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03/08/11 From Forest to BoilerWood fuel can be produced from various different types of woodland. The production process not only brings an economic advantage to land owners but also helps to create diverse habitats for plants and wildlife. Sustainable forest management ultimately safeguards the future of our forests and woodlands.The techniques encouraged for wood fuel production are thinning, pollarding, coppicing, and harvesting. Government regulations require woodland owners to obtain a felling license before carrying out these operations. Harvested areas are then usually replanted under the terms of the felling license. If woodland has potential to yield quality timber it may be more beneficial to sell this to other market areas and buy in lower grade timber for use as wood fuel.
Once the wood has been acquired the logs are stacked in a site exposed to the wind and sun. This allows the timber to air, reducing the moisture content to the required level (30% for automated wood fuel boilers). Drying usually takes 9-24 months depending upon the species of timber, the weather conditions and the time of year the timber was stacked. Before the timber is chipped for use in a fully automated woodchip boiler, it is advisable to test the moisture content of the logs using a moisture meter. This is an important check as once chipped the wood becomes extremely difficult to dry. Ideally timber would be stacked in early spring, making use of the summer for drying, and then chipped in September/October ready for use in the boiler.
Modern wood fuel chippers are available to hire or buy. The specification of woodchip required for use in modern woodchip boilers such as Gilles is G30/G50. When chipping, it is more efficient to chip the logs near the boiler location, to keep transportation to a minimum. Woodchip can then be stored in a dry, covered place before either being tipped from above, blown in or pushed up to the immediate fuel store. From there the chip is automatically transported from the fuel store to the boiler utilising either a walking floor system or a Gilles hinged arm sweep collector and auger feed system. The fuel is burnt efficiently and cleanly in the boiler, producing heat that can be routed through radiators, under-floor heating and hot air systems.
Energy Innovations promote sustainable forest management techniques to enable land owners and farmers to maintain sound management practice, with the aim of ensuring a diverse range of woodland for future generations.
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