Biomass Heating Initiative
The Initiative
The Biomass Heating Initiative has been developed by MAS Environmental to offer an affordable low carbon alternative to fossil fuels. The primary aim of the project is to allow communities to move away from expensive and environmentally damaging fuels to one which is low cost and sustainable, in this case biomass. The scheme will be launched in Horningsea, Cambridgeshire and with help from the Carbon Trust, a government funded organisation, the intention is to roll it out across the UK.
Instead of burning fossil fuels, biomass boilers burn pellets made from a variety of low carbon products, most commonly wood.
Replacing a 20kW oil fired boiler with a biomass boiler of a similar size could save you up to £6.40 per day or £44.80 weekly.
About Biomass
Biomass itself refers to organic material of a biological origin (i.e. was recently living) such as wood, straw, energy crops, sewage sludge, waste organic materials and animal litter.
When combustion occurs, CO2 which has been stored in the biomass is released. This release is offset by the CO2 originally absorbed in the growth of the biomass thus creating what is considered to be a carbon neutral process.
In reality Biomass is not carbon neutral, no fuel or energy source is. Planting, harvesting, processing and transport are important factors which need to be taken into account when quantifying CO2 emissions.
To counter such additional CO2 emissions the Biomass Heating Initiative will provide a supply of locally produced pellet fuel. This will enable the formation of decentralised networks of energy production eliminating unnecessary transportation; essentially it will provide a local energy source, resourced and controlled by the local community.
Pellet Production
“Currently up to 10 million tonnes of waste wood is being produced in the UK each year, most of which goes to landfill.”
[Defra 2008 http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/topics/wood/index.htm]
Our intention is to redirect a significant amount of waste wood away from landfill sites in Cambridgeshire to create pellets used to power biomass boilers.
The Pellet Making Process
Waste wood needs to be broken up into smaller chips to begin the pellet making process. It is then reduced to course sawdust and subjected to high levels of compression. This compression process generates heat triggering the release of lignin, a naturally occurring substance in wood. Lignin behaves similarly to glue, acting as a natural binding agent allowing the production of individual pellets in this final stage of the process.
Biomass Boilers
Biomass boilers have been developed to run on a variety of materials, such as, woodchips, wood pellets and straw bales. Biomass pellets are most suited to domestic properties as they require less storage space, are clean and easy to handle and are designed to automatically feed into the boiler.
Pellets are placed into the hopper and are then fed into the boiler system. The hopper may need filling anywhere between every couple of days if demand is high to once every one to two weeks if just ticking over.
There are a wide range of boilers on the market and some are designed to be situated in a living space (see above). Despite the difference in appearance this type of boiler still shares the same properties as a standard biomass boiler outlined above.
Horningsea
As a resident of Horningsea you may well be aware of the cost implications of being detached from the mains gas supply. The ever increasing and volatile cost of oil led MAS Environmental to search for an alternative heating method suited to properties in Horningsea. After careful consideration and research into alternative sources of energy MAS decided that biomass was the best option.
“Biomass heating offers most significant cost savings in parts of the UK which are not currently on the gas grid. For example, using wood or straw can provide cost savings of 2-4p/kWh (pence her kilowatt hour) relative to use of heating oil.”
Carbon Trust -January 2009
If you own a 20kW boiler which runs for 8 hours daily this could generate a saving of £6.40 per day or £44.80 weekly.
At this stage we are trying to establish the degree of interest amongst residents of Horningsea to assess the potential scale of the project.
If the move to a biomass boiler is something you would consider or if you would like more information on how the initiative is progressing please contact us on biomass@masenv.co.uk or 01223 441671.
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