BIOMASS IN THE COMMUNITY

CHOICE&LOCALISATIONOFBIOMASS

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Doyouneed
electricity&
heat?

CHP
Combinedheatandpower
Fuelledby:

Wasteoils(UCO,WVO)
Pureplantoils(PPO)
Biodiesel
Dedicatedgeneratorfuels
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Doyouneed
electricity&
heat?

Doyouneed
heatonly?

CHP

Biomassheating

(combinedheatandpower)
Fuelledby:

Fuelledby:

Wasteoils(UCO,WVO)
Pureplantoils(PPO)
Biodiesel
Dedicatedgeneratorfuels

Woodchip
Woodpellets
Grasspellets
Strawpellets
Exotic biomass

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DieselengineCHP
ADVANTAGES:

Dieselgenerators tried&tested.
Veryefficient upto85%energycapture.
Usegridasbackup.
Trigeneration cooling/chillinginsteadofheating.
Biodiesel/GeneratorFuel/PPOtoENstandards.
Smallfootprintofequipment idealforcommunityschemes.
Easyfuelhandling/storage.
ExcellentCarbonreductionfigures.
DISADVANTAGES:

Fuelsupplychainissues&fluctuatingcommodityprices.
Warrantyissues,althoughbecominglessofaproblem.
Cost/payback competingwithbiodieselindustryforfeedstock.
Gridconnectiontime&cost.
Availabilityoffinanceduetoallofaboveperceivedrisks.
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Biomassheating
ADVANTAGES:

Largechoiceofbiomassboilers.
Tried&testedinBaltics,Scandinavia,Germany&Austria.
LowercapitalcostthanCHP.
Capitalcostsfallinginagrowingmarket morecompetition.
Canbeintegratedintoexistingbuildinginfrastructure.
Heatinabox containerisedsystems idealforcommunityschemes.
DISADVANTAGES:

Stillfuelsupplychainissues&pricevolatility.
Lowdensityfuel mustbelocalisedtobetrulysustainable.
Carboncontentofheatonly25%thatofelectricity.
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Typicalsystem
Maincomponents:
Boiler
Fuelhopper/store
Automatedfuelfeedto
boiler
Pipes/pumps/heat
exchanger
Automaticcontrol
system
Flue.

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Sizeofsystem

Typical

councilofficebuildingwoulduse500,000 800,000

kWhofheatperyear.
Whichisabout108mt 175mtperannumofwoodpellets.
Trafficvolume 6to11bulkdeliveriesperyear.
Willrequirea300kWboilertocopewithpeakwinterdemand.
Typicalcostinstalled150,000 200,000
RHIincomewouldbeabout30,000 39,000perannum.
Carbonsavingcouldbeexpectedtobe60+mtperannum.
(Designoperatinglifeofatypicalboileris5000hrsperyearfor10years)
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Hintsonchoiceofbiomassboiler
Evenifaboilerismultifuel rememberyoumayhavetochangethefuelhandling
system(egwoodchips/woodpelletsarephysicallyverydifferentfromeach
other).
Truemultifuelboilersarehardtofindduetoveryrealdifferencesinashand
chlorinecontentoffuels(egstraw)requiringverydifferentcombustion
parameters.
Checktheclaimsofthemanufacturerandifpossiblegoseeaninstallation
runningonthefuelyouintendtouse.
Alwaysgoforautomaticignitionandautomatedcleaninginthebuilt
environment.
Qualityofpelletcanreallyaffecttheperformanceoftheboiler excessdustcan
bearealproblem.Worthpayingextraforquality.Pelletcertificationschemenow
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Biomassfuelchoice
Woodchip

Idealifyouhaveyourown.

Woodpellets Wastewood/sawmillresidue/dedicatedbiomasscrops.
Strawpellets UKsbiggestbiomasssource,local&sustainable?
Grasspellets Miscanthus/Switchgrass/CanaryGrass
haspotentialtobelocal&sustainable.

Exotic biomass palmkernelshell/ricehusk/sunflowerhusk/bagasse

Reallyfortheindustrial powerstationseg.Drax
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Biomasscharacteristics
Typicalenergyvalues:
Typicalvalues

Moisturecontent Netcalorificvalue Energydensity

Bulkdensity

Energybyvolume Energydensity

MJ/kg

kWh/kg

kg/m3

MJ/m3

kWh/m3

Woodchip

20% 30%

12.4

3.4

160 250

3,100

850

Woodpellet

8% 12%

16.9

4.8

650

11,000

3,120

Miscanthus

8% 10%

17

4.8

500

8,500

2,400

Wheatstrawpellet

8% 10%

16

4.4

600

9,600

2,640

RCGpellet

8% 10%

16.2

4.5

650

10,530

2,925

Critical parameters:
Ash important factor in maintenance frequency / cleaning intervals. Automated cleaning is
desirable. Industrial grade wood pellets can have ash content up to 5%. Premium pellets are 0.5%
to 1%. Ash = slag = cleaning & operating problems.
Chlorides cause corrosion of equipment. <300 ppm desirable, as low as possible.
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WoodChip
ADVANTAGES:

Lowestcarbonfootprint.
Canbelocallysourced sustainable.
Canbecheap.
Createslocalemployment.
Basicequipmentrequiredforproduction lowcapitalstartup.

DISADVANTAGES:

Variablequalityespeciallymoisturecontent.
Sticky difficulttohandle(whois&cleaning&maintainingequipment?).
Lowenergyvalue largestorageareaormanydeliveriesrequired.
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WoodPellets
ADVANTAGES:
Consistentqualitytoaspecification.
Easytohandle,freeflowingproduct betterforautomatedfeedingofboiler.
Canbebulkblownintohopper.
Highenergyvalue lessdeliveries/smallerstoragearea.
LowAsh=Easiermaintenanceofboiler.
DISADVANTAGES:
Highercarbonfootprintthanwoodchip(productionenergy)
Requiresspecialpelletingequipment
highercapitalcostifyouwanttodoityourself

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Localisationofbiomass

Reducefuelpoverty
Supporttheruralcommunity
Createemployment
Createagreenhub
Truesustainability/lowcarbonfuture
Fuelsecurity(priceandvolume)

Potentialcrops:
1.Willow(shortrotationcoppice)
2.Miscanthus(elephantgrass)
3.Reedcanarygrass
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SRC Willow
Plantfor20 30years.Harvestevery23years.

ADVANTAGES:
IdeallysuitedtoUKclimateandgrowsinavarietyofsoiltypes.
DISADVANTAGES:
Expensivetoestablish(although50%grantavailablefromNaturalEngland).
Requiresspecialharvestingequipment.
Canbedifficulttodryadequatelyafterharvesting.
Inflexible itstherefor30years.

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Miscanthus
ADVANTAGES:
HighyieldsperHa(15mt 18mt).
DISADVANTAGES:
NotnaturaltoUK nolongtermstudyonenvironmentaleffects.
Expensivetoestablish(although50%grantavailablefromNaturalEngland).
Requiresspecialplantingequipment.
Requiresspecialharvestingequipment.
MixedresultsinUKfromlastfewyears.

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ReedCanaryGrass
ADVANTAGES:
NativetoUK.
Easytoplant&harvest nospecialequipment.
Afarmcontractorcangrowit idealforabsenteelandownersornon
farmers.
Lowcapitalstartup(seed+fertilizeronly).
Tried&testedinFinlandover30,000ha*
Idealfornearwatercourses,gamecovercrop,conservationatfieldmargins.
Growswellonmarginalsoil&brownfieldsites**.
Pelletiseswell.
DISADVANTAGES:
LoweryieldperHathanMiscanthus(50%less).
*Separatepresentationavailable**TeessideUniversityResearch2010

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Pelletingplants

Typicalpelletplantminimumviablesizeis5000mtperannum.
5000mtofRCGisabout645hectares
25farmersgrowing25Ha=1pelletplant
30mileradiusofplanttoreducecarbonfootprint
Costofplantabout150,000boughtin(lessifownengineering).

Typicalsmallscaleplant

Typicallargerscaleplant

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Links&References
BiomassEnergyCentre:
http://www.biomassenergycentre.org.uk
NationalNonFoodCropsCentre(NNFC):
http://www.nnfcc.co.uk
CarbonTrust/Siemensloanschemeforheatingsystems:
http://www.energyefficiencyfinancing.co.uk

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THEEND

THANK YOU!
DOUGCHAPLIN
NDKLIMITED
ndk.limited@gmail.com

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