Wood Pellet Suppliers

There are rapidly growing number of wood pellet suppliers, and there type, quality and price of fuel sold by the suppliers does vary significantly.

Wood Pellet Fuel Grade And Quality

The wood pellets sold by suppliers could be made from either softwood or hardwood residues, or perhaps even a mixture of the two. People differ in their opinion of which type of fuel pellet produces the least ash and highest heat value. In terms of heat value there is in fact very little difference. In terms of ash produced, due to the fact hardwood logs produce less ash than softwood logs, the translate this to mean hardwood pellets will produce less ash than hardwood pellets. The reason for this is hardwood logs have a higher density than softwood logs, and therefore achieve a higher combustion efficiency, producing less ash. However with pellets, both softwood and hardwood residues are exposed to the same pressure in the pellet mill to produce pellets of comparable energy density. Therefore softwood and hardwood pellets produce almost the same percentage of ash.

Imported Wood Pellets and Pellet Fuels

Many wood pellet suppliers today source their wood pellets from overseas, imported in from developing countries. This activity is not favourable to the consumer, as the quality of the pellet fuels can be in question, and the source of the raw material may also be of concern. However, it also severely impacts on the green credentials of the wood fuel pellets, and the pellet industry as a whole. Transportation of fuel pellets over long distances increases the carbon footprint of the fuels produced. It is also only a short term solution. For as the pellet market grows, a lot of the countries currently exporting pellets will need them for their own needs, and pellet prices will rise. For example Sweden now has to import pellets, as market demand in Sweden is beyond is available wood resources. What this also means is other fuel pellets have to be utilized to meet market demands.

Locally Produced Wood Pellet Fuels

At PelHeat we encourage the production of locally made pellet fuels, for local distribution. This includes not only wood residues, but also local agricultural wastes from food production and even local cardboard and paper waste too. Local pellet fuel production and consumption can reduce raw material transportation, and cost to the end user. It can also have substantial benefits for the local community. As local income is put back into the local community. Also a significant number of local jobs are created in green energy.

Wood Pellet Stoves and Fuel Flexibility

To help support local pellet production and more diverse pellet fuels, we also support the purchase of more fuel flexible pellet stoves and boilers. Different types of biomass pellets burn different. Importantly not all pellet stoves and boilers are able to handle these differences in ash content for example. Purchasing a more fuel diverse pellet stove will also make running the pellet burner much cheaper. For example straw and grass pellets can be half the cost of wood pellets.

The Wood Pellet Production Guide © PelHeat Ltd - Wood Pellet Suppliers