Biomass Fuels

The definition of biomass fuels is any form of organic material which can be used to produce energy. For example, wood is the most common material used for biomass fuels, however there are many more organic materials which can also be used. There growing research in energy crops. Energy crops are purpose grown plants that have high yields and low energy inputs and maintenance. A few example include willow, switchgrass, miscanthus, reed canary grass and hemp. However there are organic waste resources from food production which in many cases are more appropriate. Food shortages are still a huge issue, which will only continue into the future. However many food crops can generate a substantial amount of food and biomass fuels from one crop, without confusing food for fuel. Take corn for example, there are large volumes of corn cobs and stalk which are currently unused which can be used to produce biomass fuels. One of the simplest and low energy ways to turn these resources into useable biomass fuel is to compress into pellets.

The reasons to use biomass fuels is because they are both a renewable form of energy and that they are a carbon neutral form of energy. Fossil fuel energy increases the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and also is a none renewable form of energy as we cannot replace the oil and gas we use. Biomass grows using carbon from the environment, therefore any carbon generated through biomass combustion is simply returning that carbon into the cycle. Biomass is therefore referred to as carbon neutral. To effectively tackle climate change more biomass fuels need to be used to reduce the levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.

Currently one of the rapidly growing biomass fuels is wood pellets. A pellet is simply a highly compressed form of the original biomass material. By compressing biomass into pellets produce a fuel with a uniform shape and size and increased density, which produces a much more efficient combustion process. There are a wide selection of pellet stoves and pellet boilers available.

The pellet fuels market has both hardwood and softwood pellets available. Some people dispute which pellets produce the most heat and least ash, due to the difference how the two woods burn in log form. However the truth is in pellet form they actually perform equally, producing the same amount of heat and ash. The reason is the compression of the two forms of pellets are equal, which removes the differences of the wood in log form.

At PelHeat we offer a consultation service on a range pellet equipment and wood pellet plants. The range includes individual equipment such as pellet mills, hammer mills and dryers. We also promote a range of small complete pellet plants and a large pellet plant. For pellet compression to take place, the raw material is required to have certain characteristics, and to produce consistent quality pellets requires consistent quality raw material. To begin with the material will run through chipper and then a hammer mill for the required size reduction. Then the material will be dried before entering the pellet mill. In the pellet mill under intensive heat and pressure a pellet is formed and cools hard.

PelHeat Wood Pellet Production Guide

At PelHeat we have many years of experience in pellet production, and we provide a pellet production consultation service. The PelHeat guide download will show you how to make wood and other fuel pellets.