Biomass Boilers

www.uk.remeha.com
Dave Hardwicke
New Product Manager
Broag Ltd
07850 618 658
 What is biomass?

» Organic non-fossil material of

biological origin constituting a
renewable energy source
• Direct energy (e.g. logs, wood chips
landfill gas)
• Derivative (e.g. biofuel, wood pellets)
• ENERGY FROM NATURE
WHY BIOMASS?
Kyoto legacy

• EU agreed to legally binding

reductions in annual greenhouse gases of 8% by 2012
• UK has subsequently agreed to a reduction of 12.5%
by 2012 and 60% by 2050
WHY BOIMASS ?
More Pragmatic …

• Building Regulations Part L2 2006 require 10% Low

and Zero Carbon (LZC) energy
• LZC energy includes the use of biomass-fuelled
heating systems
WHY BIOMASS ?
Carbon dioxide emissions
 WHY BIOMASS ?
Temperature developement 1900 - 2100

Range of dispersion
Dispersion about
the mean
Dispersion of the
extreme values

Æ Increasing numbers
of hurricanes. floods,…
WHY BIOMASS ?
The Carbon Cycle
 Emissions of greenhouse gases: 1990-2012 United Kingdom

250
900

basket of greenhouse gases Kyoto target by 800

2008-2012
200

million tonnes (carbon dioxide equivalent)

700
million tonnes (carbon equivalent)

600
150
carbon dioxide
500

domestic
carbon dioxide 400
100 goal by 2010
300

200
50

100

0 0
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

Source: netcen

1 http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/globatmos/gagginvent.htm
 Available Biomass Resource

• If used to displace fossil-based heat generation

potential to cut emissions by up to 21 million tonnes
of CO2 a year1
• Equivalent to 5.72 million tonnes of carbon
• Compares with the current total UK annual emission
of 161 million tonnes of carbon2

1 http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/acu/energy/biomass-taskforce/concl-recommend.pdf
2 http://politics.guardian.co.uk/green/story/0,9061,1540615,00.html
Energy crops “up in smoke”

• Energy expended in growing them less than that

released when they are burnt.
• The rest is free from the sun
– resulting in about a 20-fold return on the expended
energy- biomass
• Only 10-fold when burning traditional arable crops
• Less than four-fold for biodiesel1

1 http://www.defra.gov.uk/erdp/docs/national/section9/section91.htm
Emissions

• Less than 400kW thermal input

– regulated only by Clean Air Act- Exemption applied
for Jan 2007 (Broag)
• Well set up clean wood chip/pellet boiler is
comparable with natural gas
– CO - less than 120 ppm
– NOx - less than 95 ppm
– SO2 - negligible

Source: Sam Landrige Innovations in Wood Heating, Flimwell, 23rd January 2004, NEF/SEEDA
CO2 emissions – kg of CO2/MWh

• Woody biomass-fuelled systems 35-40 kg equivalent

CO2/MWh for a system using locally sourced
logs/chippings
• 50-60 kg equivalent CO2/MWh for pellets not
produced locally

– 230 kg equivalent CO2/MWh for gas

– 380 kg equivalent CO2/MWh for oil

 Biomass Types

• woody biomass
– thinnings and trimmings from woodlands
– untreated wood products
– energy crops
• willow short rotation coppice (SRC)
• miscanthus
• non-woody biomass
– animal wastes
– industrial and biodegradable municipal products from
food processing
– High energy crops, eg, rape, sugar cane & maize.
WOOD
 Types of Wood Fuel

• Logs

• Chips

• Pellets
 Logs

Advantages Disadvantages
• Readily available • There is no agreed
quality standard, so logs
• Bought in bulk, they are the may be the wrong size or
cheapest form of wood too wet
fuel. • There is no automatic
• Almost always produced stoking system so even
locally modern boilers have to be
loaded manually on a daily
• Benefits local woodlands
basis.
and the local economy.
• Very bulky to store
 Wood Pellets

• Diameter 6 or 8mm
• Length 30 mm or
50 mm (Broag
suitable for both)
• Weight approx 650
Kg / m³
• Moisture content
<=8%
 Pellets manufactured
from highly compressed
sawdust
 Wood Pellets
Advantages Disadvantages
• Consistent fuel with • Energy has to be used
low moisture content to make them and
• Easily handled in transport them so
automated systems reducing the
• bulk density is around environmental benefits
4 times that of wood • More expensive, than
chip therefore requires wood chip.
less storage space
WOOD CHIPS
 Wood Chips

Advantages Disadvantages
• Can be cheap as logs.
• A standardised product •Fuel quality is often
with Europe wide quality variable
standards in place • Bulky when compared
• Feeding the boiler is fully to pellets.
automated
• Can be made from a wide • Boiler feeding
range of raw materials, equipment more
often sourced locally. expensive than for
pellets
Miscanthus

• Cropped every year

• Similar calorific value to
wood
– used in the same
power plant as wood
or those designed for
agricultural residues

Source: DEFRA
Miscanthus

• Advantages over SRC ..

– harvested fuel is
relatively dry
– Standard agricultural
equipment can be used
– 10-20 oven-dried tonnes
[odt] per hectare per
year compared with
about 10 for SRC
• Each hectare can produce
around 180 GJ
• 1 hectare = 2.47 acres
• 180 GJ = 50 000 kWh
Arisings

• Thinnings or trimmings from forestry plantations

– Environmental benefit as reduces methane
emissions
– Loss can be detrimental to forest balance
• Used directly (as logs, billets or chips)
• Converted to pellets for easier handling
Woody fuel types

• Willow short rotation

coppice (SRC)
• 2 - 4 year cycle provides a
source of biomass
– branches up to 50 mm in
diameter and 4 m long
• Transported in full lengths,
shorter billets or chips to
storage areas ready
– Direct use as a fuel
– Processing into pellets.
• Coppiced willow plantation
productive for up to 20
years from planting Source: Talbotts Boilers
Comparison Pellets / Chips

Pellets Chips
Approximately Approximately
3000 Kw hours / 800 Kw hours /
cubic metre cubic metre
kWh/m3 fuel

Source: Low Carbon Heating with Wood Pellet Fuel - XCO2 conisbee Ltd
Broag biomass boilers

• An overview of the equipment available to burn

Woodchips or pellets – 20kw to 6000kw
• The boilers modulate down to 30% of full output and if
required can be connected into a Low Loss Header
with any of our gas or oil boilers- no buffer vessel
required.
• A wood pellet boiler can only burn pellets whereas a
chip boiler can burn either fuel
Remeha HPK 180 – 2000Kw
(Upto 6000Kw available)
Under feed firing

boiler
boiler and
and flue
flue gas
gas
cleaning
cleaning

Combustion
Combustion chamber
chamber

Fuel
Fuel feeding
feeding
Remeha HPK – RA 20– 145 kw
Wood Burning Boiler
Ways to feed boilers-up to
145kw

Back- chip boilers only

Left, chips and pellets
Die Beschickung eines
Gilles HPK-RA Kessels
ist sowohl von links, rechts
Right, chips and pellets
und von hinten möglich
45 degree Floor (Ideal for pellets)-
rectangular fuel store is best if
possible- silos also suitable
 Progressive Worm Screw
(For Pellets) lighter duty than a chip auger

30 mm full metal
shaft
 Sweep Collector

• Slowly revolves and

deposits chips into auger
for transporting to the
boiler max. 6 metre
• Size depends on physical
dimensions of the store
• Store preferably needs to
square- or a round silo
Sweep Collector Operating-undermines fuel
causing it to fall inwards and then fed into feed
auger- 1 motor drives sweep collector and feed
auger
 Open Auger Channel

• Worm Conveyor
• Continuous weld
• Progressive pitch-
gives fuel more
room towards
point of delivery
• 50mm Shaft
• 8mm thick worm
blade
 The Auger

Shaft 50 mm
Continuously welded
 Motor for bucket wheel
& worm conveyor
Gearing and motor for Bucket Wheel
the bucket wheel and
worm conveyor

Burner cover
 Burn back protection

• The multi tested full metal

bucket wheel (rotary valve)
separates the combustion
chamber and fuel store.
• On a chip boiler also chops
up oversized fuel
 Bucket or Sluice Wheel-also known
as a Rotary Valve

100% Safe from backfiring-no matter where it stops there is

never a route back to the fuel store
Combustion Chamber

Combustion Chamber is totally covered with

INDUSTRIAL firebricks. Guarantees high
combustion temperatures and best use of
fuel. Boilers are over 90% efficient
 Fuel Feed & Ignition
Fuel feeding

Ignition

Fuel Ignited by Hot Air 1500

degrees C
 Control Fans

Secondary Air

Primary Air
Fully controlled combustion

LAMBDA sensor-works in conjunction with

primary air, secondary air and flue fan to give
modulation down to 30%- and no requirement
for a buffer tank
Door to Combustion Chamber
 Horizontal Heat
Exchanger

Ensures Efficiency over 90%- flue gasses give up more heat passing thru
horizontal rather than vertical heat exchanger. The same effect as putting
your hand beside or above a candle flame
 FULLY AUTOMATIC
self cleaning
Up to 145 Kw 150kw up to 6000 Kw

6MM WORM SCREW Surge tank: 6 bar pressure-

compressor included with
Heat Exchanger
Absolutely Clean

Plant after 1 year in

operation !!
Flue ash Collector- Steel Wheelie
bins collect furnace ash

Requires emptying 3 or 4 times a year

 Back End Protection
Shunt circuit via mixer control, pump and
valve standard equipment, controlled by
boiler to keep return temp up to 65 c
 Controls
Frequency converter for:

Flue gas fan

Secondary Air Fan

Primary Air Fan

Control
Cabinet
Display Control Panel-20kw
– 145 kw
 Fire View, allows remote adjustment
and monitoring of boiler- in English also

Via a modem or 300 metre cable on site

Fully Automatic Biomass
Wood Burning Boilers
• Capable of burning logs chips
or pellets
• Automatic feed system
• Automatic ignition
• Automatic ash removal from
boiler
• Automatic daily cleaning of
heat exchanger
• Modulation down to 30% of
output
• Full control system
• Over 90% Efficient
• Outputs 20Kw – 6Mw
The future of biomass

“If all the subsidised set-aside land in England and

Wales was planted with short rotation willow coppice, it
would produce enough energy to heat 3.85 million 3 bed
UK homes built to 2001 building regulations”
Wood pellets - a fuel for the 21st century
 REMEHA
Advanced Boiler Technology- for further information
www.uk.remeha.com
or refer to Slide 1