residual forest waste, even animal waste, pellets can utilize millions of tons of waste and put them to work.
The benefits of pellet fuel
Pellet manufacturers take by-products (like wood waste) and refine them into pencil sized pellets that are uniform in size, shape, moisture, density and energy content. Why not simply burn raw biomass? First, the moisture content of pellets is substantially lower (4% to 8% water, compared to 20% to 60% for raw biomass). Less moisture means higher BTU value and easier handling especially in freezing situations with green raw biomass materials. Second, the density of pellet fuel is substantially higher than raw biomass (40 lbs. per cubic foot vs. 10-25 lbs. per cubic foot in raw material form). More fuel can be transported in a given truck space, and more energy can be stored at your site. Third, pellets are more easily and predictably handled. Their uniform shape and size allows for a smaller and simpler feed system that reduces costs. This high density and uniform shape can be stored in standard silos, transported in rail cars and delivered in truck containers. Pellets pose none of the explosion risks or environmental pollution from spills as nonrenewable fossil fuels do.
The remarkable consistency and burn efficiency of pellet fuel produces a fraction of the particulate emissions of raw biomass. Pellet burners feature the lowest particulate matter emissions of all solid fuel burners.
When you heat with biomass, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. Trees absorb this carbon dioxide in equal amounts as they grow, so burning pellets does not increase the amount of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.
Arsenic, carbon monoxide, sulfur and the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide are just a few of the air and water pollutants resulting from the use of all nonrenewable fossil fuels as a heat and an energy source. Even if the supply of nonrenewable fossil fuel was unlimited, the economic and associated environmental costs of transporting and burning ever-increasing amounts of nonrenewable fossil fuels are simply unsustainable. In fact, since pellets can burn more efficiently (system efficiency averages at 80%) than other fuels, emissions from pellet burners meet even the most stringent EPA requirements.
Any remaining ash in the burn chamber, when removed, is of little consequence. Once the ash is emptied periodically, it can actually double as a fertilizer. Finally, pellet store poses no soil or water contamination risks. A spill can be cleaned with a shovel … not a hazardous waste crew.
Combustion systems & changeover
Though pellet fuel installations have a reputation in some circles as ‘alternative’ choices, their functional components are virtually identical to those of the more conventional oil, coal or gas systems. The European example offers a glimpse of what future opportunities hold. They include a pellet storage container, a burner, an automated feeder to supply that burner, a boiler, exhaust system and chimney. There is no need for extensive permits or containment because there is no volatile oil or gas. Any storage can take place above or below ground, making maintenance and filling easier and further reducing costs of installation and upkeep.
A heating system producing approximately 500,000 BTU/hr (that of a small school’s system, for instance) currently burning oil, coal or natural gas, in many instances can be changed to burn pellets with retrofits made only to the burner, plus the addition of a combustion conveying system and a storage container. In such a system, the existing boiler and heat delivery structures remain unchanged. Solid fuel systems such as those burning coal or wood chips are more easily retrofitted to burn pellets through simple feed and air supply adjustments. A pelletized, refined fuel will always burn cleaner than the virgin material form.
The pellet fuels burn process holds emissions far below those of nonrenewable fossil fuels. Future research in commercial pellet burning systems are employing various technologies which are promising even further increases in efficiencies.