Biomass Renewable Energy

Biomass, along with wind and solar is part of a source of alternative and renewable energy sources which will help to replace and fill the gap left by fossil fuel energy. Other than the issue of carbon emissions with fossil fuels, the fact is that fossil fuels are not renewable. Our rate of consumption is increasing, and clearly is not sustainable. The move over to wind, solar and biomass is a source of energy that is either always available or with the case of biomass, we can always grow more to replace the resources we use. The facts are that moving over to using biomass, would not require large scale infrastructure changes. Take the liquid fossil fuels we currently use to fuel our cars. Replacements can be produced through processing biomass, and we would then be using the same infrastructure and same vehicles but a renewable and carbon neutral fuel. There are a wide range of examples of renewable biomass, however some are more practical than others. For example, wood has been used as an energy source for thousands of years, however slow growing timber is not really sustainable, due the rate of consumption over growth rate. At the other end of the scale you could look at hemp. Hemp for hundred and even thousands of years has been used to produce rope and clothes, and today's is also used for plastics, building materials and is also a food source. Hemp burns as well as many slow growing timber sources, however has a much faster growing cycle. From seed to harvest can be only 4 months, and the yields obtained are higher than any other energy crop. Therefore a biomass resource such as hemp is truly a renewable form of energy.

Biomass Potential and Biomass Burning

Biomass in its raw form is not a practical energy source. It has a low density, random shape and size and a high moisture content. Converting biomass into fuel pellets is one of the lowest energy input processes to transform biomass into a highly efficient fuel. By upgrading biomass into pellets produced a uniform fuel, with a high density and low moisture content. Using in modern combustion systems these pellets generate high heat with low ash and low smoke.

Biomass Combustion and Biomass Cost

Biomass burning solutions such as log stoves and even straw bale burners have existed for a very long time. However these solutions could never really meet mass market appeal as they are still too labour intensive, or too large and costly. Upgrading biomass into pellets means that even small stoves can provide an impressive heat output, to provide heat for one or several rooms. Larger biomass pellet boilers can easily provide heat for practically any size of building, and still be very low maintenance. Some pellet burners have external hoppers which can hold even a years worth of fuel, with a standard hopper lasing a day.

Biomass Production and Biomass Pellets

Producing pellets, does require a solid understanding of the raw material and the principles behind pellet production to truly produce quality fuel pellets at the lowest cost in terms of equipment and operating costs. Size reduction, drying and pellet compression are the core areas of pellet production, with each having its own requirements to consistently produce pellets.

With particle size reduction you want a particle smaller than the diameter of the pellet you wish to produce. For example, if you want to produce 6mm pellets, you want a 5mm screen in the hammer mill. To learn more about making pellets, please click the link below.

Biomass Pellet Mill Guide

The Wood Pellet Production Guide © PelHeat Ltd - Biomass Renewable Energy