Pellets: what they are, how they are used, the advantages and disadvantages of this new heating

Thus, they are rejected materials from furniture manufacturing, agriculture and other activities that use wood, but they are far from waste, they are raw materials that will allow heating, for example, in winter without having to buy firewood.

As Ecoinventos’ proprietary portal recalls, many pellet producers take by-products (like wood waste) and refine them until they become pencil-sized, uniform in size, shape, moisture, density and energy content.

1.- Why is it better to burn pellets than to use regular firewood?

Firstly, the moisture content of the pellets is significantly lower (between 4% and 8% water compared to 20% to 60% of the raw biomass). Less humidity means higher BTUs and easier handlingespecially in freezing conditions of green raw biomass materials.

Second, the density of pellet fuel is significantly higher than that of raw biomass. More fuel can be carried in a truck cavity and more energy can be stored in the field.

Third, pellets are easier and more predictable to handle. Its uniform shape and size allows for a smaller and simpler feeding system that reduces costs. This high density and uniform shape can be stored in standard silos, transported in wagons and delivered in truck containers.

2.- What are wood pellets used for?

As an alternative to fossil fuels, wood pellets are an environmentally friendly fuel. used for heating. They are used in biomass boilers to obtain heat and hot water in homes.

They are also used as zero-emission fuel for heat generation and industrial production in the commercial and industrial sector.

Pellet fuel is a way to divert millions of tons of waste that would normally go to landfills and turn it into energy.

The exceptional consistency and combustion efficiency of pellet fuel produces a fraction of the particulate emissions of crude biomass.. Pellet burners have the lowest particulate emissions of all solid fuel burners.

With the right sustainable forestry initiatives and farm management, biomass is virtually unlimited and has proven stable in price compared to fossil fuels.

Ideally, use locally produced wood pellets with wood from sustainably managed forests.

3.- How to identify a good quality pellet?

When purchasing wood pellets, You have to make sure they are ENplus A1 and DIN plus certified.Remember the Ecoinventos portal.

ENplus A1 is the highest quality premium wood pellet safety and guarantee you can get. Low quality wood pellets can damage your boiler and cost you more in the long run.

Humidity should be low (maximum 6%) so that you can ignite your stove more quickly, and drier pellets will obviously produce less smoke.

You should also take into account the ash content (6% maximum), because the high ash content means you need to clean the hob much more often.

The calorific value (CV) is a very important criterionbecause it indicates the heat generated by the pellet and should be around 18 MJ/kg (ie 5 kWh/kg) to meet quality standards.

The composition of the pellet is obviously critical, and softwood pellets, known for their bright colors, generate more heat than hardwood as long as the moisture content is less than 10%.

4.- How do pellet stoves work?

Pellet stoves became very popular and were used in a relatively short time. Their features and being economical make them very easy to use and performs well. Their fuel economy also helps them spread in markets.

Its operation is relatively simple and inexpensive. The stove has a tank for storing fuel, in this case the pellets. When we activate the device, a screw moves the pellets towards the combustion chamber to feed the fire at the rate indicated by the electronic control system. The pellet burns, emitting heat and fumes directed through a back outlet to which the outside chimney is connected.

This is placed in such a way that it helps to increase the temperature of the house by venting smoke from the room or house where the stove is placed and directing the heat inside.

When talking about pellet stoves, it is common to see people who confuse them with traditional wood stoves. However, the difference is very important as pellet stoves are ventilated. That is, they have a built-in fan that takes air from the room, heats it and returns it to a higher temperature.

In the operation of the stove, we can distinguish two heat transfer phenomena in the same unit: On the one hand, there is the convection caused by the fan driving the hot air, and on the other hand, the radiation caused by the flame itself.. These two phenomena can be an advantage over traditional wood stoves, as energy transfer via convection causes the environment to heat up faster.

Disadvantages of pellet stoves

Not everything is positive with such stoves. As always, everything has its pros and cons. In this case, the air required for the combustion of pellet stoves is obtained from the surrounding environment. When the combustion ends, this air is expelled from the chimney as smoke. Beautiful so far. In this way, the operation causes the air to escape from the room to the outside, so we lose a small amount of hot air, which will have to be compensated by a small intake of air that will be cold from the street.

The air gradient circulates from where there is more air to where there is less. Therefore, if the stove draws air from the room, there will be less air inside and the air coming from outside will come through cracks, window holes, under the door, etc. All that air from the street will be at a lower temperature.

However, to eliminate this problem There are other pellet stoves that allow the air required for combustion to be taken from outside.. This way the performance of the stove is generally improved. The disadvantage of this type of stove is that it requires drilling twice in the facade, one for the chimney and the other for the air intake.

Reference article: https://ecoinventos.com/pellets-de-madera/

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