1. 8th – 9th March 2011, Southampton (EN) European Standards for solid biofuels in Styria Mag. Thomas Loibnegger Department of Energy and biomass

2. Slide 2 Increasing prices for energy wood competition between the material and energetic utilization valorisation of co-production from the forestry and saw industry (splinter, bark, branches) Development of a national and European wood fuels market Increasing customer- awareness for quality wood fuels Starting situation

3. Slide 3 What cubic meter wood chips would you buy? 700 kWh / lcm 1,000 kWh / lcm + 40 % Spruce (fast growing), M 35 %, P 16Spruce (slow growing), M 35 % or Mixture Spruce/Beech, M 35 %, P 16 You can not trust the optical distinction!

4. Slide 4 Wood fuels are extremely diverse and reflect a wide range of characteristics Wood fuel quality depends on: Type of wood Water content Bark content Impurities (e.g. sand, earth) Heat value Dimension and shape … Wood fuel quality

5. Slide 5 Wood chips (fine) 1 lcm spruce / fir 750 kWh 1 lcm larch 960 kWh 1 lcm pine 879 kWh 1 lcm beech / oak1,057 kWh Heat value equivalents (oil – wood) Energy content of energy wood 1 cm wood 1.75 lcm wood chips 1 cm wood 2.50 lcm wood chips 1 cm wood 1.75 lcm wood chips 1 cm wood 2.50 lcm wood chips 5 – 6 cm hard wood 7 – 8 cm soft wood 13 – 14 lcm for wood chips 5 – 6 cm hard wood 7 – 8 cm soft wood 13 – 14 lcm for wood chips 1,000 l Heating Oil

6. Slide 6 Correlation between heating value and water content Heating value [kWh/kg] 0,0 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0 6,0 0510152025303540455055606570 watercontent [%] 4.6 4.0 2.2 Pellets Split logs 2-3 years stored Green (fresh)

7. Slide 7 Dependency in energy content/loose cubic metre from location, tree species, particle size and water content Quelle: Löffler, G. (2007): Hackgut – Übernahme und Lagerung

8. Slide 8 Individual standards for parts availability Wood chips (ÖNORM M7133) Pellets (ÖNORM M7135, DIN 51731, PelletGold,…) no common European standard EN 14961 Solid biofuels Fuel specifications and classes EN 14961-1 General requirements (framework) prEN 14961-2 Wood pellets for non-industrial use prEN 14961-3 Wood briquettes for non-industrial use prEN 14961-4 Wood chips for non-industrial use prEN 14961-5 Firewood for non-industrial use prEN 14961-6 Non woody pellets for non-industrial use Standardization of biogenic fuels

9. Slide 9 Poor and patchy wood fuel qualities are the most common reason for troubles/disturbances in biomass-heating system Emission limits are being tightened (e.g. fine dust, carbon monoxide, nitrous gases) Common framework for quality assurance Reduction of trade barriers Internationally comparable wood fuels Guarantee of quality through inspection / certification Strengthening of customer confidence Why we should standardize wood fuels?

10. Slide 10 Significant differences in quality on the market Quality differences (e.g. ash-content) are not visible for the laymen No guaranteed minimum quality standards without product standards Prices for end customers are hard to compare Increased risk of disturbances in the heating system (especially small systems) Difficulty of contracts (e.g. wood chip delivery contract) Negative effects without normative guidelines

11. Slide 11 [M] -> Designation for moisture content as received on wet basis, Mar [w-%] [U] -> Designation for moisture content in dry basis (Ud),[w-%] Watercontent influences: Development of mould & Reduction of substance Combustion Weight (transport) Handling Use the same language – terms and definitions

12. Slide 12 Log wood – production & storage

13. Slide 13 Quality firewood Stemwood Chemically untreated wood residues well-defined spezies Natural drying Artificial drying M < 20; U < 25 … drying Sunny and windy location Maintain a gab of a least 20 cm to the ground storage Length as required All-season available customer- friendly delivery M Designation for moisture content as received on wet basis, Mar [w-%] U Designation for moisture content in dry basis (Ud),[w-%] Wood fuel must be dried in as short a time as possible Deciduous or coniferous wood -> to be stated

14. Slide 14 Improving the storage capability Increasing the energy density Decrease of the transport weight Reduction of the ash content and of emissions Improving of the plant effiency Reduction of transport costs - logistic Positive effects of the log wood drying

15. Slide 15 Providing the costumer with information … about the proper way to handle fuel wood is crucial – in the wrong hands, even split logs of the highest quality cannot realise their full energy potential

16. Slide 16 Five good reasons for drying split logs 475 ml of water needs to be extracted from a regular- sized split log with a 50% initial moisture content before it can be considered to be air-dried (source: http://ibt-kraemer.de) (1) Dry wood has a higher calorific value (2) No sooting of stove and chimney (3) Longer furnace life-cycle (4) Less smoke and other harmful emissions (5) Long storage without mould and decay

17. Slide 17 Production – Log wood

18. Slide 18 FprEN 14961-5:2010 – Firewood for non- industrial use

19. Slide 19 Quality wood chips Whole trees without roots Stemwood Chemically untreated wood residues Logging residues, stored broadleaf optimal raw materials Well-ventilated and sunny location (natural dyring) Keep the storage duration as soon as possible drying/ storage Low water content (M<25%) Low ash content (A < 1%) Low fine fraction high heat value (Q > 3.6 kWh/kg) Quality wood chips

20. Slide 20 ÖNROM M 7133: Wood chips

21. Slide 21 FprEN 14961-4:2010 – Wood chips for non- industrial use (not complete)

22. Slide 22 Quality management – wrong storage place

23. Slide 23 Quality management – stones, metals,

24. Slide 24 Quality management – problematic raw materials bark wood from bank of a street

25. Slide 25 (1) by volume (2) by weight and water content (3) by amout of energy generated (kWh) Delivery method for wood chips

26. Slide 26 Delivery methods in Styria

27. Slide 27 Advantages Volume is easily determined Possibility of accounting for part quantities by individual suppliers Disadvantages Large degree of uncertainty regarding the energy content supplied No incentive for optimising the energy content of the delivery Numerous conflicts due to different delivered qualities By volume (LCM)

28. Slide 28 Advantages Not dependent on weight and type of wood Not dependent on water content Cost-effective Disadvantages Dependent on efficiency and thus the level of maintenance of the plant Differentiated accounting of different suppliers is difficult By amount of energy generated (/kWh)

29. Slide 29 Advantages Not dependent on type of wood and bulk density High degree of accuracy in terms of energy content Fewer conflicts due to fair accounting for delivered quality Disadvantages Measurement of weight and water content technically complex Relatively high time and cost expenditure Necessity of calculating the dry weight By weight and water content

30. Slide 30 Wood chip supply by heat value (kWh) Energy price 2 Cent/kWh (pine) Rohenergiegehalt (kWh) = 5 - 0,06 x Wassergehalt (%) Water content M [%] Heat value [kWh] Cent per kg per lcm 104,79,420,07 154,48,819,33 204,18,218,57 253,87,616,03 303,57,017,80 353,26,417,54

31. Slide 31 EN-standard 14961-1:2010 was established as an ÖNROM in April 2010, but is not wide-spread in Austria so far EN-standard 14961-1:2010 (general part) is good framework but too complex for the practical usage-> make it more simple for producers and customers (operators of heating systems) The European product standards for wood chips and wood logs for non industrial are unpublished -> usage of the Austrian standards Customers and producers are not informed about EN-standards High costs for implementing norms (certification process) -> find new solutions for farmers and forest owners (Biomass trade centres) EN-standards and certification for wood pellets will be established in spring (EN PLUS -> quality management along the whole value-added chain) Establish a practical certification process also for wood chips and firewood European standards for wood fuels in Austria

32. Slide 32 Quality management of wood chips along the added value chain Supply Selection of raw material Nutrient removal Harvesting time Proportion of impurities Responsibility: forest owner Processing Impurities Cutting and shredding machine settings Sustainability for range of wood fuel Responsibility: fuel producer Storage & logistics Drying Filling height Ventilation Transport system Responsibility: fuel merchant, consumer Combustion Does fuel comply with boiler requirements Efficiency Dimensions Settings (air) Responsibility: boiler operator, consumer Quality assurance of wood fuels -> STANDARDS

33. Slide 33 An active quality management system for fulfilling quality standards ensures: the low-cost production of high-quality fuels, plants and systems that can be operated without problems in the same way as fossil fuel technologies (e.g. gas/oil), the reduction of harmful emissions (e.g. dust pollution) to a minimum, and the gaining of consumer trust in this environmentally-friendly fuel Quality management

34. Slide 34 What cubic meter wood chips would you buy? 17 / lcm 25 / lcm + 8

35. Slide 35 Thanks for interest! Contact Thomas Loibnegger Energie und Biomasse T: +43 316 8050 1407 thomas.loibnegger@lk-stmk.at Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry Styria Hamerlinggasse 3 8010 Graz Austria www.lk-stmk.at