Using biomass pellet fuel as boiler fuel is an inevitable trend in China’s development. Biomass fuel is a type of block-shaped, environmentally friendly new energy produced by processing agricultural and forestry wastes such as rice husks, peanut shells, corncobs, camellia seed husks, cottonseed hulls, and the three types of forest residues.
Biomass Pellet Fuel
According to the biomass pellet classification standards of Sweden and the European Union, taking the intermediate classification values as an example, biomass pellets can be roughly described as having the following characteristics: the diameter of biomass pellets is generally 6–8 mm, the length is 4–5 times the diameter, the fragmentation rate is less than 1.5%–2.0%, the moisture content on a dry basis is less than 10%–15%, the ash content is less than 1.5%, both sulfur and chlorine contents are less than 0.07%, and the nitrogen content is less than 0.5%. If additives are used, they shall be agricultural and forestry products, and the types and quantities used must be clearly indicated.
The EU standards do not specify exact values for the calorific value of biomass pellets, but require sellers to label this information. Swedish standards stipulate that the calorific value of biomass pellets should generally be above 16.9 MJ/kg. The research and development of bioenergy technology has become one of the major hot topics worldwide, attracting attention from governments and scientists of all countries.
Many countries have formulated corresponding development and research plans, such as Japan’s Sunshine Program, India’s Green Energy Project, and the United States’ Energy Farm Initiative, among which the development and utilization of bioenergy accounts for a considerable share. A large number of foreign bioenergy technologies and equipment have reached the stage of commercial application. Compared with other biomass energy technologies, biomass pellet fuel technology is easier to realize large-scale production and application.
In the past two years, the utilization rate of biomass pellet fuel has started to rise, and China has also begun to attach importance to this green fuel. Some enterprises in many regions have invested in exploring the production of biomass-fired boilers, promoting the popularization of biomass fuel application.