Why wood pellets are renewable



Wood pellets are manufactured from wood. The tree would have consumed a certain amount of carbon dioxide during its growing years. When the wood pellets are burnt, they release the exact same amount of carbon dioxide. Thus, they are a carbon neutral source of fuel. Besides this, fuel form is renewable as new trees can always be planted as and when needed.

What are they?

Wood pellets are nothing but compressed sawdust which is then rolled to form pellets. Many countries like Denmark, Sweden, Austria and North America have begun using wood pellets in homes. One of the first countries to spearhead using wood pellets was Sweden. The plant known as Salix Viminalis has been used to facilitate the bio energy manufacture of the wood pellets.

Why wood pellets are beneficial

Wood pellets are very economical. You can hope to purchase a huge amount of pellets for as little as under 5 dollars! They are also very easy to use and do not give out any smoke or leave any residue behind. In essence, these wood pellets are a clean source of fuel. They only leave behind a fine grey colored ash which can be easily cleared away from the grate of the heating system.

On demand energy

One reason why the demand for wood pellets has been rising steadily is because you can access energy when you want it! Unlike conventional fuel forms like solar energy which depend on the sun, the pellets do not depend on any weather conditions. It is also much cheaper as compared to many other bio fuels.

Substantial carbon savings

The great thing about wood pellets is that the overall carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere are very less. Even when compared to fuel sources like wind and solar energy, the pellets give off much lesser carbon dioxide. Besides this, it is possible to extract much more pellets from one tree than you can extract from alternate sources. Just 30% of a single tree is used in making 3 tonnes or more wood pellets. This amount can warm more than 200 houses for an entire week!

How they are manufactured

The process of making wood pellets is a little complex. Firstly, the wood gets broken up to sawdust which is then dried. This sawdust is forced in between die to facilitate compression into wood pellets. Then the pellets get cooled and stored in containers. The process is extremely complex and tedious because just one particle of wood can take as much as 2 hours to become a pellet!

Landfill elimination

Most environmental specialists try to find ways to free up ever rising landfills. Well, now there is a way. The waste wood generated from existing forests usually finds its way to landfills. This wasted wood can be used in making wood pellets. If left to its own cause, this waste wood can generate methane gas which will eventually harm the environment.

Stringent standards

A lot of care and protection goes into the manufacture as well as transportation of wood pellets. The DIN CERTCO company specializes in providing certifications regarding the quality of transportation as well as logistical aspects. Standards like DIN 5173 which deals with the testing of solid fuels and the ONORM M 7135 are also incorporated into the certification process. Only a logistics company that meets all the requirements as per the standard is allowed to transport wood pellets. It is because plenty of wear and tear happens during transportation which can damage the pellets for good.

Kyoto protocol

The Kyoto protocol has been established to facilitate cleaner and greener means of implementing projects in developed nations. The end goal is to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere. This protocol encourages the usage of eco-friendly bio fuels like wood pellets. This protocol will help even small sawmills because they face difficulty in removing stockpiles.

Drawbacks

The only possible drawback of using wood pellets is that sometimes they can leave behind a hard cinder-like residue. Usually when wood pellets burn, they leave behind a soft ash-like residue. However, in some cases if the combustion temperatures are too high or if the mineral ratios in the pellets are not proportionate then cinder formation can occur. The best way to prevent such a problem from happening is to use pellets which have a lesser silica content in them. Also using ash rich bio fuels like logging residues or bark can also lead to this cinder forming. It will also depend on how concentrated the wood pellets are on the inside.

Using stoves

Nowadays, people in homes use pellet stoves in order to burn the wood pellets. These stoves are very useful as they are economical and can burn huge quantities of pellets at a single time. Most of them come with an attachment through which the tanker can transport the pellets into the heating system.