Boiler RA1: ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ASSESSMENT:

Boiler RA1: ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ASSESSMENT: BIOMASS BOILERS, HALIFAX

SUMMARY INFORMATION:

MAKE LOCATION FUEL AREA TO BE SERVICED

Heizomat AK- RHK 850 Bottom Yard Area BSL0512743-0004 Spatial and Hot water heating to Main Office,
(Swalesmoor road, HX3 6UF) Grade A Waste Woodchip Transport Office and 2 x domestic houses
occupied by Site workers. Spatial heating to the
Transport Maintenance Building.

Summary of Operating Process

Woodchip is loaded into the storage bunker, where an enclosed feed auger conveys chip into the boiler combustion chamber.

The boiler applies Heizomat combustion control technology which has been long established to ensure complete combustion, which therefore minimises
the environmental impact of emission releases.

The flue gas stack has been suitably sized in compliance with Building Regulations Part F, J, L, G and P), as so it is suitably longer than the ridge (highest
point) of the roof. This allows for sufficient emission dispersion and prevent any localised ‘pooling’ of emissions along the rooftop which can occur in
certain wind conditions.

In order to support the boiler’s attempts to thoroughly combust the woodchip, the Boiler Operator has a system in place to ensure the quality &
consistency of woodchip supplied to the boiler is within a specification conductive for combustion (reference to Procedures EID 72, 73, 74 and fuel check
records).

Daily visits to the boiler to check its functioning are recorded and this scheduled visit ensures any issues with the boiler can be escalated to competent
internal staff.

The boiler will automatically send SMS messages to day and night to staff when it detects a problem. This allows competent onsite engineers to attend and
fix the boiler within a short turn-around. There is a documented pre-preventative maintenance schedule for the boiler, for which records will be stored.

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Author: Technical Officer Title: Boiler RA1 Released: June 2018 Version: 1
 Boiler RA1: ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ASSESSMENT:

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:

POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANCE CONTROLS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

IMPACT
ODOUR None Chimney stack is suitably tall from the ridge of Odour from boiler combustion of wood has not been evident
the building roof in accordance with HETAS
installation standards and Building Regulations
Part F, J, L, G and P.
Proper dispersion of the flue gas is ensured with
negligible grounding effect.

NOISE None Boilers are contained within a fully enclosed
buildings, which have been recently constructed
and have passed Building Regulations Part F, J, L, G
and P for structural integrity.
AIR Low Boiler’s Siemens Simatic PLC system works with
EMISSIONS several temperature, CO and O2 sensors to
ensure compliant & thorough combustion
WASTE Low Boiler PLC system ensures complete
combustion to limit ash weight %.
Boiler has a moving combustion grate, which
pushes ash into a separate enclosed bin
receptacle.
Fan motors are much smaller and quieter in comparison to
fossil fuel shell-tube type boilers.
Renewable Heat Incentive Emission Certificate 2013-HZm-01-
990 confirms compliance with the Clean Air Act 1993
Ash from woodchip is around 2% of original weight of solid
wood. Equates to around 6.45 tonnes per year.
This bottom ash (EWC 10 01 01) is sent to a waste transfer
station for disposal /recycling (insufficient weight to justify
dedicated recycling options.) The material is suitable for use in
concrete / mortar production.

Fugitive none Under normal operation the boiler combustion
Emissions zone forms an air tight seal to enclose
emissions.
Although the boiler maintenance doors will
have to temporary opened in event of periodic
maintenance checks.
As opening this door interlocks the combustion
fans to stop, the actual release of fugitive
The stored dried wood fuel stored within the enclosed
building bunker used should not degrade to release fugitive
emissions.
Every year there is a specialist maintenance task performed to
clean and examine the integrity of the boiler combustion
grates. By undertaking this task it does minimise the number
of times boiler maintenance doors needed to be opened when
the boiler is running.

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emissions into the enclosed building space will

be low.
All doors and shutters are closed within normal
& maintenance operation of the boiler, so
actual releases to outside atmosphere are
foreseen to be negligible.

PROCESS STEP IMPACT (NORMAL IMPACT (ABNORMAL CONTROLS IN PLACE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
CONDITIONS) CONDITIONS)
Fuel Selection Emissions to air limited by use Utilising a lower grade of Selection of wood for chipping is Renewable Heat Incentive
of BSL accredited wood for fuel may increase controlled with management Emission Certificate in place.
boiler fuel. particulates or other systems and appropriate Wood checked for quality
Particulates <30 pollutants training. and moisture %.
NOx <150 EID72 – Envirowaste Wood Wood processed into fuel
Operations onsite meets BSL
EID73 – Instructional Note for Accreditation.
Weighbridge Design avoids risk of fugitive
EID 74 Envirowaste Woodchip emissions.
Product
IQR Flexhammer woodchipper is
a high spec model and has
additional ferrous & over band
magnets attachments to
separate metal away from
woodchip stream.
Burning / Heat The 850 KWh model is expected Poor / wet fuel reduces Monitoring of fuel for size Heizomat RK boilers are
Efficiency to output 661 KWh with the efficiency (45mm diameter ideal) and fitted with a shell tube
type of (non-compressed) Lack of maintenance would moisture (16-18% is a target design and are expected to
woodchip is burnt. also impact range). reach 91% thermal
The 990 KWh model is expected Regular servicing / routine efficiency (fuel CV to heated
to output 770 KWh maintenance (standardised daily boiler water energy).
& monthly checks), with Annual

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Author: Technical Officer Title: Boiler RA1 Released: June 2018 Version: 1
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Ash Removal Moving combustion bed to push
ash onto a screw-driven
conveyor to bin system.
Unintentional Burning within the combustion
Emission Releases firebed zone will move along
the bed via grate/chain drive
system to ensure the
combustion zone receives
enough forced air from
strategically placed air ports.
The boiler combustion design
ensures instances of incomplete
combustion are minimised,
before emissions go up the
stack.
Author: Technical Officer Title: Boiler RA1
Blockages in the system may
slow performance (and
reduce efficiency)
It is foreseeable that bigger
pieces of woodchip will not
burnt as aggressively within
the combustion zone, which
could lead to oxygen
depleted burning in some
areas. This can contribute to
a slight rise in particulate
emissions up the chimney
stack.
Released: June 2018
maintenance applied.
CO and O2 sensors feedback to
boiler combustion PLC. Data is
automatically recorded onto SD
card for detailed checking.
Boiler has a RS 485 sensor
system for all its motors
powering conveyors or fans, so
Boiler PLC understands when to
shut down to protect itself.
Boiler will send fault codes Alerts
sent via SIM CARD to engineers
as a text message.
Ash bin is checked daily when
woodchip is delivered to the fuel
store. Ash bin is of suitable
capacity for several weeks
running.
The primary, secondary and flue
gas fans will immediately cut out
when a significant rise in Carbon
Monoxide (CO) is detected. CO is
a marker for incomplete
combustion which can lead to
particulate pollution.
The boiler has a flue gas damper
which is Modbus 485 wirelessly
controlled to close and minimise
some of the volumetric flow of
air from the boiler up the
chimney stack.
The waste wood reception,
processing and quality check
Version: 1
Combustion bed blockages
are rarer due to investments
in the woodchip procedure
which have improved the
quality of woodchip fuel
produced.
Very high temps are needed
to thermally disassociate the
covalent nitrogen bond from
air, which is a precursor to
NOX formation. The limited
spatial size of boiler
combustion bed and the
limitations in fuel conveyor
throughput rates means it is
not going to be possible to
create a large & hot enough
combustion zone to give rise
to a substantial increase in
NOX.
The Boiler’s PLC can detect
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 Boiler RA1: ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ASSESSMENT:

processes are all standardised temperatures & issues with

written procedures trained out
to staff. Site have recently
purchased a 3rd chipper to run in
conjunction with the other two
in order to achieve reliable
woodchip particle sizes.
The waste wood processing
processes involves ferrous and
eddy current magnet separation
to achieve very high rates of
ferrous and non-ferrous metal
removal.
combustion conditions and
uses inverters to lower
speeds of throughput & fans
to control combustion.
We also do not foresee
much elemental bonded
sulphur within the grade A
waste wood used to make
BSL boiler fuel, hence SOX
emissions are assumed to be
very low.

Boiler electrical system is surge

protected and can withstand
voltage & current surges. Boiler
will automatically send SMS to
day & night shift competent
engineers when the boiler
operating system detects
problems within its wireless
enabled feedback system.

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Author: Technical Officer Title: Boiler RA1 Released: June 2018 Version: 1