Archive for July, 2009
Creating Wood Pelletsand Moving Away From Fossil Fuels
Fossil power are trapped forms of carbon power from under the surface of the earth, and for the previous few hundred years we have been extracting this fuel to used for transportation, industrial and heating applications. The difficulty is this trapped from of carbon energy was part of a previous carbon cycle, and not the present carbon cycle. By using fossil fuels we are introducing extra carbon dioxide into the current carbon cycle. This influx of supplementary carbon dioxide is the basis behind climate change and global warming. The amplified levels of carbon dioxide in the environment act as a reflective mirror, reflecting the suns energy back at the earth. This causes increasing temperatures and this intern compounds the effects. For example the ice caps serve and essential purpose, as they are a reflector to a lot of the suns power. As global temperatures increase, the ice caps reseed. As the ice caps get smaller there is less surface area to reflect the sun?s energy. As this course continues the ice caps begin to shrink at an ever-increasing rate, until they will finally disappear. However this is not the end of the tale, once the ice caps have vanished in their place will be temperature spots storing the suns power and further increasing the rise in global temperatures. All of this procedure stems from using fuels that are not part of the recent carbon cycle. Biomass, for example wood is part of the current carbon cycle, and needs to be utilized more commonly to combat the effects of global warming. One of the simplest and most competent ways to utilize biomass and wood as a fuel, is to convert them into pellets.
Learn more about Pellet Mill
Pellet fuel is becoming more and more accepted, today fuel pellets are also being utilized more and more in coal power stations. Mixtures of coal and straw or wood pellets are being utilized to reduce the CO2 output of the energy plants and reduce their impact on the natural world. Pellet fuel is also being used more and more in the home to warm up properties via stoves and boilers. Pellet fuel has quite a lot of advantages in terms of incineration efficiency and reduced maintenance through better process automation.
Read more about Pellet Fuel
Pellet creating is a skilled process, and requires the correct equipment and knowledge. The basic theory of all pellet-making remains the same no matter what the raw material is. A roller and die setup compresses the raw matter into pellet shapes of different diameters. The natural binding properties of the raw material maybe enough to hold the pellet together or added binders maybe required. The pellets are hot from the press, and then cool to produce strong, durable fuel pellets.
More information on Making Pellets Details
Biomass Pellets Can In Addition Be Utilized To Produce Electricity
Wood pellets are becoming a very well-liked home heating fuel for stoves and boilers across Europe and America, for individuals of you who are not accustomed with what wood pellets are here is brief introduction. Wood pellets are made from excess from the wood trade; the sawdust and shavings that are left over after wood products have been made. This raw waste material is then compressed into small cylinder shapes, usually 6mm?s in diameter. These pellets have a consistent shape, size and density that make them ideal as a heating fuel. As they are made from wood, they are also a green energy, as they do not contribute added carbon dioxide to the ecosystem unlike fossil fuels. So wood pellets have been proven as an excellent home heating fuel, which can be made from local renewable assets. However wood pellets can also be used on a small local level to create electricity. This can be achieved through a process called gasification. Gasification is a procedure where the wood is heated to release volatile combustible gases, namely carbon monoxide, methane and hydrogen. Now these flammable gases can be used directly in an internal combustion engine, by adjusting the air and fuel mix in the engine to a 1:1 ratio. The internal combustion engine can then be utilized to power a generator. The electricity generated can then be sold back to the grid.
Learn more about Wood Pellet
Small local electrical power production has many benefits to the individual and the local society. Firstly it is a supply of green, low carbon energy made by local people for local people. Also the ash outstanding after the process is a valuable commodity as it is an first-rate soil conditioner to aid several types of plants. Fruit trees especially benefit from the ash due to the high potassium content. Another benefit is it provide stable local jobs, jobs can be generated in the gathering and processing of the wood, and the running and operating of the gasifier. Other local jobs and benefits would be through cultivation of fuel and the use of local biomass waste. This would create a cleaner local natural environment, while again providing further jobs and generating local electricity.
Read more about Pellet Press Information
Why convert the biomass and wood into pellets for the gasifier, instead of just using the raw supplies? The simple reason is on a small-scale setup, to produce a low maintenance proficient process, as many factors as possible must be controlled. By advancement the biomass and wood into pellets, a consistent free flowing fuel has been created which even on a small low cost setup can return efficient results. The pellets can also be manufactured locally on a small scale setup.
More information on Pellet Machine
Challenging Climate Change, Also Using New Fuels And Energy Sources
Tackling global warming and climate change is a game where time is a key feature. One of the important reasons for this is a bunch of the changes that global warming is causing could become lasting if steps are not taken now to re-solve the trouble. Some people are even of the idea that global warming could be useful, in terms of places that have a cool climate temperatures will increase and with it better weather. However this is simply not true, in those cold climates the weather will in fact deteriorate, and summers will become wetter. Yes the summers will be warmer, however these are a major drop in clear sky?s. More restless summer weather will also initiate an increase in high winds, thunderstorms and tornados. Looking at it from a more specific point of view food crops will also be considerably effected. Take grain crops for instance, once they are harvested they have to be dry before they are stored. If wet grain is stored it will simply rot and decay and become of no worth. However with global warming, wetter harvests are taking place and more and more grain needs to be dried before it can be stored. The key issue is present grain dryers use gas or diesel heaters. So the extra grain that wants drying, the more diesel/gas is needed to dry the grain. This will have two major results. Firstly the price of the grain will have to raise to account for the further costs of drying. Secondly using gas and diesel clearly contributes additional to global warming and climate change, contributing to wetter summers. Therefore this is a compound effect, and will advance push up the cost of food grain over the coming years. More people need to realize the effects climate change will have on the main areas of our lives as well as food.
Learn more about Pellets Mill
One of the key areas is to progress away from oil and diesel in terms of providing fuel. A key area of energy that needs to be used is Biomass, which is any natural matter, which can be used to manufacture energy. For example some people today use biomass in the form of wood pellets to heat their homes and businesses. Various different sized pellet stoves and boilers can be utilized to heat any size of house. Pellet stoves and boilers are greatly compact and efficient incineration units.
Read more about Pellets
Wood pellets include a far higher fuel value compared to wood logs or wood chip, due to the high compactness of the pellets. The pellets also create more heat and less ash and maintenance during combustion. This means less air pollution is also generated through the use of pellets.
More information on Pellet Fuel
Creating Biomass Pellets And Burning Pellets
Wood is really universal raw material. For thousands of years wood has been used as a building material, material for apparatus and tools, paper and fuel. Since the finding of coal, wood has been a forgotten fuel source, and the arrival of oil and gas fuels compounded this outcome. Today yet its is coal, oil and gas which is being put below the spot light, as these fuels are revealed to increase CO2 levels by a significant amount. Increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere means more warmth from the sun are reflected back at the earth and not allowed to escape the earth?s shell. This will lead to an increase in global temperatures, which will have effects on almost every plant and animal on earth. Wood however as a fuel does not cause the same complications. When wood is burnt it does liberate carbon dioxide, however the vital factor is where did the carbon dioxide come from. During the living of the tree, it absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. So during combustion the carbon that is released will be reabsorbed by the next leaves. This means wood and tree?s are part of the carbon cycle. The other important factor with wood is it is a locally sourced energy resource. Fossil fuel prices are very unbalanced, particularly as fossil fuels are only sourced from a hardly any locations. Sourcing wood fuel?s locally means lower fuel prices and also less fuel transport, which also benefits the environment.
Learn more about Pellets
When countless people think of wood as a energy source, many still think of logs made from old oak tree?s. However this is a very outdated view as wood as a fuel, and mainly because it is unsound. We simply cannot grow oak tree;s fast enough to sustain a consumption of logs for fuel. Therefore other wood type need to be used as a fuel source that are sustainable. Willow or more expressly short rotation coppice is a very fast growing wood species which can be used for several different uses as well as as a fuel. Another similar biomass material that is perfect as a fast growing energy source is Hemp. So now we have these fast developing wood species, how can we use them proficiently to produce heat and electricity. Well the answer comes in the appearance of pellets.
Read more about Pellet Fuel Facts
Pellets are small round cylinders, and can be made from many dissimilar raw materials for many different uses. One the willow and hemp have been processed into pellets they can be used immediately in pellet stoves and boilers to produce heat in homes and businesses. They burn up very proficiently, and produce very little ash and smoke.
More information on Pellet Mill Manufacturer
Encouraging Home Energy Production And Heating From Community Fuels
Today in the present monetary crisis, it is even more evident how unhinged our existing economic circumstances is, and many of these troubles are due to central power, money and industrial institutions. Essentially most of the money, energy (oil,gas) and jobs that populace use and are apart of are controlled by a few extremely large organizations. The problem with this is that when they make mistakes it affects the ————— market, because they are the market. The other concern is they themselves are no mainly at risk from these mistakes. Take the banks for illustration; while they caused the crisis from irrespirable lending, they themselves are now seeing a recovery while the rest of the financial system is going to struggle for at least the next few years. Things should to change, and can be changed by decentralizing many vital areas of our life?s. A key area of decentralization that needs to be looked at is small-scale energy generation. In Germany today this philosophy is being put into practice with great effect. Basically instead of a few large power stations feeding the network, a large assortment of small power generators feed the grid. This has several benefits in terms of jobs and the environment. With regards to jobs, by decentralizing the power grid provides local jobs in a stable industry. Small-scale production is also a direct incentive for energy efficiency, a key element in tackling global warming. The small-scale energy producer gets rewarded on how much power they produce, therefore the less power they use, the more cash they make. This motivation is the easiest way on a large scale to make people play a proactive role in reducing energy consumption. So how on a small scale can energy be generated from local assets?
Learn more about Pellets
The first point that comes to mind it obviously wind and solar power, and these are equally valid ways to produce electricity on a small scale. However to in reality run a small business the size of wind or solar farm in reality has to be quite large. So how could you run a small-scale power business on community resources to generate a substantial income? The answer is biomass and gasification. Biomass is organic matter that can be used as a fuel; this includes wood, straws, grasses and waste. Gasification is a way to break the biomass down into its basic elements. This gas can then be used in an internal combustion engine to generate electricity.
Read more about Wood Pellet
The easiest way to use biomass in gasification systems in an automatic procedure is to upgrade the biomass into pellets. Pellets are solid forms of their initial raw material, and have a homogeneous shape, size and density. These features mean pellets flow like a liquid and are ideal for automatic feed systems into a gasifier.
More information on Pellet Mill Production
Creating Energy From Renewable Forms Then Using It Competently
There are different forms of renewable fuel. The most universal and well-known forms of renewable energy are wind and solar. However biomass needs to participate a more important role as a widespread energy source. Biomass is a generalisation of many different sources of energy. All biomass energy is grown energy, this includes all plant mater and processed organic mater, which can be used as a energy source. This can then include a number of sources of purpose grown fuel, and also a lot of waste. For example from the wood business a lot of sawdust is produced, this sawdust can be processed into wood pellets to be used as a low cost, low maintenance home heating fuel. Other wood species, which grow at an accelerated rate, can also be used for fuel pellets and other energy conversion technologies. Willow or short rotation coppices are forms of fast growing woody biomass, which is ideal for this purpose. Hemp is another biomass energy source, which grows at an accelerated pace; it can be used for several different purpose including bio-diesel, textiles, paper, food and plastics. After hemp processing there is also waste dust and fibres, this waste can then be utilized for pellet fuel manufacture. Most of waste today still goes into landfill, and a good deal of this could used to manufacture new products and energy. Our ideas of what is and isn?t waste need to change as resources become more expensive. To extract energy from biomass, usually means combustion, and many people still believe that is just as bad as burning fossil fuels. The key differentiation during biomass incineration the carbon released was from the atmosphere and fossil fuel combustion the carbon was from deep underground. Therefore biomass combustion does not increase the levels of carbon within the environment.
Learn more about Biomass Pellets
Wood pellets as mentioned above are one form of biomass fuel. All types of wood can be processed into fuel pellets, however the grade of the wood and its bark content will affect its fuel rating. For example wood with bark and some wood species in general make more ash, and for that reason has a lower value as a energy pellet.
Read more about Wood Pellets
Pellet Mills are used to compress the wood into pellets. Usually wood pellet manufacture has been seem to be only a large-scale engineering process, however it is possible to manufacture pellets on small-scale equipment. Producing pellets however can be tricky process and certain factors have to manage to produce a quality pellet. These factors include the humidity content of the raw matter and the temperature of the procedure to name but a few. An accurate descriptions is to compare pellet production to cooking. To learn more about the practice please click the pellet mill link below.
More information on Pellet Mill Facts
Diverse Ways To Heat Your Dwelling And Decrease Your Energy Supplies
Today more and more people are looking into diverse ways to heat up their homes. There are several reasons for this, and a principal reason is the ever-increasing price of gas, electricity and oil. Prices for power have always being areas of fear, however recently the price for energy has become unbalanced. The reasons for this are in part due to conflicts and political disagreements. Other reasons include increased demand for energy from large developing countries such as India and China. As the countries rapidly develop, their industry grows and more people gain access to a contemporary lifestyle. With this comes an greater than before demand for energy, which will only continue into the future. Though the price of energy is not our only fear, as the source of our energy has even more significance. Currently our forms of energy are predominantly fossil fuel based, whether it gas, oil or coal. For example China is powered by low efficiency coal power stations, this is not only introducing great amounts of carbon dioxide into the environment but also large amounts of air pollution. Now China cannot be blamed for this as the western world went through the same progression, however all countries must make efforts to look for greener and cleaners power technologies. Pellet stoves for example are one way on a small scale we can all make a pro-active change to a low carbon renewable energy source. Pellet stoves are available in various different shapes and sizes, to meet all heating demands and necessities.
Learn more about Pellet Stoves
Pellet stoves and pellet boilers use fuel pellets to create heat energy to heat homes and businesses. The fuel pellets are mostly wood pellets made from waste wood residues from mainly pine, spruce and oak. The wood has its bark detached and then goes through a hammer mill to be processed into a dust. A pellet mill or pellet press the turns this dust into wood pellets. However other fuels such as straws and grasses can also be processed into fuel pellets. These forms of fuel pellets are not yet as fashionable as wood pellets.
Read more about Pellet Stoves Prices
Biomass, of which wood is a part of is any natural matter which can be used as a fuel source. This includes purposely grown fuel crops, however importantly it also includes utilizing waste streams such as sawdust and agricultural residues. As biomass is part of the carbon cycle it is also a low carbon renewable fuel source. The ash residual after combustion is actually an superb fertilizer, which can make the process carbon negative. This means the use of biomass in boiler and stoves could essentially help to reverse global warming and climate change.
More information on Wood Pellet Stoves Insert
What Are Fuel Pellets, Wood Pellet And Pellet Mill
Not that many people are aware of fuel pellets. The current most popular forms of energy, which are fossil fuel based, must be replaced with sustainable alternatives. A sustainable resource is one which can be used at the current levels of consumption and future consumption levels without depleting resources. This also therefore indicates resources which can either rapidly replace them selves or there is an abundant source of that energy. Solar, wind, wave and geothermal are types of energy where they almost always available and are abundant. The question is are these forms of energy enough to meet our total energy requirements, the costs to collect the energy and times when the energy isn’t available. Due to these issues we have to construct an energy future which includes these forms of alternative energy, but also includes a resource which can cultivate and grow, which is biomass. Biomass is any living or recently dead organic mater which can be used for fuel, this obviously includes wood, however it also includes so much more. By upgrading biomass into pellets, pellet fuel is created. Pellet fuel is ideal for automatic hopper feed systems which are found in stoves and boilers. Under high pressure wood is formed into fuel pellets and as such its increased density has several advantages.
Learn more about Pellet Fuel
The most popular and well known form of fuel pellets are wood pellets. The increased density of a wood pellet compared to say loose sawdust or even wood logs is the reason they burn so well and work well in feed hoppers. Wood pellets have a uniform shape and size and also due to their density they flow like a liquid and are ideal for hopper systems unlike loose low-density sawdust, which will get blocked up in the hopper. The increased density of the wood pellets also means a much higher combustion efficiency is achieved compared to uncompressed wood. From a few wood pellets a much higher heat value is obtained and they produce very little smoke and ash.
Read more about Wood Pellet Mill
A pellet mill is used to compress the wood into wood pellets. First the wood is put through a chipper then a hammer mill to reduce its size. The wood must have a low moisture content before it enters the pellet mill to aid lignin melting. Once the wood enters the pellet mill it is compressed between a roller and die to form a pellet.
More information on Pellet Mill Die
Why Pellet Stoves And Wood Pellet Boilers Have Had A Come Back
Pellet stoves have existed since the early 1980’s, however at that time they were seen more as a gimmick instead of serious option for heating your home, business or any other property. The reasons for this were at the time the price, supply of fossil fuels namely gas and oil was cheap and stable. There was also not a wide acknowledgement as there is today on the effects of use of fossil fuels on global warming. Gas was the new fuel on the block and had several advantages, it was cheap, burned very cleanly and required very little maintenance from the user. Against these obstacles pellet stoves did not stand a chance, as there appeared to be no advantages compared to using gas or oil and global warming wasn’t on anyone’s minds. Also there was obviously no supply of wood pellets, without a supply of pellets no one will buy a stove. However companies could not be convinced to set-up a pellet plant for wood pellets as there was no market. So the pellet stove lay dormant for over 20 years.
Learn more about Pellet Stove Prices
At the beginning of the 21st century wood pellet stoves began their revival. There are two events which started a renewed interest in wood pellet stoves and this was the wars in the middle east and climate change becoming more of a serious issue. With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the price of oil was constantly changing and breaking new records daily on the price per barrel. The instability in the region was causing supply issues and thus price rises
Read more about Wood Pellet Stove Insert
Another important point which has given new life to wood pellet stoves and wood pellet boilers is global warming and climate change. It is now clearer than ever that our addition to fossil fuels has also affected our global climate. By burning fossil fuels such as oil and gas we have increased the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, which reflects the suns energy back at the earth increasing temperature.
More information on Pellets Boiler
Making Best Use Of Alternative Fuel, Biomass And Pellets Machines
Other forms of energy other than oil, gas and coal are referred to a alternative energy and try to reduce the effects of climate change and global warming. By now everyone is aware of the fact that our consumption of fossil fuels is not only unsustainable, it also affects our planets climate. Fossil fuels are effectively a large store of carbon deep underground which is made up of plants and animals from thousands and millions of years ago. Burning fossil fuels introduces additional carbon dioxide into the environment. The current carbon cycle is in balance between what plant matter absorbs and the gases released during the combustion and decay of recently dead plant mater. By during fossil fuels we are introducing additional carbon dioxide into the cycle, which cannot be supported. This means excess carbon sits in the atmosphere and acts like a mirror reflecting the suns energy back at the earth and increasing global temperatures. Alternative energy is anything other than current forms of used energy, hence fossil fuels. A very large available resource of alternative energy is biomass.
Learn more about Alternative Energy Pellets
Biomass is any recently dead or living organic matter that can be used as a fuel source in either solid, liquid or gas form. This includes purpose grown fuel sources but also residual resources and waste resources. The most common and well known form of biomass is wood. Wood fuel sources no longer simply refer to felling large trees to make into logs. A lot of it refers to growing specific wood species for fuel production due to their high yields and then converting the wood in to a useable energy form. One of the simplest, low energy input ways to turn biomass resources including wood into a fuel source is to upgrade the resources into pellets. You maybe familiar with wood pellet stoves, which can automatically feed them selves with pellets to heat rooms or whole properties.
Read more about Biomass Power Pellets
Pellet machines, which are also referred to as pellet presses or pellet mills are used to compress the raw biomass material into pellets. First the raw material is reduced to a small uniform size with low consistent low moisture content. To manufacture constituent quality pellets is with a consistent quality raw material. The raw material then enters the pellet machine and is compressed into pellets.
More information on Pellet Machines
You are currently browsing the Activated Carbon Online blog archives for July, 2009.