Wood Pellets: Clean, Efficient Heating
with Renewable Energy from our
Forest Resources
Charlie Niebling, General Manager
SURE Conference, Syracuse NY
November 5, 2009
New England Wood Pellet
Facilities
Schuyler Wood
Pellet LLC
Jaffrey Plant and
Biofuel Energy
Systems
Palmer Packaging
and Reload Center
Deposit
p
Wood
Pellet LLC
(October 2010)
Jaffrey Plant
Opened January, 1999
Palmer Packaging & Reload Center
O
Opened
d October,
O t b 2006
Schuyler Wood Pellet LLC
Grand
G
a d Opening
Ope g December
ece be 7,, 2007
00
Making pellets is not a simple
proposition
Energy is One of the Big 21st Century Problems
•
Cheap, plentiful, and highly useful energy fueled the
unprecedented economic growth of recent history
•
Pressure is mounting on the availability and price of such energy
– Growing demand (e.g. India, China)
– Dwindling supply (reserves, production/refining capacity)
– Increasing environmental and geopolitical costs
•
Society is active in seeking economic and sustainable solutions
– Most efforts aimed at high value areas of electricity &
transportation (e.g. solar PV, wind, ethanol, biodiesel)
•
The
e heat
eat seg
segment
e t is
sab
big
g oppo
opportunity
tu ty
– Large, essential segment – ~30% of consumption, ~$200
billion annually
– Largely unnoticed – has not received much attention
compared to electricity & transportation
BioPellets are a Promising Part of a Solution
• Refined product of biomass
– Made from waste wood, low-grade
– Safe, clean, and inexpensive
refining process
– Consistent size, shape, and weight
– Energy dense
• Useful
– Easily stored, distributed, and
consumed
– Ideal for heating and combined heat
and power
• Priced
P i d competitively
titi l vs. alternatives
lt
ti
• You can feel good about using them
– Renewable
– Effectively carbon neutral
– Locally produced
Quick Overview of
Manufacturing Process
The
manufacturing
process begins
when tractor
trailer loads of
raw material (wet
and
d dry
d sawdust,
d t
shavings, chips
etc.) arrive at the
plant The
plant.
material is
unloaded by a
skid steer,
steer a live
livefloor or a truck
dump.
…and
d
here’s the
Truck
Dump
Schuyler
Wood Pellet
One acre
covered
wood
storage –
will hold
6,000 tons
A small
percentage of
our wood
supply is
coming from
green whole tree
chips;
hi
we are
experimenting
with screening
to reduce bark
and twig content
to an acceptable
level
We are also
experimenting
with hardwood
roundwood,
with on-site flail
debarking and
chipping
hi i
later
l t
this fall
The
material is
stored in
piles until
a front
f
t end
d
loader
transfers it
into the inin
feed
system.
“Green”
Green
material
averages
about 45%
moisture
content.
The in-feed
system
t
meters it into
a screener,
which
separates the
chips and the
sawdust.
At this
point, the
chips pass
through a
350 hp pregrinder and
are mixed
with the
sawdust.
The
material
then fills a
silo which
meters
wood into
the dryer.
y
The 12
12-foot
foot
diameter, 60foot long
rotary kiln
dryer dries
the material
to 10-12%
moisture
content.
The dryer
Th
d
is
i heated
h t d
by a 45 MMBTU
biomass burner.
The burner is fueled
by sawdust from a
metering bin.
Air is then blown
into a series of
cyclones which
separate water
vapor and
d gases
from the dried
sawdust. Moist air
is then exhausted.
exhausted
The sawdust is
conveyed into a
screener which
separates the fine
sawdust from the
coarse.
Now the coarse
sawdust
d t goes through
th
h
another 300 hp
grinding to be reduced
in size
size.
The material is now
conveyed to a silo
where about 15% goes
back to fuel the burner.
The material in the
silo is then metered
into one of three 300
hp mills where the
pellets are formed
under
d high
hi h heat
h t and
d
pressure. Pellets
are about 4%
moisture content
content.
The pellets travel
through a cooling
system.
Once the
O
th pellets
ll t
have been cooled,
they are then
conveyed to a
storage silo.
Pellets are
separated into 40pound bags and
stacked by our
robotic packaging
system.
t
S
Some
product is diverted
to our bulk
delivery truck for
delivery to central
heating customers.
Stacked pellets are then prepared for shipping.
Pellets are then shipped
to retailers throughout
New England, NY and PA
and on to over 60,000
end
d users.
Status of Pellet Industry in
N h
Northeast
(NE & NY)
• Approx
Approx. 400
400,000
000 homes heated (primary or back-up)
back up)
with pellet fuel in Northeast; annual growth >10%
• 13 manufacturers of pellet fuel in Northeast – 4 are
startups facing typical start
start-up
up challenges,
challenges 2 in ME are
currently closed but will reopen
• Total consumption approaching 600,000+ TPY; total
manufacturing capacity about 400,000+
400 000+ TPY
• At least 7 new plants proposed (ME-2, NH-2, MA-1,
VT-1, NY-2)
• Limited distribution by bulk; 99.5% of fuel distributed
in bags vs. <40% in Europe
Pellet Fuels Ideally Suited to
N th
Northeastern
t
US M
Market
k t
• Abundant, underutilized forest and agricultural
resources; roundwood,
roundwood chips
chips, manufacturing residues –
growing forest inventory and decline in pulp & paper
manufacture; clean waste wood as well
• Highest energy prices of anywhere in US
• Huge thermal (heat) market, currently largely
dependent on fossil energy (oil, natural gas, propane) –
one third of total energy
gy consumption
p
in the region
g
• Long tradition of using wood as fuel; aging
demographics favor more convenience in burning wood
• Population and demand density that enhances
potential for bulk pellet fuel distribution
• Generally favorable policy climate
Heating with Pellet Fuels:
Emerging
E
i Heating
H ti Technology
T h l
and
d Bulk
B lk
Fuel Distribution Options
Pellet Stoves
<85,000 BTU
30-50 lbs/day during winter
Thermostatically controlled
145,000 in New England alone
1 million in U.S.
The Future…..not that far off,
but we
e need
eed help!
ep
1. Home or Business Delivery of
Pellets in Bulk
- Much
h like
l k oil,
l gas, or propane
- Convenient - you don’t need to be there
3. Fully Automated Central
Heating System
- Boilers and furnaces support
existing distribution system
2. Sufficient Storage
- Automated feed system
- 1-3
3 deliveries
de e es a yea
year
- Self-ignition and self-cleaning
- Attractive and/or unobtrusive
- Safety that is superior to propane
or gas
4. Easy Installation/Service
- Simple
p venting
g
- Simple, once-a-year maintenance
includes ash removal
New furnace, boiler technology
beginning to expand central
heating options; bulk delivery
makes it possible, but delivery
systems
t
nott well
ll established
t bli h d
KWB (Austrian)
Residential Boiler
HARMAN BOILER
TARM
Austrian EnergyCabin: establishing North American sales
Industrial combustion, district heating,
combined heat and power…..HUGE
potential in northeast
Propell Energy
•
•
•
•
•
•
Import,
p , sell & service commercial boiler systems
y
100-1,000 kW (340KBTU – 3.4 MMBTU)
Swedish and Austrian technology
Bulk fuel delivery
Energy services
Off
Office
buildings, schools, prisons, public works garages,
apartment complexes, hospitals, shopping malls etc.
Bulk delivery
y
Thermal Energy about One-Third of Total
Energy Consumption in U.S. (source: EIA, 2004 data)
32 4 NH - 36%
32.4
NH – 34%
40
26.8
NH - 30%
thermal
transportation
electricity
• 80% of thermal energy is commercial/industrial; only 20% residential
Drivers of Energy Policy
• Efficiency
• Emissions
• Greenhouse Gases
EFFICIENCY: Energy loss of different conversion
technologies for woody biomass
90
Energy lo
E
oss ( % )
80
70
60
Minimum
50
Maximum
40
30
20
10
0
Biopellet Thermal
Biomass Electricity
2nd Gen. Biofuels (CE)
Thanks to ProPellet Austria
Source: USEPA and Swedish National Testing Institute
Source: University of Wisconsin 2007
Source: University of Wisconsin, 2007
THANK YOU
For more information:
New England Wood Pellet LLC
cniebling@pelletheat com
cniebling@pelletheat.com
www.pelletheat.com