The quality of wood pellets used in automatic class 5 Ecodesign boilers on the retail market in the context of air protection in Poland

Abstract

Wood pellets, commonly referred to as biomass fuel, are increasingly used in heating and district heating in the European Union countries, including Poland. Their use in class 5 and/or Ecodesign boilers enables an individual consumer to use energy from renewable sources, reduce the environmental burden by reducing the emission of harmful compounds, and provides a sense of comfort by automating the boiler system. The article presents the current situation in the global wood pellet market, describes the basic quality standards applicable to this fuel during production, and indicates the difficulties in the implementation of programs co-financing the replacement of obsolete coal-fired boilers with automatic class 5 biomass-fired boilers. The research presented in this article is focused on the presence of contaminants in the DIN Plus, EN Plus, and A1 pellets, as well as in non-certified pellets. The analysis has shown that the use of wood pellets containing 128 prohibited substances negatively affects boiler operation and contributes to the formation of slag and the emission of harmful compounds, making the discussed fuel non-ecological.

An Assessment of the Efficiency and Emissions of a Pellet Boiler Combusting Multiple Pellet Types

“…Precision methods for compositional analysis are microscopic methods borrowed from petrographic studies. On their basis, it is possible to quickly determine quantitatively and qualitatively the content of components such as glass, slag, stone powder, rust, mineral matter, metal pieces, plastics, and polymers of inorganic origin [37][38][39].…”