Simple guide to biomass boilers: what they are, when you can use, cost savings, environmental impact, use mode

The biomass in the energy field is an organic material of plant origin from which one can produce energy. (Wood, chipped wood, pellets, straw, husks, peanut, corn ...)

Why a biomass boiler does not pollute?

Because the carbon dioxide emitted during combustion is one that has been absorbed during the growth of the plant.

Burning, return it to the environment. So over a period of time equal to: plant growth + its combustion, the overall balance of CO2 in the air has not changed. Cultivating biomass (wood, straw ...), domestic heating is thus an optimal solution for the environment.

By converting all heating systems with biomass boilers, there would be a reduction of CO2 emissions by 30%, as well as high dust pollution, since a domestic boiler has no flue gas filtering.

A good solution is to district heating: a large center with an efficient boiler and sophisticated warm "many" houses, as in Tirano and Sondalo in Lombardy, but not only.

Where it would be appropriate to use this type of boilers?

The use of a boiler of this size (3500 kcal / h) maintenance of the fire as if it were a fireplace. In the evening you have to turn it on by hand and every week you have to reload the hopper and clean the ashes.

The efficiency of a system with these boilers is much higher than a wood stove. The stove gives off heat all in the same place and is unlikely to heat a house of 300 sqm. The thermal power and heat transfer surfaces are greater in a boiler.

 

 Farm: has plenty of wood resulting from pruning or otherwise, can use the boiler with wood whole or crushed and put into the hopper. To crush the wood there are special machines called shredders and chippers.

 Family: if you are of ecologists, there are stews of the hum of the pumps to heat and cold (because out if there are 2 ° C, the heat pump does not heat), if you agree to turn on the boiler with matches, if you have the space for the boiler and to accumulate the pits ... buy yourself a biomass boiler!

 Schools, Hotels, Villas and offices: centralized systems are more affordable. In large boilers can be installed systems for the automatic ignition (starting oil, for example) and for the automatic cleaning of the ash. Also you can do more sophisticated controls on combustion.

 

Operation of the boiler

The boiler is designed to operate with chopped material (peanut, olive residues, chipped, corn). The material is transferred to the hearth with a screw that is activated every 3 minutes, for an adjustable time. Usually we keep it adjusted to a low level because it is already well enough. (The group of power supply has a potential of 100000 KCcal / h)

 

The burner is a kind of crucible from the center of which emerges the fuel pushed by the cochlea, the air is pushed by a fan and exits of the holes along the outer perimeter and interior of the crucible.

To improve the efficiency of the boiler we inserted a thermostat which switches off the fan if the flue gas temperature exceeds 200 ° C.

The fire that develops within and around the combustion chamber touches the walls and the ceiling of the fire, the smoke coming out from the front, pass inside the tube bundle and start off on the fireplace.

 

Fuels used:

 

 nocciolino: lights up fine, no problem, fireplace clean enough. 4500 kcal / kg

 Oil-cake: the flame has difficulty to light after a stop for high temperature. When a restart occurs often explosive ignition that makes you do a puff of black smoke from the door in front of the fireplace.

 Wood: a little more ash pits. And 'necessary to add wood two or three times in one evening. Having enough wood available saves us nocciolino.

 Paper: a lot of ash, just power on hand very often. They can also burn large bunches of paper, thanks to the forced ventilation.

 Wood chipped: Difficulties to be dragged from the cochlea (which is designed for the pits). It should then load by hand directly on the hearth. The combustion is very fast and strong, but be careful because if when you load the wood chips, the flame goes out, it comes back on after about ten seconds with a flash is almost explosive.

 Almonds: of course go hand-loaded (otherwise block the cochlea). The combustion is great, and the heat developed is higher than that of the pits or wood.

 Corn: difficulty in burning alone, it is necessary to mix it with the peanut. I know that burning corn may look ugly, but you get a view that cultivating an edible product even if it is better to burn that burn oil, in so many ways.

20/10/2012

 

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Translated via software

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Source:

Italian version of ReteIngegneri.it