Biomass Bioenergy

There are various different forms of biomass bioenergy. Biomass can be converted into compressed solid fuels, liquid fuel and gaseous fuels. At PelHeat we focus on compressed solid fuels, in the form of pellets.

So what is a pellet? And why use energy to form pellets instead of just burning the biomass directly. These are valid questions, and one which we here very often. There are several benefits to compressing biomass into pellets, these include improved transportation load and reduced transportation costs, combustion efficiency increases and reduced manual maintenance.

Wood Pellet Mill Production Equipment

In terms of producing wood pellet fuel, the raw material needs to be conditioned properly to be able to be compressed into pellets. One of the most crucial aspects is how much water the material contains. Too much and too little it is not possible to form a durable pellet. Poor quality pellets due not burn well, creating excessive ash and also generating more smoke then necessary.  Once the wood has been dried to the necessary moisture content it can be compressed into pellets in the pellet mill. Under intensive heat and pressure a strong durable wood pellet is formed.

Wood Pellets Fuel and Making Pellets

Due to the highly compressed form of the wood, a much higher burn temperature is achieved. This higher burn temperature means more of the fuel is turned into usable heat, and less smoke and ash are generated. The results for example are far superior compared to log fires in stoves or boilers. Another key advantage of the consistent shape and size of the pellets is the fact they are ideal for automatic feed hoppers. This means pellet stoves and boilers can operate for days even weeks without the need for maintenance. Making pellets a very attractive home heating choice.

Wood Pellet Stoves and Pellet Furnaces

At PelHeat we work on researching pellet combustion solutions such as pellet stoves and boilers. We have our own pellet boiler, which we used to test burn a variety of biomass fuel pellets, please view the video below of the boiler. Despite the fact most fuel pellets made from different fuel pellets may look similar, they burn very differently. These differences can cause serious complication for some pellet stoves and boilers. For example straw and grass pellets are very cheap to produce, and contain almost the same levels of energy as wood pellets. However they generate almost double the amount of ash. Along with increased ash, grass and straw pellets also can form clinker and slag due to a lower ash melting point.