Biomass boilers are a kind of low carbon renewable energy source for the production of heat or electricity by burning biological materials such as wood.
What are different types of biomass boiler system available today? What are various applications of biomass boilers and how does an industrial biomass boiler works?
Haseeb
Biomass boilers are used to produce heat or electricity by burning woods or other organic renewables.
Automatic biomass boilers are available in the market which controls the amount of air and fuel used, making them even more useful. The only difference that separates them from conventional gas boilers is rather of gas or oil they use wood pellets as a fuel to produce heat.
There are various types of Biomass boiler, i.e. fully automated biomass boiler, combined heat and power (CHP) biomass system, semi-automated industrial biomass boiler, log-fed biomass boiler and wood stoves.
The biomass fuel which is mostly used for heating purpose on a domestic level is wood in the form of logs, pellets or wood chips. The other biomass fuel includes animal waste, food waste and industrial waste while the high energy crops consist of rapeseed, maize, elephant grass and willow.
To install the biomass boiler system, more space is needed in the boiler house compared to a conventional gas boiler. It needs a larger space due to the necessary additional fuel handling equipment and sophisticated filter system. A bulky hopper is needed to store the wood fuel, be it wood pellets or chips.
The important consideration which is to be taken into account while installing industrial boiler is the space for the fuel storage, water tank and the boiler itself. In contrast to smaller domestic boilers, the industrial boilers can vary dramatically in size depending on the heating system, building heating requirements and storage space.
Over-sized boilers not only result in higher costs but also in energy waste over their lifetime. The installation process depends on the current heating system and may involve integration with the existing heating system rather than complete system replacement.
Biomass boilers can be used for power generation in various industries such as pulp and paper industry, brewery industry, sawmill industry and combined heat and power (CHP).
Hot water or steam boiler with a specific type of fuel is the hub of the industrial boiler system. Such fuels contain different types of wood including pellets, chips, and logs.
The boiler heats the water that is conveyed by a pipe system for the end-use purpose. The cooled water or condensed steam switches to the boiler where it is re-heated again. In thermal tank, the excess heat is also stored.