/woodfuel forestry logging biomass residue.jpg)
The Forestry Commission provides information on the benefits of using woodfuel.
This concise and easy to read Forestry Commission publication, titled “Woodfuel meets the challenge”, (produced in 2006), describes how wood fuel can be more cost effective and sustainable than other fuel sources. It is intended as a guide for anyone wanting to learn more about the potential use of wood as fuel. Using wood as a direct source of fuel can benefit loggers by providing an alternative market for products, and enable better utilisation of log off-cuts. Some of the key benefits listed by the document are as follows:Net carbon emissions can be reduced compared to fossil fuels
-
Modern woodfuel combustion technologies are clean and efficient
-
With rising fossil fuel prices, using woodfuel could reduce energy costs
-
Woodfuel is a renewable source of energy
-
Including reclaimed wood can reduce landfill
-
Managing forests for woodfuel can have biodiversity advantages
-
Woodfuel can contribute to the renewable energy targets of individual countries
-
It can create and sustain rural jobs
The document expands on the above points. A very interesting table is included which shows the burning efficiency and emissions of fuels such as wood logs, wood chips, wood pellets, coal, gas and oil. Differences in the energy value of hardwoods and softwoods are described with a simple illustration.
Because the moisture content of wood used for fuel is so important, the effective heat energy values of broadleaved trees and conifers is illustrated at different moisture contents; either freshly felled, air dry or house dry. A table is provided which allows one to calculate what the most cost effective fuel type is.
Finally, some of the different woodfuel sources are described, such as:
- Woodfuel from forests and woodlands
- Woodfuel from energy crops.
- Woodfuel from co-products (e.g. sawmill off-cuts)
- Woodfuel from waste wood
- Woodfuel from Arboricultural arisings (municipal and garden material)
The document was compiled by Duncan Ireland and Jenny Claridge (Forest Research) and Richard Pow (Forestry Commission England), with the support of Defra, Forestry Commission Scotland and Forestry Commission Wales. Source: www.forestresearch.gov.uk/pdf/Woodfuel_meets_the_challenge.pdf/$FILE/Woodfuel_meets_the_challenge.pd