Environmentally friendly alternatives to solid fuel

COAL and turf are two forms of traditional solid fuels but as is widely known now, fossil fuels damage the environment. In addition, of course, they are not renewable. The alternative, environmentally friendly options for solid fuels are made from trees and plants and are called biofuels. When these fuels burn, they give off carbon dioxide and this would at first seem like it is bad for the environment (burning fossil fuels, like oil, coal and turf, give off carbon dioxide damaging our environment).
The difference for these solid fuels, is that they can be regrown and replanted. As the new plants reduce the carbon dioxide again, biofuels are seen as being carbon neutral. It is important to use an efficient way of burning the fuel to avoid a huge percentage of the energy produced being wasted. Efficient boilers and stoves are far better at not wasting this heat and energy, so using a well-designed boiler and insisting on a quality installation is very important. Types of efficient boilers and stoves include solid-fuel stoves, wood-pellet stoves, wood-chip boilers, miscanthus boilers and wood-gasification boilers. The fuel can be in the form of logs, wood chips and wood pellets.
For households, questions with regard to wood pellets, wood chip and appropriate boilers will be answered. The article will then review crops for farmers and small business, including miscanthus and willow.

How reliable are
wood pellet boilers?
Wood pellets are a type of wood fuel, generally made from compacted sawdust. They are usually produced as a byproduct of sawmilling or similar processes. The pellets are extremely dense and can be produced with a low humidity content (below 10%) that allows them to be burned with a very high combustion efficiency. The shape and small size allow for finely calibrated automatic feeding and also for better storage and transport over long distance. Here, of course, it is absolutely crucial that both storage and transport are done by professionals and anyone considering buying a wood-pellet boiler should consider supply of the pellets.
The best solution is to find a seller with a network of suppliers he recommends and trust in providing high-quality delivery and storage options. This includes also the sourcing of the pellets which need to be of high quality themselves. Efficient boilers include the pellet stove, which has a chamber you can fill with pellets instead of burning logs. Nowadays, there are even boilers that allow for both pellets and logs (see picture). To run a house, there are wood-chip boilers as well as pellet boilers to choose from, both types being very efficient and with full central heating controls. The gasification boiler is also a type of very energy-efficient boiler, burning the fuel extremely well, to produce maximum heat, and with the least amount of carbon emissions damaging the environment. The Sustainable Energy Authority (SEAI) have grants available towards the cost of these boilers, for existing houses, as well as new-build houses. Details on www.seia.ie.
While the above may sound very complex and hard to make happen in an efficient way, the proof for the success of such systems if installed correctly and fed with quality pellets can be found all over Europe. In particular in Austria, the leading market for pellet central heating furnaces (relative to its population), it is estimated that 2/3 of all new domestic heating furnaces are pellet burners.

What is miscanthus
and how is it used
for heating?
The renewable energy crop miscanthus originates from China and is therefore often called China grass. Also known as elephant grass, it grows up to 12 feet tall, with long narrow leaves at the top. In winter, the leaves fall and the crop looks like thin sticks a bit like bamboo sticks about 1cm thick. It dries standing in the field in early spring with the wind. It is grown from planting roots or rhyzomes in the ground and when established after two years, it can be harvested each year without replanting for the coming 25 years. It forms a very strong root system in the ground, making the ground very solid to travel on when harvesting. Miscanthus is becoming a real option for farmers to grow, as there are grants available to help towards the high costings of planting it – the cost after the grant is about €700 per acre.
The figures for selling work out as about €60 per ton and an acre can produce between four to nine ton per acre, an annual income of €300 to €500 per acre per annum. There are farmers in Ireland who have been planting this crop for the past seven years with more joining each year. Some people have concerns giving over land to growing crops for energy instead of food but this crop suits heavy clay land, which is not suitable for tillage.
A boiler can also be added to your business or farm which burns miscanthus. By growing this crop, it not only means less fossil fuels but also it means Ireland is producing some of its own energy source, which has huge benefits for the country and also eliminates huge transport costs of fuels. Other uses for miscanthus include horse bedding, chip, logs and even a biodegradable (environmentally friendly) type of plastic, to replace fossil fuels for plastic bottles and so on is being developed. This plastic can decompose in a compost heap.

Which other energy
crops are available?
Willow is a tree again planted as an energy crop. It is grown from cuttings and like miscanthus, weed control is vital in the first years until established. It grows to 3m to 4m in its first year and is then cut back (this is known as coppicing), which encourages growth of multiple shoots. It is harvested in its fourth year and every three years after that. It is used as wood chip and wood pellets as a fuel. It has higher yields on good land but can grow on medium soils as well. Grants are also available for planting it.
Forestry thinnings are used for wood chip or as logs. Sitka spruce is the most common evergreen and quick growing in Ireland and matures after 30 to 40 years. The thinnings from forestry each year gives an annual income from the forest and over the life of the forest may be more valuable then the final timber produced in the forest. Poplar and eucalyptus are also very fast growing trees and the Irish climate is very suitable for growing trees.
For further questions on Solid Fuel Alternative Heating, contact eddie@imecofarm.com.

The next topic to be
discussed in Green Energy Living in two weeks’ time is geothermal and heat pumps. Again, we will be delighted to answer all your questions if you want to send them to the above email address.