Waste Wood Biomass

Wood chip biomass can serve as an excellent fuel for energy production and DP CleanTech has developed its technology to optimize its potential. Woody fuels tend to have higher moisture contents and therefore offer opportunities for further recovery of heat through flue gas condensation. In suitable circumstances DP CleanTech’s condensing scrubber has boosted boiler efficiencies to 101%. Gasification technologies can also be used for waste wood energy recovery in certain conditions.

Type of Waste Wood Biomass

As a source of biomass energy, wood has been used by households for centuries for heating, cooking etc but the suitability of woody biomass waste for industrial scale energy production has brought about renewed interest in wood biomass fired power plants in Europe. Waste wood can range from scrap wood (for example, pallets, construction wood, fibre board); mill residuals, manufacturing offcuts and forest debris to processed briquettes and wood pellets from managed forests. Therefore the fuels can come in many different forms, have many different chemical compositions and be processed in many different ways, including recycling.

Typical characteristics

Waste woods are typified by higher moisture levels (2-3 times of dry straw), depending on source and storage conditions.
Soft woods tend to have lower proportion of hemi cellulose and higher lignin content than hardwoods.
Aside from the basic hardwood and softwood differences, the chemical properties will vary widely according to the source of the material and whether they have already been used for other purposes.

Implications

In many countries there are classifications of wood biomass ‘quality’ which takes into account many factors to help define the recommended limitations and parameters for optimum combustion. However, irrespective of initial classifications, the need for proper analysis and pre- sorting for metals and undersized particles will significantly improve the quality of the fuel for combustion and reduce the problems of deposit formation during combustion. The analysis, technology, design and operation of plants must be undertaken by experienced biomass plant experts.
For lower moisture waste woods, gasification can be a viable alternative form of energy recovery.

Waste Wood Biomass