Other biomass fuels
There is a wide, and growing, range of other biomass fuels available although care is required to match the fuel to the boiler to ensure that you do not invalidate the warranty or exceed permitted emissions levels. If you have access to a potential fuel, Dunster can work with you to determine the best options.
Benefits of Miscanthus, Waste Woods & Other Biomass Fuels
The principal benefit of using ‘non-standard’ biomass fuels is in the fuel cost savings. In particular, for those producing significant quantities of waste wood, burning for heat potentially offers the double benefit of producing something useful from a resource that would otherwise generate disposal costs.
There are numerous regulations surrounding the burning of waste wood and non-standard fuels which are principally designed to stop inappropriate material being burnt with consequent impacts on air pollution. This does not mean that it cannot be done, merely that careful planning is required early in the process to ensure a smooth installation. There needs to be a significant driver to overcome the hurdles, such as large supplies of the fuel which needs to disposed of.
Miscanthus (more commonly known as Elephant Grass) is a strong, fast-growing, perennial energy crop that is mostly grown in the southwest of the UK. Shredded, it becomes a useful alternative to woodchips although its low energy density means that it cuts the potential output of the boiler by around 1/3.
We have undertaken several projects where the system has been designed around a specific fuel source, please get in touch with any ideas and we can discuss all the options.
