Biomass Furnace

Burning biomass in a biomass furnace is a practical and pro-active way to reduce heating costs and also play any important role in reducing carbon emissions. Biomass furnace solutions have existed for hundreds of years, from basic open log fireplaces, to log stoves and boilers. However for the 21st century these heating solutions are not in keeping with the modern lifestyle. To be a realistic option of choice, the level of maintenance required in up keep of the biomass furnace must be comparable to alterative heating solutions. One of the most efficient and practical biomass furnace solutions are the pellet burners.

The reason biomass is such an important heating fuel, are because it is not only a renewable source of energy but also does not contribute to increasing carbon emissions and climate change. Biomass is made up of wood, straws, grasses and any other form of organic matter we can use as a fuel. Therefore we can quickly replace the resources we used by growing more biomass. Biomass is formed using carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, therefore its combustion released only carbon which it consumed during its growth, so there is not net increase in carbon dioxide.

Biomass Burner and Biomass Boiler

There are several different biomass furnace forms. These include wood log boilers, wood chip boilers and even full straw bail burners. The problem with these solutions however, is they are very labour intensive. These solutions are also very large and expensive, to produce small scale versions are either not cost effective or not even possible. Therefore converting the biomass into pellets, addresses the issues of the size of the unit and the automation the biomass furnace can achieve. A biomass pellet boiler has an integrated and automated pellet fuel hopper which can feed the boiler for a day or even longer. Some people has separate pellet fuel silos which fill the smaller hopper on the boiler. This solutions can then keep the boiler with fuel for over 6 months to a year.

Biomass Fuel and Biomass Pellets

A pellet is simply a compressed form of the biomass that entered into the pellet production process. By compressing the biomass into a small uniform shape and size with a much greater density, gives a pellet a much higher combustion efficiency compared to other forms of unprocessed biomass fuel. One of the other crucial aspects of pellets is that they all have a low moisture content, as it not possible to form a high density pellet with a raw materials of high moisture.

Pellet Press and Presses and Pellet Mills

To form a pellet, several processes are required before the material even enters the pellet press. First and foremost the material must be reduce to a consistent small uniform size. Depending on which biomass is being processed in to pellets, the equipment used will change. For example if the raw material is logs, initially it will be processed through a chipper and then a hammer mill. After the hammer mill the particles are of a suitable size, however it may not be of a suitable moisture content. To reduce moisture a dryer will be used, preferentially using biomass as the fuel source. Once the material is dried it can then be compressed into pellets in the pellet mill, also known as a press.

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.