Solid biofuels have the potential of making a major contribution to achieving the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement if they are used more extensively for covering the heat demand of the industry and the trade, commerce, and service (TCS) sector. To unlock this potential, a holistic analysis of the supply chain from producer to end customer was performed, involving consultants, planners, and financial institutions. The focus is on the deployment of larger biomass heating boilers (with heat loads spanning several 100 kW to several MW). The study identifies the most important barriers for expanding the use of solid biofuels for heat in the German TCS sector as well as in the industry sector. Nine sets of measures were identified for overcoming the most critical barriers, among others, by drawing on best practice approaches and solutions from other German and European contexts. Based on these measures, political recommendations were derived to shape the regulatory framework conditions accordingly. These recommendations can in turn offer a stimulus for other countries to foster a more efficient and climate-effective use of biomass.

This study evaluates the common process and set-up design of a static compost bioreactor for heat recovery. A technology, which fits the goal of a sustainable, growing bioeconomy which combines the utilization of compost heat and compost material. Interest on this technology has been growing the last years but precise data of pilot scale reactors is rare. Data is required to adjust the process for custom needs and further technical development. Therefore, lignin-cellulose based biomass was composted in unaerated cylindrical compost reactors size 20 to 70 m3 for 140 days. The biomass comes with C:N ratio of about 25:1, water content of 43-48 %, organic matter content of 40.6 % d.m. and calorific value of 8.3 MJ/kg d.m. Spatial distribution of temperature and gas concentration (oxygen, carbon dioxide, methane) within the reactor shows methane production of the anaerobic core area. Maximum thermal power of 5.2 kW from a 63 m3 reactor with average temperature of heating flow about 40 °C was reached. Maximum recovered heating power of 4.8 MJ/kg d.m. was calculated for an operation of 6 month. This corresponds to 50 % of the measured calorific value. Biggest influence factors detected on the recovered heating power of the pilot scale reactor has been the size of reactor, the set up quality and the control of heat exchanger. The spatial correlation between heat production and aerobic digestion suggests a technical development in terms of aeration.

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