Biomass Heating

One of the most common forms of biomass heating used in many homes is the open fire place where they use logs to heat their living room. Some may even have a basic stove in their living room using logs. However these biomass heating solutions only provide enough heat for one room, are not very fuel efficient and require quite a lot of maintenance to keep feeding the fire with logs and also clean the fire place of ash. Therefore the main source of heat usually comes from a gas or oil boiler. However with gas and oil prices continuing to rise, alternatives for these heating solutions are most sort after. There are biomass heating solutions such as log or even straw bail burners for large properties. However these solutions are very large and expensive, and cannot be used for individual small properties. Over recent years there has been a growth of wood chips boilers, they are still quite large but can be smaller than log and straw bail burners to generate the same value of heat. It may also be clear that the fuel can be sourced locally, however this often is not the case.

The main problem with log and wood chip biomass heating solutions is moisture in the fuel. Even seasoned wood logs and chips still contain around 30% moisture. This moisture lowers combustion efficiency, generates less heat, more ash and creosote in the flue. Another key point is you are paying fuel money for water. Importantly also there is a risk that the wood hasn't been properly seasoned down to the 30%. With pellets however, you can be sure that the pellet is maximum 15% moisture, as it is not possible for a pellet for form properly with more moisture.

Biomass Boiler and Biomass Pellets

Pellets also have other benefits that make them ideal for biomass heating. Their uniform shape and size means that can work well with hoppers. Wood chips on the other hand require some form of agitation to fall through a hopper to the fire feed system. As pellets are a much higher density their combustion efficiency is much greater and also generate less ash to clean.

Biomass Pellet Mill and Pellet Machines

Biomass pellet production has several steps and processes depending on your chosen biomass material. For example the two key steps before the material can enter a pellet machine are size reduction and drying. The biomass must be reduced in size before the material can be compressed into the pellets. Once reduced it must be dried to on average 15% moisture. At this level of moisture the correct balance between lignin melting and compression can take place. Too much moisture and the pellet mill cannot reach operating temperature and you cannot compress a material with a high level of moisture. Dryer is a very expensive and energy intensive process. Therefore it can be very beneficial to obtain a raw material which is already at the correct moisture percentage. When the material enters the pellet mill it is compressed between the die and rollers. Under compression heat is generated which melts the natural lignin and forms the material in to a pellet.

Details On How To Make Wood Pellets