Wood Pellets Heating

The most common use for wood pellets is as a form of heating fuel. However wood pellets are also used for animal bedding and cat litter. However, here at PelHeat we focus more on wood pellet production for heating solutions such as stoves and boilers. There are various questions to answer, including what are wood pellets, how are they made and a summary of pellet heating.

What are Biomass and Wood Pellets

Firstly biomass is any form of plant matter which can be used as a renewable fuel source, this includes many materials, but more specifically it also includes wood. Wood, if burnt efficiently is an environmentally friendly fuel. Wood is part of the current carbon cycle, and its combustion does not place additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Fossil fuels on the other are forms of trapped carbon, from previous carbon cycles. By extracting and burning fossil fuels we are placing additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Producing Wood Pellets for Heating

The majority of wood pellets produced for heating are made from waste sawdust residue from timber processing. The sawdust and shavings from timber processing are collected and sold to pellet production companies. However, due to the increased demand for wood pellets, many timber processors have now set up their own wood pellet plants next to their timber processing operations. There are various other areas currently where large quantities of wood waste are being utilized for wood pellet production. For example the pine beetle in Canada has left thousands of dead pine tree's. Operations are now starting to take advantage of this huge dead wood residue to produce pine pellets. Softwood pine pellets are the most common form of wood pellets heating.

Producing wood pellets for heating requires some pretty heavy duty and robust machinery. The core processes revolve around reducing the wood to a small particle size, drying the wood and then compressing the wood particles into pellets in the pellet mill. To produce pellet the particle must be relatively dry, with a consistent moisture content. In the pellet mill, intensive forces of heat and pressure are applied to the particle to mould them into pellet form. The pellets created are strong, durable and of high energy content.

Wood Pellet Stoves and Wood Burners

The wood pellet stove market is a booming industry, which is set to grow continually over the next10 to 20 years. The reasons for this are the need for low carbon and renewable fuel sources. Solar and wind are promoted heavily as green energy solutions. However biomass is the only renewable energy which can generate power on demand. Its far more efficient to create heat through burning biomass, than it is to use electricity for heat from solar or wind power.

There are a wide range of pellet stoves and boilers on the market today to meet any small or large scale heating demands for your home or business. Wood pellet burners offer low maintenance and high automation with rapid heat on demand. Pellet stoves and boilers are controlled through your thermostat.

The Wood Pellet Production Guide © PelHeat Ltd - Wood Pellets Heating