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TABLEOFCONTENTS  1

TABLEOFCONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................3
2 THEINITIALSITUATION.......................................................................................................7
2.1 Flowchartsfortheinitiationofalternativeandmixedbiomasspelletprojects..............9
3 CATEGORIES......................................................................................................................18
3.1 Rawmaterialsandfuels....................................................................................................18
3.1.1 Rawmaterialpotentials....................................................................................................18
3.1.2 Rawmaterialproperties...................................................................................................20
3.1.3 Improvementoffuelproperties.......................................................................................24
3.1.4 Keyactorslist....................................................................................................................26
3.2 Legalconditions................................................................................................................30
3.2.1 Licensedfuels...................................................................................................................30
3.2.2 Emissionthresholds..........................................................................................................32
3.2.3 Productstandards.............................................................................................................34
3.3 Pelletizingandcombustiontechnologies.........................................................................38
3.3.1 Pelletizingtechnologies....................................................................................................38
3.3.2 Combustiontechnologies.................................................................................................39
3.3.3 Fluegascleaningtechnologies.........................................................................................41
3.3.4 Keyactorslist....................................................................................................................42
3.4 Economics.........................................................................................................................52
3.4.1 Fuelcosts..........................................................................................................................52
3.4.2 Heatsupplycosts..............................................................................................................53
3.4.3 Supportschemes..............................................................................................................54
4 FRAMEWORKSANDTHEIRIMPACT..................................................................................59
4.1 Determinationoftheframeworksforsmallandmediumscale......................................61
4.2 Determinationoftheframeworksforindustrialscale.....................................................65
ANNEXA: AUSTRIA............................................................................................................................67
ANNEXB: DENMARK.........................................................................................................................73
ANNEXC: FINLAND............................................................................................................................81
ANNEXD: GERMANY.........................................................................................................................87
ANNEXE: ITALY...............................................................................................................................102
ANNEXF: SPAIN..............................................................................................................................110
ANNEXG: SWEDEN..........................................................................................................................118


2 TABLEOFCONTENTS



3
1INTRODUCTION  3

1 INTRODUCTION
Currently, biomass combustion in Europe is dominated by the utilisation of wood fuels. However,
caused by the growing demand for material and energy related use wood is getting scarcer
nowadays. Consequently, alternative solid biomass like straw is experiencing growing interest as
alternative fuel source. In most European countries preliminary activities in industrial as well as in
publicsectorshavebeenstartedtointegratethesealternativesolidbiofuels.However,themarket
integrationofalternativebiomasspelletsisstillhinderedbyvariousconstraints.Initiatorsarefacing
severalspecificchallengesthattheyhavetocopewith.Toovercometheconstraintsandstrengthen
thedriversfortheenhancementofalternativepelletsutilisationinEurope,thehandbookwillhelp
initiators to plan their projects in a realistic and successful way. Thus, the handbook provides
informationfortheproductionandutilisationof:

x alternativebiomasspelletsandbriquettesmadeofbiomassesandbiogenicresiduesexcept
woodandwoodprocessingresiduesand
x mixedbiomasspelletsandbriquettesmadeofmixturesofrawmaterialsfromGroup1,2or3
accordingtothedefinitioninEN14961).
Sincekindandpotentialoftheavailablerawmaterialsandthelegalandeconomicconditionsdiffer
significantlybetweentheEuropeancountriesandevenbetweentheregionsofonecountry,general
aspects,approachesandrecommendationsfortheplanningandrealisationofalternativeandmixed
pellet supply chains will be described in the first part of the handbook. Depending on the initial
situation,thegeneralwaytobuildͲupalternativepelletinitiativeswillbequitedifferentforthekey
actors. Thus, different approaches will be outlined according to the three most common initial
situations(Table1).
Table1: Mostcommoninitialssituationstostartalternativeandmixedbiomasspellet
projects

Initialsituation Initiatingkeyactor Goal

Addedvalueduetotheutilisationofagricultural
Availabilityofcheap
Rawmaterial residuesorsideproductsfromfeedproduction
and/orunused
supplier industryasalternativerawmaterialsforfuel
alternativerawmaterials
pelletproduction(andutilisation)
Openingandenteringnewmarketpossibilities
Scarcityandhighprice
withtheproductionofalternativeandmixed
levelofwoodyraw Pelletproducer
biomasspelletsbesidetheestablishedwood
materialsforpelletizing
pelletmarket
Installationandoperationofaheatingsystem
Heatdemandthatisto
Heatsupplieror firedwithalternativeandmixedbiomasspellets
becoveredbyboilers
plannerofheating toguaranteecosteffectiveheatsupplywith
firedwithalternativeand
systems biofuelsthatarelessexpensivethanhighquality
mixedbiomasspellets
woodpellets


 


4 1INTRODUCTION

Within the approaches both industrial scale as well as small and medium scale will be covered.
During the buildͲup of each alternative pellet initiative several aspects have to be considered. The
aspectsareallocatedtodifferentcategoriesandforeachcategorydetailedinformationbasedonthe
resultsoftheMixBioPellsprojectfromthesevenEuropeanpartnercountrieswillbegivencombined
withsourcesandlinksforfurtherinformationifapplicable.
ThesecondpartofthehandbookwillprovidetheinitiatorswithspecificadvicesandBestPractice
Examples according to their national conditions. To do so, the initiators will be enabled to classify
their own conditions and to evaluate the existing constraints and drivers concerning to their
situation.Accordingly,theywillbeenabledtofindoutwhichofthefourpossibleframeworksapplies
totheirconditions.Therecommendationswillbeclassifiedaccordingtotheframeworkandshould
thereforealsobeusefulforusersfromthirdcountries.Foreachframeworkfitting“CaseStudies”and
“BestPracticesExamples”willbeprovidedintheappendix.Additionallythenationalconditionsfor
the partner countries are included as an overview. In this way, the key actors are supported both
with recommendations for their situation and with examples on already realised projects that
provideinsightinproblemsandsolutionsofotherkeyactorsthathavehadtofacesimilarproblems.
Furtherinformationisavailableonthewebsitewww.mixbiopells.eu.


 


6 1INTRODUCTION
 

2THEINITIALSITUATION  7

2 THEINITIALSITUATION

DearInitiator,
Ifyouareconsideringorplanningtostartaprojectforalternative
andmixedbiomasspelletproductionorutilisationthishandbook
willguideyouthroughthepreparationofsuchaprojectandwill
provideyouwithhelpfulinformationandrecommendations.
Severalaspectslikerawmaterialissues,technologyandlegal
aspectsaswellaseconomicshavetobeconsideredforanyproject.
However,dependingonyourinitialsituationtheywillarisein
differentorder.

Commonly,thestartingpointofalternativeandmixedbiomasspelletprojectsisoneofthefollowing
threedistinctinitialsituations:
A) You are a raw material supplier with cheap and unused residues or side products from
agriculturalandfeedproductionindustrythatcouldbeusedasalternativerawmaterialsforfuel
pelletproductionaimingatprofitableutilisationconcepts.
B) You are a pellet producer who has the ambition to change to alternative and mixed biomass
pellet production reacting to the increasingly tight market for wood pellets and decreased
availabilityofcheapwoodyrawmaterials.
C) Youareaheatsupplier,plannerofheatingsystemsoraprocurementmanagerlookingforcost
effective, CO2Ͳneutral fuels for power plants with the aim to change a fossil fired system to a
renewableandeconomicalfeasiblesolutionfiredwithalternativebiomassfuels.

Foreachoftheinitialsituationsaflowchartisprovidedthatwillguideyouthrough

thegeneralwaytoplanyourproject.Butbeforelookingattheflowcharts,please
considertwoimportantquestions:


1) Whatcapacityrange,either
I)industrialscalecombinedheatandpowerproductionor
II)smallandmediumscaleheatproduction,
 areyouaimingfor?


8
8 2THEINITIALSITUATION 

Perhaps you are already sure about your selection. Otherwise, you can consider major advantages
anddisadvantagesforeachcapacityrangethataresummarisedinTable2andwhichcouldhelpyou
withthedecision.Furthermore,theamountofavailablerawmaterials,thecharacteristicsoftheraw
materialsandtheheatdemandcanbeimportantforyourselection.
Table2: Advantages and disadvantages of industrial scale and small and medium scale
production

IndustrialscaleCHPproduction Smallandmediumscaleheatproduction
Advantages: Advantages:
x Possibility for tailor made technology x Solutionsonregionallevel
solutions x Relativelyconstantrawmaterialqualities
x Clearsupportmeasures x Closeintegrationoflocalkeyactors
x More options to use alternative raw x Lesspublicconcerns
materials
x Lowereffortforlegislatoryapproval
x High operation hours can be more easily
Disadvantages:
achieved
x Less options due to availability of local raw
Disadvantages
materials
x Usuallymorestrictlegislativeregulations
x ReadyͲmadetechnologiesarerequired
x Higherlogisticeffort
x High operation hours only if there is a
x Lowersocialacceptance constantheatdemand
x Higherefforttogetlegislatoryapproval

Theutilisationofalternativeandmixedbiomasspelletscanbemorechallengingthantheutilisation
ofthecommonfossilorwoodfueloptions.Thus,itisimportanttohaveasupportiveframeworkto
handle these challenges and to overcome possible hurdles and obstacles. A less supportive
framework with high legal restrictions and a high bureaucratic effort can endanger the success of
your project. Similarly, financial support and incentives are helpful to ensure overall viability.
Therefore,youshouldfigureoutbeforehandiftheframeworkinyourcountryorregionisfavourable
or not. The answer that you give to the following questions gives you a first hint on the possible
successofanalternativeandmixedbiomasspelletprojectandindicateswithwhateffortyoushould
gothroughthestepsofthisguidebook(Table3).
2) Doesthelegalandeconomicframeworkinyourcountryoryourregionsupporttheutilisationof
alternativeandmixedbiomasspellets?
Table3: Recommendationsfortheutilisationoftheguidebookunderdifferentframeworks

Frameworkcausingdifficultiesconcerninglegal
SupportiveFramework
and/oreconomicaspects
Underlessorlittlesupportiveframeworksplease
Incaseyouplanyourprojectunderasupportive goonlyquicklythroughtheflowchart.Youcan
frameworktheflowchartisagoodguideand followitinmoredetailifyouhaveideasand
youcanfollowitindetail. possibilitieshowtoovercomethechallenges
causedbythelesssupportiveframework.
 
 

2THEINITIALSITUATION  9


ButhowcanIfindoutiftheframeworkinmycountryorregionissupportiveornot?

FromtheanalysisthathasbeendoneintheMixBioPellsprojectthecombinationoffinancialsupport
andfavourablelegalconditionscanbetakenassupportiveframework.Firstly,youhavetocheckif
there are financial support options available for your aspired capacity range. If you don’t already
knowyoucanfindinformationonavailablesupportoptionsofthesevenEuropeanpartnercountries
(AT, DK, FI, DE, IT, ES, SE) within chapter 3.4.3. For the other European countries the NREAP
assessmentcanbeusedassourceofinformation:www.repap2020.eu.
As indicator for favourable legal conditions on industrial scale you can take the existence and
operationofindustrialscaleplantsforalternativeandmixedbiomasspelletutilisation,aswellasthe
constructionandinstallationoffurtherplants.Forsmallandmediumscaledustemissionthresholds
above100mg/Nm3isagoodindicatorforoveralllessrestrictive,i.e.supportivelegalconditions.
Allinitiatorsplanningalternativeandmixedbiomasspelletprojectsinthecontextoflesssupportive
frameworks have to involve local authorities in the early stages of the planning. Furthermore, the
BestPractiseExamplesfromcountrieswiththesameframeworkshouldbestudied.Thecontactto
keyactorsinvolvedinBestPractiseExamplesoftheMixBioPellsprojectortootherkeyactorswith
experienceinthisfieldthatyoumightknowisstronglyrecommended.

2.1 Flowchartsfortheinitiationofalternativeandmixedbiomasspellet
 projects
If you have answered the previous questions you can use the flow charts below which suggest a
routine for the initiation of an alternative and mixed biomass pellet project starting from one of
three different initial situations described in chapter 1. The flow charts display a stepwise process.
Different symbols are used to indicate tasks that have to be fulfilled or decisions that have to be
made,seeTable4.Usually,aftera“yes”decisionyoucancontinuewhileaftera“no”decisionyou
oftenhavetolookintofurtherinformation.
 


10
10 2THEINITIALSITUATION 

Table4: Descriptionofthesymbols

Symbol Explanation

Startingorfinalpoint

 Lineanddirectionofprogress

Incomingpathafterataskthathadtobecompleted

Task


Decisionwithyes/nooptionoreither/oroption


Connectingpointiftheflowchartspansmorethanonepage


Indicatesthefurtherstepsthathavetobefollowedintheflowchart

During the buildͲup of each alternative pellet initiative several aspects have to be considered. The
aspectsareallocatedtodifferentcategoriesandforeachcategorydetailedinformationbasedonthe
resultsoftheMixBioPellsprojectfromthesevenEuropeanpartnercountrieswillbegivencombined
with sources and links for further information if applicable. To indicate from which category
necessary information can be obtained the according symbols will be depicted with the associated
filling.Eachcolourrepresentsandguidestoonecategory.Theallocationofthecoloursisshownin
Table5.
 
 

2THEINITIALSITUATION  11

Table5: Allocationofthecolours

Colour Category
Rawmaterialsandfuels:Withinthiscategoryyouwillfindinformation
onalternativerawmaterials,theavailablepotentialsandthe
characteristicsoftheserawmaterialswhichinfluencethefuel
 properties.Furthermore,keyactorslistsoffuelproducersandsuppliers
andlinksforfurtherinformationcanbefound.
Legalframework:Withinthiscategoryyouwillfindinformationon
licensedfuels,emissionthresholdsandproductstandardsfor
alternativeandmixedbiomasspellets.Additionally,possiblesourcesfor
 furtherinformationwillbesuggested.
Pelletizingandcombustiontechnologies:Withinthiscategoryyouwill
findinformationonpossibleproblemsconnectedwiththeproduction
andutilisationofalternativeandmixedbiomasspellets.Furthermore,
informationonavailablepelletizing,combustionandfluegascleaning
 technologyandlinksforfurtherinformationwillbeprovided.Atthe
end,keyactorslistsofmanufacturersforpelletizing,combustionand
fluegascleaningcanbefound.
Economics:Withinthiscategoryyouwillfindinformationoncosts
associatedwiththealternativeandmixedbiomasspelletproduction
andutilisationandonavailablesupportoptions.Furthermore,linksfor
 furtherinformationwillbeprovided.

There are different key actors involved for the realisation of an appropriate supply chain for the
alternative and mixed biomass pellets production and utilisation. These key actors must operate
closely together during all project phases to ensure the success of the bioenergy project. The key
actorsthataremostcommonlyinvolvedare:

x Rawmaterialsuppliers
x PelletproducersandͲsuppliers
x Manufacturersanddevelopersofpelletizing,combustionandfluegascleaningtechnology:
Developers and manufacturers have to address the special properties of alternative raw
materialsduringalternativeandmixedbiomasspelletproductionandutilisation.
x Research groups: Many research activities are still needed and onͲgoing. Research
institutions can contribute to provide necessary information and help in solving special
problems.
x Administration and Policy: An early communication with representatives from
administration and policy is crucial to achieve public acceptance and to get the legal
permissionfortheoperationoftheplants.
x Heatsupplierandcustomer
x Planner
x Combustionplantoperators
x Investorsandfundingagencies


12
12 2THEINITIALSITUATION 

You can consider two different general approaches for the utilisation of alternative and mixed
biomasspellets:

x Pellets according to an existing product standard, where the quality assurance should be
given byaddingdifferent additives to compensate theyearlyandregionalvariationsin the
criticalproperties,pelletswillbetradedandsoldalloverEurope.
x Production of regional blends with varying properties to be sold to wellͲknown regional
customersandwherethecombustionsettingsoftheboilersneedtobeadapted.
Tofigureoutwhich conceptis useful, theamountand characteristicsofavailableraw materialsas
wellastheheatandelectricitydemandbasedonthefollowingutilisationconceptsmustbealigned:

x Heatgenerationinsmallcombustionappliancessmallerthan100kW,
x Heatgenerationmediumscaleheatingsystems(100kW–severalMW),
x Combinedheatandpowerproductioninindustrialscalesystems.

Now, you should be well prepared to go through the flow charts
below:

 
 

2THEINITIALSITUATION  13

A) If you are a raw material supplier with cheap and unused raw materials for fuel pellet
 productionaimingatprofitableutilisationconcepts,pleaseusethefollowingflowchart.




14
14 2THEINITIALSITUATION 



 
 

2THEINITIALSITUATION  15

B) Ifyouareapelletproducerwhohastheambitiontochangetoalternativeandmixedbiomass
pellet production reacting to the increasingly tight market for wood pellets and decreased
availabilityofcheapwoodyrawmaterials,pleaseusethefollowingflowchart.


16
16 2THEINITIALSITUATION 


 
 

2THEINITIALSITUATION  17

C) Ifyouareaheatsupplier,plannerofheatingsystemsoraprocurementmanagerlookingforcost
effective, CO2Ͳneutral fuels for power plants with the aim to change a fossil fired system to a
renewableandeconomicalfeasiblesolutionfiredwithalternativebiomassfuels,pleaseusethe
followingflowchart.




18
18 3CATEGORIES

3 CATEGORIES
3.1 Rawmaterialsandfuels
FromtheMixBioPellsprojectyoucangetdetailedinformationonavailablerawmaterialsincertain
regions of seven European countries and their characteristic. They are compiled in the Biomass
Reportoftheproject.AbroaderEuropeanpicturecanbefoundintheprojectresultsofEUͲBioNet3.
Ifyouwanttostartaprojectitisimportantforyoutofindoutfromlocalrawmaterialsupplierswhat
unusedbiomassesorresiduesareavailableandinwhatamount.Possiblelocalrawmaterialsuppliers
could be any key actors which are dealing with agricultural products and residues. These are e.g.
farmers, local farmer cooperatives and companies processing agricultural raw materials (e.g. flour
mills, sugar producers, producers of fruit juice). Some of these actors have problems to get rid of
their residual materials; some even have to pay for the disposal. Pellet producer will use the raw
materials for alternative and mixed biomass pellet production. They could come from the area of
woodpelletproduction,fromthepelletizingofalternativematerialsaslitterorfodderorcouldbe
new key actors in this field. Due to the more difficult characteristics of alternative raw materials
experience with the pelletizing of these materials is of great relevance. Furthermore, the
characteristics and the raw material costs have to be figured out. If you need further help for the
gathering of the above information a good source are national research institutions with focus on
biomassresearch.
Forsmallandmediumscaleheatingappliancesonlyafewalternativefuels,e.g.straw,areusedso
far.MostofthealternativefuelsareusedindedicatedindustrialCHPplantsorforcoͲfiringinvarying
fuelproportions.

3.1.1 Rawmaterialpotentials
Within the MixBioPells project the potentials of the three most relevant raw materials have been
estimatedforeachpartnercountryandcomparedwithresultsfrompreviousstudies.Theresultsof
thecomparisonareshowninFigure1.Togetanoverviewaboutthetotalamountsofalternativeraw
materialsthatareavailableinthepartnercountriesthepotentialsofthefiverawmaterialswiththe
highest relevance in the partner countries have been summed up (Figure 2). Several raw material
types are available in too small amounts (e.g. olive cake, shea waste, mash from breweries, olive
stones, almond shells, reed canary grass and rape seed press cake). Thus, their potentials are
compiledandindicatedas“others”inFigure2.
 

3CATEGORIES  19


Figure1: Comparisonoftheresultsonavailablepotentialsforselectedrawmaterialsinseven
Europeancountrieswithresultsfromotherstudies


Figure2: MostrelevantrawmaterialsaccordingtotheanalysiswithintheMixBioPellsproject


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20 3CATEGORIES

3.1.2 Rawmaterialproperties
RawmaterialpropertiesofnonͲwoodybiomassesareconsiderablydifferentfromthecharacteristics
of woody biomasses. In general the ash content of nonͲwoody biomass is higher and at the same
time ash melting temperatures are found to be lower. High levels of nitrogen, sulphur, potassium
and chlorine are often present in alternative biofuels. These elements can form harmful gaseous
emissionslikeNOx,SO2,HClaswellasparticulateemissions.Moreover,sulphurandchlorineplaya
major role in corrosion reactions. Table 6, Table 7 and Table 8 gives an overview about the raw
material properties relevant for the standardisation and for the combustion of selected raw
materials.Ifavailable,therangeofthedataislisted,othervaluesareaveragevalues.Singlevalues
are especially indicated. Please keep in mind that the data provide only a reference. The exact
propertiesofyourconcreterawmaterialshavetobedeterminedbyappropriateanalysisaccording
totheexistingEuropeanstandardsforsolidbiofuels.


 
 

3CATEGORIES  21

Table6: CombustionͲrelevantfuelproperties

Netcalorific Ash Water Ashsoftening

Kindof N S Cl
value content content temperature
biomass
MJ/kgdb %db % °C %db %db %db
0.20Ͳ 0.02Ͳ 0.02Ͳ
Miscanthus 17.5Ͳ17.9 1.6Ͳ3.0 7.5Ͳ14.0 820Ͳ1172
0.43 0.09 0.13
Reedcanary 0.30Ͳ 0.07Ͳ 0.03Ͳ
17.5Ͳ19.0 4.5Ͳ6.0 10.0Ͳ15.0 1150Ͳ1650
grass 0.60 0.08 0.04
0.30Ͳ 0.06Ͳ 0.02Ͳ
Hemp 19.1Ͳ19.6 1.6Ͳ2.3 56.6 1200Ͳ1250
1.40 0.10 0.30
0.30Ͳ 0.06Ͳ 0.03Ͳ
Straw 17.0Ͳ19.0 4.4Ͳ7.0 9.0Ͳ15.0 800Ͳ900
0.80 0.12 0.05
0.50Ͳ 0.05Ͳ
Vinepruning 17.5Ͳ18.2 2.2Ͳ3.5 15.0 795Ͳ1200 0.02
0.75 0.07
0.40Ͳ
Corncobs 16.5 1.0Ͳ3.0 6.0Ͳ7.0 1100 0.03 0.02
0.90
11.0Ͳ 0.70Ͳ 0.08Ͳ
Cornstalks 16.6Ͳ.17.5 15.0Ͳ18.0 1250 n.a.
17.0 0.90 0.10
1.20Ͳ
Cerealspilling 16.5 9.8Ͳ10.0 10.0Ͳ12.0 1055 0.20 0.16Ͳ0.3
1.70
Hay 18.3 5.5 15.0 820Ͳ1150 1.60 0.04 0.09
Rapestraw 18.5 3.4 15.0Ͳ25.0 n.a. 1.48 0.20 n.a.
Rapepress
20.8 6.5 9.0 860Ͳ1115 5.39 0.36 0.01
cake
1.80Ͳ 0.09Ͳ 0.02Ͳ
Grapemarc 18.4Ͳ20.8 3.5Ͳ11.0 50.0Ͳ60.0 1300
2.20 0.13 0.03
Oliveresidue 17.9Ͳ18.3 9.0Ͳ12.0 35.0Ͳ45.0 1310 2.50 0.15 0.06
Olivestones 16.0Ͳ19.0 <1 10.0Ͳ12.0 n.a. <0.01 n.a. n.a.
0.45Ͳ 0.09Ͳ 0.02Ͳ
Almondshells 17.9Ͳ18.6 9.0Ͳ12.0 35.0Ͳ45.0 1395
2.50 0.15 0.06
Sheawaste 18.51 6.01 13.01 n.a. 2.601 0.301 0.101
Carragenan
16.61 10.01 80.01 n.a. 0.301 0.701 0.301
waste
Mashfrom
20.0 4.0 80.0 n.a. 3.30 0.20 0.00
breweries
Digestate 15.4 16.5 15.0Ͳ20.0 n.a. 2.20 0.60 0.56
Peat 16.5 4.0 10.0Ͳ17.0 n.a. 1.20 0.12 0.03
1
Singlevalue;db…drybasis;n.a….notavailable
 


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Table7: Mainashformingelementsinmg/kg(drybasis)

Kindof
Al Ca Fe K Mg Na Si Ti
biomass
1600Ͳ
Miscanthus 791 92Ͳ120 3410Ͳ7200 300Ͳ600 31.51 39301 4Ͳ40
1790
Reed
22280Ͳ
canary 200Ͳ600 900Ͳ2000 13849 2300Ͳ4330 600Ͳ730 200Ͳ350 360
22800
grass
Hemp 111 13400 120 15400 2000 130 2100 0
2950Ͳ 7120Ͳ 9000Ͳ
Straw 60Ͳ130 120 630Ͳ1030 100Ͳ120 0
3300 10000 19300
Vine 4240Ͳ 4500Ͳ
140Ͳ774 390Ͳ625 2940Ͳ7660 820Ͳ840 180Ͳ415 64Ͳ66
pruning 10900 5350
Corncobs 601 4001 701 85001 2901 <501 11001 2501
Cornstalks 140 7390 680 8190 500 800 14200 70
Cereal 2050Ͳ 1170Ͳ
700 500 5380Ͳ1340 300 26100 10
spilling 5000 1400
Hay 200 5600 60 14000 1740 1000 15000 0
1 1
Rapestraw n.a. n.a. n.a. 5800  n.a. 170  n.a. n.a.
Rapepress 3640Ͳ 8890Ͳ
13 0 220Ͳ4700 68 750 0
cake 6500 14100
Grape 7710Ͳ 720Ͳ
1330 200Ͳ6460 1140 60Ͳ1100 50Ͳ400 90
marc 18160 5260
Olive 2270Ͳ
868 7390 670 17000 353Ͳ500 46Ͳ500 11Ͳ80
residue 16620
Olive 410Ͳ 2640Ͳ 2550Ͳ
240Ͳ800 860 550 6240 90
stones 1210 7110 19340
Almond
2931 46501 2271 78701 6871 6421 22901 25.7
shells
Sheawaste 7101 30201 5701 381001 32001 1001 46301 500001
Carragenan
11401 199401 4401 47101 40001 17001 54701 1100001
waste
Mashfrom 4600Ͳ 2500Ͳ 830Ͳ
20Ͳ100 4401 700Ͳ1340 2001 0
breweries 5530 4780 15990
1940Ͳ 5800Ͳ 200Ͳ 3540Ͳ 1140Ͳ 3000Ͳ 7200Ͳ
Digestate 1970
5300 28900 3600 15000 3000 6550 30600
8000Ͳ 7000Ͳ
Peat 8000 4600 n.a. 1200 7900 0
58000 22000
1
Singlevalue;n.a….notavailable

 

3CATEGORIES  23

Table8: Heavymetalsinmg/kg(drybasis)

Kindof
As Cd Cr Cu Hg Ni Pb Zn
biomass

0.03Ͳ 0.81Ͳ 0.16Ͳ

Miscanthus <0.17 1.4Ͳ2.0 <0.03 2.0Ͳ3.3 1.0Ͳ25.5
0.09 6.85 0.95
Reedcanary 0.03Ͳ
2.10 0.30 3.40 9.1 1.0 0.10 11.71
grass 0.10
Hemp 0.86 0.11 1.21 4.9 0.03 n.a. n.a. 2.5
Straw 0.31 0.17 6.56 2.1 0.02 2.2 0.18 1.4
0.30Ͳ 0.05Ͳ 0.70Ͳ
Vinepruning 6.2Ͳ28.0 0.10 1.1Ͳ1.5 1.901 n.a.
0.67 0.20 6.80
Corncobs n.a. <11 4.001 <41 n.a. 2.01 <11 11.01
Cornstalks n.a. 0.80 8.00 10.0 0.1 3.3 n.a. n.a.
Cereal
0.10 0.10 4.60 2.2 0.02 7.0 0.00 1.7
spilling
Hay 5.40 0.90 6.40 6.2 0.20 1.2 2.00 6
Rapestraw n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Rapepress
0.50 0.40 3.80 4.5 0.03 0.7 0.34 6.4
cake
Grapemarc n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Olive
n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
residue
Olivestones 0.091 0.121 7.701 3.91 01 3.71. 1.301 5.81
Almond
0.201 0.021 7.171 4.51 0.011 3.91 1.181 9.711
shells
Sheawaste n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Carragenan
n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
waste
Mashfrom
n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 0.06 n.a.
breweries
0.22Ͳ 15.00Ͳ
Digestate <0.70 38.5 0.05 n.a. 0.04 n.a.
1.10 17.35
Peat n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
1
Singlevalue;n.a….notavailable


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24 3CATEGORIES

3.1.3 Improvementoffuelproperties
Preconditioning and compacting is applied to improve the characteristics of the fuel both during
transport and storage but as well the combustion behaviour. The main influences of the fuel
propertiesonthecombustionprocessaredisplayedinFigure3.

 Influenceon: emission,combustionbehaviour,corrosion,

 slaggingtendencies,ashcomposition

Properties: nitrogen,sulphur,chlorine,alkaliandheavy
 metals


chemical

 
fuel
properties

 Properties: bulkdensity,amount Properties: moisture&ash

 offines,mechanical  content,heatingvalue,
 durability  ashmeltingbehaviour

Influenceon: plantdesign,dust

Influenceon: storage,transport,
 emission,combustion
 dustemission
 behaviour,slagging 
Figure3: Impactoffuelpropertiesonthecombustionprocess
Primaryemissionreductionmeasuresaimtopreventorreducetheformationofemissions,slagging
tendencies and corrosion. The most important issue is the limitation of critical elements. Using
mixturesofdifferentrawmaterialsisonepossibilitytoachievetherequiredfuelproperties,e.g.of
productstandardEN14961Ͳ6.Themixingratiooftendependsontheavailabilityandpriceoftheraw
materials.Youhavetokeepinmindthat:
1 Goodmixingofthecomponentfuelsisveryimportantinordertoensure,forexample:
o astablecombustion
o avoidanceoflocalsintering
o adjustment of fuel properties resulting from the combination of different raw
materials.
2 Rawmaterialsthatdifferwidelyinparticlesize/formmayrequirespecialtreatment,such
asmillingorseparaterawmaterialfeedingsystems.
3 Wide differences in moisture content between the fuels may require special fuel feed
arrangements.
Furthermore,thechemicalcompositionoftheusedrawmaterialsisofgreatrelevance.Asageneral
rule:
 

3CATEGORIES  25

4 Fuels with high sulphur content, such as peat can improve the properties of fuels with
highalkalicontents.
5 Fuelswithhighashmeltingpointscanimprovethepropertiesofagriculturalfuelssuchas
strawandgrainscreeningswithlowashmeltingpoints.
Averylowproportion(<2–3wt.Ͳ%)ofa“difficult”fueladdedtoafuelmixthatperformswelldoes
not normally cause problems. In some cases leaching, ideally by exposing the raw material to the
weatherforsometime,cansignificantlyreducethecontentofcriticalcomponent.Table9givesan
overviewaboutguidingvaluesandguidingrangesforelementsinbiomassfuelsandbiomassashes
forunproblematicthermalutilisationthatcanbeusedasabasisforadjustingtherightfuelmixtures.
Biomass fuels within the given guiding concentration ranges can be used in modern combustion
plants without problems. For fuels with compositions outside the given ranges, additional
technologicalrequirementsshouldbeconsideredwithregardtonationalemissionthresholds.
Table9: Guiding values and guiding ranges for elements in biomass fuels and ashes for
unproblematic thermal utilisation (according to “The Handbook of Biomass
CombustionandCoͲfiring”,vanLoo,2007)

Critical Limiting Limiting Rawmaterialsthat Technologicalmeasuresto

element concentration parameter repeatedlybreakthe reducecriticalimpacts
inthefuel, limit
wt.Ͳ%(d.b.)
N Straw,cereals,grass, Primarymeasures(airstaging,
<0.6 NOxemissions
oliveresidues reductionzone)
Wastewood,fibre Secondarymeasures
<2.5 NOxemissions
boards (SNCRorSCRprocess)
Cl fuelleaching,automaticheat
Straw,cereals,grass,
exchangercleaning,coatingof
<0.1 Corrosion wastewood,olive
boilertubes,appropriate
residues
materialselection
Straw,cereals,grass, drysorption,scrubbers,fuel
<0.1 HClemissions
wastewood leaching
PCDD/F Straw,cereals,waste sorptionwithactivated
<0.3
emissions wood carbon
S Straw,cereals,grass,
<0.1 Corrosion SeeCl/Corrosion
oliveresidues
<0.2 SO2emissions Grass,hay,wastewood SeeCl/HClemissions
K AshͲmelting
1) point, Straw,cereals,grass, Againstcorrosion:seeCl/
<7.0 
depositions, oliveresidues Corrosion
corrosion
Straw,cereals,grass, Efficientdustprecipitation,
– Dustemission
oliveresidues fuelleaching
1)
oftheash;SCR…Selectivecatalyticreduction;SNCR…SelectivenonͲcatalyticreduction;d.b….drybasis


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26 3CATEGORIES

3.1.4 Keyactorslist

Fuelsuppliersandproducers
Capacity(t/a)
Company Address Website Rawmaterials
S M L
GERMANY
wood,straw,hay,
AufderWeid1Ͳ15
Miscanthus,
PuschAG 56242MarienͲ www.agrarstick.de Ͳ x Ͳ
digestates,grape
rachdorf
marcandmixtures
Wood,straw,rape
ABWUG presscake,soybean
SulzaerStr.96
Apoldaer Notavailable presscake,hay, Ͳ x Ͳ
99510Apolda
Biomassewerk Miscanthus,additives
andmixtures
Hengemühlweg
KaliroGbR 204 www.kaliro.de Straw,wood Ͳ x Ͳ
48432Rheine
Wechold33
Lange&Meyer www.strohpellets.
27318HilgerͲ Straw Ͳ x Ͳ
GbR de
missen
DietingerͲ
Agrarhandel strasse31 www.agrarhandelͲ
Straw,hay x Ͳ Ͳ
B+BMüller 78661DietingenͲ mueller.de
Böhringen
Brunnenstraße13
www.energievom Straw,digestate,
BauerPower 65428RüsselsͲ x Ͳ Ͳ
land.de Miscanthus
heimͲBauschheim
FuttermittelͲ
undDienstͲ
leistungs SonnewalderStr. www.futtermittelͲ Straw,additives
Ͳ Ͳ x
03249Goßmar gmbh.de pellets
GmbH
Sonnewalde
NawarosͲHof Würzburger
www.nawarosͲ
Herrmann Straße82 Straw,hay Ͳ x Ͳ
hof.de
GmbH 97854Steinfeld
PLANTAQENZ LübeckerStr.15 Straw,digestate,
www.plantaqenz.de Ͳ x Ͳ
AG 23623Ahrensbök horsemanurepellets
Lohwiesenweg1
AVHandels www.avͲ Wood,strawpellets
73527Schwäbisch Ͳ x Ͳ
GmbH biobrennstoffe.de andbriquettes
Gmünd

S…Small<5,000t/a;M…Medium<20,000t/a;L…Large>20,000t/a 
 

3CATEGORIES  27

Company Address Website Rawmaterials Capacity(t/a)

S M L
FINLAND
Yrjönkatu42,
VapoOy www.vapo.fi Woodandpeat Ͳ Ͳ x
40100Jyväskylä

Biobotnia Ilveksentie136, Alternativeandmixed

www.biobotnia.fi x Ͳ Ͳ
Oy biomass


61760ILVESJOKI
Jalasjärven Lähdetie2,
Notavailable Woodandstraw x Ͳ Ͳ
LämpöOy 61600JALASJÄRVI
PRMͲ Reisjärventie2330 Alternativeandmixed
Briketöinti Notavailable x Ͳ Ͳ
44800Muurasjärvi biomass,wood
Oy
Leijonapelle VastustieYTJ Alternativeandmixed
Notavailable Ͳ x Ͳ
ttiOy 31300TAMMELA biomass,wood
DENMARK
Vattenfall Støberigade14,
www.vattenfall.dk Strawandwood Ͳ Ͳ x
A/S 2450København
Axelborg
DLG Vesterbrogade4A www.dlg.dk Alternativebiomasses Ͳ Ͳ x
1620KøbenhavnV
CasparMüllers
Hjaltelin
Gade32 www.hjaltelin.dk Alternativebiomasses notavailable
Agro
6000Kolding
Agerskellet7 Woodandalternative
Verdo www.verdo.dk Ͳ Ͳ x
8920RandersNV biomasses
Industrivej13
Dangrønt www.dangroent.dk Hayandstraw notavailable
870Ølgod
ITALY
ViaMario
Roana www.roanacereali.
Malfatto46/a woodandmaize x Ͳ Ͳ
Cereali com
45010S.Apollinare
Produttori ViaStrà177
www.produttoripell Grapemarc,vine
Sementi 37030Colognola x Ͳ Ͳ
et.com prunings
Veronasrl aiColli
Italiana ViaCascinaNuova www.italianapellets
wood Ͳ Ͳ x
Pellets 27050Corana .com
ViaSerachiedsa
Bagioni www.gruppobagion Herbaceousbiomass,
1/C notavailable
Group i.com alfalfa,maize,straw
47122Forlì

S…Small<5,000t/a;M…Medium<20,000t/a;L…Large>20,000t/a;n.a….notavailable
 


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28 3CATEGORIES

Capacity(t/a)
Company Address Website Rawmaterials
S M L
SWEDEN
Bioenergii Uddebovägen5 www.bioenergi
Woodandpeat Ͳ Ͳ x
Luleå 97323Luleå lulea.se
Härjedalen Södra
Miljöbränsle Hantverksgatan4 www.hmab.se Woodandpeat Ͳ Ͳ x
AB 84231Sveg
Storgatan1
Glommers Reedcanarygrass,
93081 www.gmepellets.se x Ͳ Ͳ
Miljöenergi wood
Glommersträsk
Kastebergs ÖsslövKasteberg2, www.kasteberg.
Wood,straw x Ͳ Ͳ
Gård Ljungby com
Storgatan1 Agricultural
SkånefröAB www.skanefro.se x Ͳ Ͳ
27293Tommarp restproducts,wood
Box1143
NeovaAB www.neova.se Woodandpeat Ͳ Ͳ x
82413Hudiksvall
LåttraGård
LåttraGård1, www.lattra
Bioprodukter Reedcanarygrass x Ͳ Ͳ
64393Vingåker briketten.com
KB
SPAIN
COVAERSA CuestaLasPiedras www.briquetas
Almondshells Ͳ x Ͳ
ENERGÍAS 03330Crevillent briec.com
AGROFERESTA SLVegallobas/n www.agroforest
wood Ͳ Ͳ x
LNAVA 33520Nava alnava.es
Larrauri1 www.enerpellet.
ENERPELLET wood notavailable
48160Derio com
IndustrialParkLa
PELLET www.pellets
Curiscada wood Ͳ Ͳ x
Asturias asturias.com
33877Tineo
PolígonoIndustrial
"LaNava"NͲ234.
AMATEX www.amatex.es Wood,straw Ͳ Ͳ x
42146.Cabrejasdel
PinarSORIA
Av.1ºdeJulio,70Ͳ
Orientación www.orientacion
Local4 Vinepruning Ͳ x Ͳ
surSL sur.es
13300CiudadReal
Pol.Ind.LaCavaC/
Alfarrasínº6
NATURFOC www.naturfoc.com Wood,prunings notavailable
46892Ͳ
Montaverner

S…Small<5,000t/a;M…Medium<20,000t/a;L…Large>20,000t/a;n.a….notavailable


 

3CATEGORIES  29

Capacity(t/a)
Company Address Website Rawmaterials
S M L
AUSTRIA
DobermannsͲ
FEXÖKOͲ
dorferstraße1
Faserverarbei www.fex.at Straw Ͳ x Ͳ
2183Neusiedl/
tungsGmbH

Zaya
Martin Bahnstrasse32 www.agrarͲ
Miscanthus x Ͳ Ͳ
Zimmermann 2130Mistelbach energie.at
ADF Hausleiten4 www.adfͲ
Miscanthus x Ͳ Ͳ
Miscanthus 3321Stephanshart miscanthus.at

S…Small<5,000t/a;M…Medium<20,000t/a;L…Large>20,000t/a



30
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3.2 Legalconditions
Duringtheplanningofyourprojectyouwillhavetoconsiderthelegalconditionsatseveralpoints.
Theremayberegulationsonlicensedfuelsandwasteregulationapplyingforbiogenicresiduesthat
couldlimitthetypesofrawmaterialusableforenergypurposes.Complyingwithemissionthresholds
will be an issue to get regulatory approval. Clearly, emission thresholds are more easily to comply
withforindustrialscaleapplicationsforwhichappropriatedfluegascleaningsystemarecommonly
available.However,forsmallandmediumscaleapplicationsthesituationisdifferent.Thoughthere
are a few systems available, an adaption for specific fuels is often required and the additional
investmentsareamoreseveredrawbackforsmallandmediumscalesystems.
Unfortunately,uniform EuropeanͲwideregulationsarenotyet availableneitherforalternativeand
mixedbiomassfuelsnorfortheappropriatecombustionunitsinsmallandmediumscale.Therefore,
in many cases you have to find individual solutions with local authorities. Though there are some
positive developments (adaption of EN303Ͳ5, product standard EN 14961Ͳ6) the situation is still
unsatisfying. Similarly, a labelling and certification system especially for small combustion units
wouldhelptoenhancetheutilisationofalternativeandmixedbiomasspellets.Below,youcanfind
exemplaryinformationonlicensedfuels,emissionthresholdsandfuelstandardisationfortheseven
MixBioPellspartnercountries.

3.2.1 Licensedfuels

Licensedfuelsdiffersignificantlywithinthepartnercountries.Possiblesolidbiofuelsthatcanbeused
for combustion purposes are listed in Table 10. In Austria only standardised alternative and mixed
biomass fuels can be used in private, public and industrial sectors. The Scandinavian partner
countriesFinlandandSwedenbothhavenogeneralguidelinesforlicencedfuels.Accordingly,there
is a tendency to focus on established fuels. In Denmark a specific list with all licensed fuels are
included in Danish Act no. 638 on biomass waste. The listed fuels can be used for combustion
purposes. In Italy and Spain, only a common definition of biomass exists. However, there is no
regulationfortheuseofbiomassforcombustionpurposesapplied.
 

3CATEGORIES  31

Table10: Solidbiofuelsforcombustionpurposes

Country Licensedfuels
Austria Privatesector(validonlyinLowerAustria):
x >400kW:nogenerallegislativeframework–individualpermissionbylocalauthorities
x <400kW:
˜ inLowerAustria:standardisednonͲwoodbiomassuptoaClͲcontentof1500mg/kg(so
farstandardsareavailableforstraw,Miscanthusandenergygrain)
˜ Other federal states: no general legislative framework – individual permission by local
authoritiesrequired
Public/industrialsector:
x Standardised fuels made of other solid and herbal raw materials from forestry and
agriculturesuchascerealwholeplant,grassesandMiscanthus
Denmark AccordingtotheDanishActno.638onbiomasswaste:
x raw wood, straw, kernels and seeds from fruits, fruit residues, nut and seed shells,
untreatedcork,grainandseeds,malt,tobaccowaste
x fuelpelletsorfuelbriquettesproducedexclusivelyfromtheserawmaterials
Finland Nogeneralguideline:
x commonsolidbiofuelsarewoodlogs,woodchipsandwoodpellets
x nonͲwoodymustbehandledindividuallybytheauthorityasa“specialfuel”
Germany AccordingtoFederalImmissionControlRegulationNo.4(>100kW):
x Strawandotherherbalrawmaterials(e.g.cerealwholeplant,grasses,Miscanthus)
AccordingtoFederalImmissionControlRegulationNo.1(<100kW):
x straw, whole plants (also pellets), grains (also pellets), energy grain processing residues,
husks,culmsresiduesandsimilarherbaceousbiomasssubstances(likeMiscanthusorhay)”
x otherrenewablesources
Italy Accordingtotheenvironmentprotectionact(D.lgs152/2006):
x biomassisconsideredasafuelonlyifithasnotbeensubmittedtoanychemicaltreatment
According to legislation on renewable energy promotion (implementation decree of Directive
2009/28):
x anybiogenicmatter,regardlessitsoriginorquality(anybiomassfromagriculture,forestry
or agroͲindustry, which has been submitted only to a mechanical treatment, can be
consideredasafuel)
Spain Accordingtothe“PlandeEnergíasRenovables”:
x biomass from forests, woody agricultural residues (pruning of olive trees, fruit trees and
vineyards),
x grassagriculturalresidues(mainlystrawandcornmaizestover),
x residuesfromagriculturalindustries(olivestones,almondshells,…),
x energycrops(mainlycardoon,sorghumandEthiopianCanola)
Sweden Nogeneralguideline:
x Solidfuelsaredividedingroupswithrespecttotheirorigin:forestfuels,peat,agricultural
fuels,fuelsderivedfromwasteetc.




32
32 3CATEGORIES 

3.2.2 Emissionthresholds

WithinthepartnercountriesthethresholdvaluesvarysignificantlyintherangefromnonͲexistingtill
highlyregulatedwithlowthresholds.InFigure4thethresholdvaluesofeachcountryareclassifiedas
strict, loose and no regulation of threshold values. According to Figure 4 there are significant
differencesofthelegalconditionsfordifferentthermalrangesanddifferentcountries.Emissionsof
carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particles are commonly limited in medium and
industrialscalecombustionplants.Emissionthresholdvaluesforsmallscalecombustionplantsupto
100kW mainly exist in Germany and Austria. In contrast, emission threshold values of hydrogen
chloride and dioxins/furanes exist only in Germany. If there are no regulations in the respective
thermalrangeexisting,legalauthoritieswillsetthepermissionandthethresholdvaluesattheirsole
discretion. Finland and Sweden have relatively low emission thresholds particularly for small and
medium scale. However, based on the experience with alternative raw material combustion, only
selectedrawmaterialsareactuallyusedinthesecountries.Restrictionsarerathersetatthebottom
end(rawmaterialquality)thanatthetopend(fluegasemissionthresholds).Theclassificationofthe
thresholdvaluesindicateswhethertheuseofalternativebiomasspelletscanbeproblematic(“strict
thresholds”) or in some cases problematic (“loose thresholds”). However, the realisation strongly
dependsonavailablecombustionandfluegascleaningsystemsandthepropertiesoftheusedfuel.
Clearly,emissionthresholdsaremoreeasilycompliedwithforindustrialscaleapplicationsforwhich
appropriatedfluegascleaningsystemarecommonlyavailable.However,forsmallandmediumscale
applications the situation is different. Though there are a few systems available an adaption for
specific fuels is often required and the additional investments are more severe drawback for small
andmediumscalesystems.
If the European Union’s Framework Directive on EcoͲDesign of EnergyͲUsing Products (Directive
2009/125/EC)iscomingintoforcemostnationalframeworkswillbeadjusted.

3CATEGORIES  33

Dioxine/
Country Capacity CO OGC NOx SO2 HCl Particles
Furanes
Austria1) <100kW
privatesector 100kWͲ1MW
>1MW
Austria <100kW2)
publicand
industrial
100kWͲ1MW3)
sector >1MW
Denmark <100kW
100kWͲ1MW
>1MW
Finland <100kW
100kWͲ1MW
>1MW
Germany <100kW
100kWͲ1MW
>1MW
Italy <100kW4)
100kWͲ1MW5)
>1MW6)
Sweden <100kW7)
100kWͲ1MW8)
>1MW
Spain <100kW
100kWͲ1MW
>1MW

mg/Nm3 mg/Nm3 mg/Nm3 mg/Nm3 mg/Nm3 mg/Nm3 ng/Nm3

strict <500 <30 <300 <250 <50 <50 <0.1
loose <1000 <125 <600 <400 <100 <300 <0.5
none Ͳ Ͳ Ͳ Ͳ Ͳ Ͳ Ͳ 
1)
ThresholdvaluesvalidinLowerAustriaupto400kW
2)
Thresholdvaluesvalidfor<400kW
3)
Thresholdvaluesvalidfor0.4Ͳ1MW
4)
Thresholdvaluesvalidfor35Ͳ150kW
5)
Thresholdvaluesvalidfor0.15Ͳ3MW
6)
Thresholdvaluesvalidfor>3MW
7)
Thresholdvaluesvalidupto300kW
8)
Thresholdvaluesvalidfor0.3Ͳ1MW

Figure4: Classificationofexistingemissionthresholdvaluesfortheuseofnonwoodybiomass
upto50MWindifferentEuropeancountries(basedon13Vol.Ͳ%O2)

 


34
34 3CATEGORIES 

͵ǤʹǤ͵ ”‘†—…–•–ƒ†ƒ”†•

Generally,nationalqualitystandardsforalternativeandmixedbiomasspelletsorbriquettesarenot
availableintheEuropeancountries.TheEuropeanstandardEN14961Ͳ6isorwillbeincludedinthe
nationallegalframeworks,seeTable11.InAustria,severaladditionalproductstandardsexistswhich
include general requirements on solid biofuels like specification of origin and sources of the raw
material and several classes for parameters relevant for the use in small and medium scale
applications.ThestandardÖNORMM7139coverstherequirementsforenergycropswhenusedfor
energy purposes and is considered a supplement of the preͲstandard VORNORM ÖNORM CEN/ TS
14961.ThestandardÖNORMC4000covertherequirementsforMiscanthuspelletsandbriquettes
and the standard ÖNORM C4002 covers the requirements for straw pellets. These standards are
considered national supplements of the standards ÖNORM 14961 and ÖNORM 15234. Available
European standards according to EN 14961 will be included subsequently on national level. Thus,
supplementsoftheEN14961areplanned:C4003andC4004(corncobchipsandpellets).Important
fuelspropertiesaresummarisedinTable11.
Pellets according to EUͲstandards will probably be more expensive due to certification procedures
andpossiblyhigherpreͲtreatmenteffortsaswellasamoredemandingpelletizingprocesstoensure
constantqualityandfulfilmentoftherequirementsofthestandard.However,thesepelletsarethen
applicable for certified combustion appliances that do not require special adaption to the fuel
requirements. Thus, overall economics could be still favourable despite the higher fuel costs. In
contrast, regional available alternative and mixed biomass pellets could be produced without
fulfilling EUͲstandards. These pellets would be less expensive. However, available combustion
technologywouldhavetobeadaptedtotherequirementsofthelocalfuels.Thisstrategywouldbe
particularly suitable on regional level with local contracts for a local fuel. Thus, fuel characteristic
would be though critical fairly constant. Thus, the additional costs for adapting the combustion
technology could still pay off. Finally, the availability of raw materials for different capacity ranges
hasbeenevaluated.ThishasbeenrealisedaccordingtotheEN14961Ͳ6.Thus,forsmallandmedium
scale utilisation only those raw materials that fulfil the requirements of EN14961Ͳ6: Miscanthus,
EN14961Ͳ6:strawandEN14961Ͳ6:reedcanarygrasswellasEN14961Ͳ6:classAshouldbeused(see
Table12).RawmaterialsthatfulfiltherequirementsofEN14961Ͳ6:classBcanbeusedformedium
scale. For industrial scale applications those raw materials with even more critical characteristics
shouldbeapplied.
 

3CATEGORIES  35

Table11: RequirementsoftheEuropeanproductstandardEN14961Ͳ6

classA classB
Miscanthus Reedcanary
Parameter Unit Strawpellets Herbaceousbiomass,fruit
pellets grasspellets
biomass,blendsandmixtures
Diameter mm 6to25 6to25 6to25 6to25 6to25
Length mm 3.15чLч50 3.15чLч50 3.15чLч50 3,15чLч50 3.15чLч50
Amountof
wt.Ͳ% ч1 ч1 ч1 ч2 ч3
fines
Mechanical
wt.Ͳ% ш97.5 ш97.5 ш96.5 ш97.5 ш96.0
durability
Bulkdensity kg/m³ ш600 ш580 ш550 ш600 ш600
Moisture
wt.Ͳ% ч10 ч10 ч12 ч12 ч15
content
Ashcontent
wt.Ͳ%db ч6 ч4/ч6 ч8/>8 ч5 ч10
(550°C)
Lower Minimum Minimum
heating MJ/kg valuetobe valuetobe ш14.5 ш14.1 ш13.2
value stated stated
Ashmelting shouldbe shouldbe shouldbe shouldbe shouldbe
°C
temperature stated stated stated stated stated
Typeand Typeand Typeand Typeand Typeand
Additives Ͳ amounttobe amounttobe amountto amounttobe amounttobe
stated stated bestated stated stated
Nitrogen wt.Ͳ%db ч0.7 ч0.5 ч2.0 ч1.5 ч2.0
Sulphur wt.Ͳ%db ч0.1 ч0.05 ч0.2 ч0.2 ч0.2
Chlorine wt.Ͳ%db ч0.1 ч0.08 ч0.1 ч0.2 ч0.2
Arsenic mg/kgdb ч1 ч1 ч1 ч1 ч1
Cadmium mg/kgdb ч0.5 ч0.5 ч0.5 ч0.5 ч0.5
Chromium mg/kgdb ч50 ч50 ч50 ч50 ч50
Copper mg/kgdb ч20 ч20 ч20 ч20 ч20
Lead mg/kgdb ч10 ч10 ч10 ч10 ч10
Mercury mg/kgdb ч0.1 ч0.1 ч0.1 ч0.1 ч0.1
Nickel mg/kgdb ч10 ч10 ч10 ч10 ч10
Zinc mg/kgdb ч100 ч100 ч100 ч100 ч100

d.b.…drybasis 


36
36 3CATEGORIES 

Table12: Comparison of the fuel characteristics of the most relevant raw materials with the
thresholds given in EN14961Ͳ6 (A – requirements for ash content according to
EN14961Ͳ6:MiscanthusA<4wt.Ͳ%d.b.;StrawA<6wt.Ͳ%d.b.;RCGA<8wt.Ͳ%d.b.)

EN14961Ͳ6: EN14961Ͳ6:
EN14961Ͳ6:Miscanthus
Straw RCG
Rawmaterial
A N S Cl A N S Cl A N S Cl

Miscanthus            
Reedcanarygrass            
Hemp            
Straw            
Vinepruning            
Corncobs            
Cornstalks            
Cerealspilling            
Hay            
Rapepresscake            
Grapemarc            
Oliveresidue            
Almondshells            
Sheawaste            
Carragenanwaste            
Mashfrom
breweries            
Digestate            
Peat            
 requirementsoftheEN14961Ͳ6canbefulfilled   
 requirementsoftheEN14961Ͳ6canbefulfilledinsomecases  
 requirementsoftheEN14961Ͳ6canbenotfulfilled   

d.b.…drybasis

3CATEGORIES  37

Table12: (continued)Comparisonofthefuelcharacteristicsofthemostrelevantrawmaterials
withthethresholdsgiveninEN14961Ͳ6(A–requirementforashcontentaccording
toEN14961Ͳ6:classAͲA<5wt.Ͳ%d.b.;classBͲA<10wt.Ͳ%d.b.)

EN14961Ͳ6: EN14961Ͳ6:
classA classB
Rawmaterial
A N S Cl A N S Cl

Miscanthus        
Reedcanarygrass        
Hemp        
Straw        
Vinepruning        
Corncobs        
Cornstalks        
Cerealspilling        
Hay        
Rapepresscake        
Grapemarc        
Oliveresidue        
Almondshells        
Sheawaste        
Carragenanwaste        
Mashfrombreweries        
Digestate        
Peat        
 requirementsoftheEN14961Ͳ6canbefulfilled
 requirementsoftheEN14961Ͳ6canbefulfilledinsomecases
 requirementsoftheEN14961Ͳ6canbenotfulfilled

d.b.…drybasis


38
38 3CATEGORIES 

3.3 Pelletizingandcombustiontechnologies
Thecharacteristicsofalternativebiomassesdifferfromwoodybiomasses.Thus,youwillfindthatthe
available technology for wood harvest, milling, compacting, handling and combustion is not well
suited for alternative raw materials. Instead, special or adapted technology might be required. In
some case, knowͲhow from related utilisation paths can be used as basis (e.g. straw and hay
pelletizingforforageorlitter).However,criticalfuelparametersandespeciallystronglyvaryingfuel
characteristicwithinasinglebiomasstypeaffordspecialcareandexperiencethatisrarelyavailable.
Below, you will find specific information on aspects of the pelletizing, combustion and flue gas
cleaning technologies. More detailed information on these topics can be found in the MixBioPells
Report on Pelletizing and Combustion Technologies. At the end of the chapter, key actors lists for
manufacturers of pelletizing, combustion and flue gas cleaning technologies are provided. If you
need information beyond what is given below on the pelletizing and combustion behaviour of
alternative raw material a good source are national research institutions with focus on biomass
research.

3.3.1 Pelletizingtechnologies

You will find that alternative raw materials have several properties that could be problematic for
theirhandling(Table13).

Table13: Propertiesofalternativerawmaterialsandresultingproblems

Property Problemsthatmightresultfromtheproperty

x abrasionduringthepelletizingprocess
higherashcontent
x reducedlifetimeofthedies

structuralproperties(e.g.stalks) x problemswiththefeedingsystem(e.g.blocking)

x higherenergydemandandwearduringcuttingand
hardnessofthematerial
milling

differentmolecularcomposition x differentcompactingpropertiesrequiringdifferentdies

varyingfuelcharacteristicsand x handlingofthesevariationsrequiresexperiencethatis
inhomogenousstructuralfeatures rarelyavailable

lowenergydensity x higherstorageandtransportationeffort

Agoodpossibilitytogenerateasolidbiofuelwithimprovedanddefinedtransportation,storageand
feeding properties is the agglomeration into pellets or briquettes. Binders can be used to reduce
abrasion of dies and to lower the energy consumption during the compacting process. The main
advantagesofthecompactedfuelsaresummarisedinTable14.
 

3CATEGORIES  39

Table14: Mainadvantagesofthecompactedfuels

Qualityachievedbypelletizing
Impact
oftherawmaterials

flowability x fullyautomatedfeedingofthecombustionsystemispossible

x lessstoragespacerequired
increasedbulkdensity
x improvedtransportationquality

x reducedriskofsolidificationbybridging
reducedfines
x lowerdustexplosionriskduringtransportandsupply

x preventionofseparationinheterogeneousrawmaterial
fixedmixture mixtures
x improvedcombustionproperties

Therearetwodifferentpelletizingtechnologieswhicharemostcommonlyusedforalternativeraw
materials:

x Pellet mills with flat dies: This technology is common for the production of animal feed
pellets.
x Pellet mills with ring dies: This technology is mainly used for the industrial production of
woodpellets.
Moreinformationonpreconditioningandpelletproductiontechnologiesavailablewithintheseven
EuropeanpartnercountriesoftheMixBioPellsprojectisavailableintheReport“CriticalReviewon
PelletizingandCombustionTechnologies”.

3.3.2 Combustiontechnologies

Youwillfindthatthecombustionofalternativeandmixedbiomasspelletscanbemorechallenging
thanthecombustionofwoodpelletsandpossibleproblemshavetobeconsidered.Thereasonsfor
thiscanbefoundinthecompositionofalternativerawmaterialsthatissignificantlydifferentfrom
woody biomass. The main fields of problems for the combustion of alternative and mixed biomass
fuelsaresummarisedinTable15.
Table15: Mainfieldsofproblemsforthecombustionofalternativeandmixedbiomassfuels

Property
higherashcontent
varyingfuelcharacteristics
higher content of critical
elements(e.g.N,S,Cl,K,Na,Si)
Problemsthatmightresultfromtheproperty
x problemswithashremoval
x handling of these variations requires experience that is
rarelyavailable
x possibly higher emission of harmful gaseous components
(e.g.HCl,SO2,NOx)andparticulate
x higher risk of fouling and corrosion on downstream tubes
andsurfaces
x lowerashmeltingpointwithincreasedslaggingrisk


40
40 3CATEGORIES 

These problems can be lowered by primary and secondary measures. Reduction of harmful
emissionscanbeobtainedbyeitheravoidingcreationofsuchsubstances(primarymeasures)or
removingthesubstancesfromthefluegas(secondarymeasures).
Primarymeasures:

x modificationofthefuel(leachingoftherawmaterials,blendingofdifficultrawmaterials
withadditivesorlessproblematicrawmaterials)whichcanalsoenhancetheashrelated
characteristics
x modification of the combustion process (flue gas recirculation to achieve reducing
atmosphere and lower temperature, cooled grates to reduce slagging, automated
cleaningandashremovaltopreventslaggingandfouling)
Secondarymeasure:

x fluegascleaning(seechapter3.3.3).
Depending on your aspired capacity range you may employ one of the following different
combustionsystems(Table16).
Table16: Combustionsystems

Combustionsystem Thermalrange Picture

Horizontalstokerburner 20kW–1MW


Movinggratecombustionsystem 30kW–10MW


Water cooled combustion chamber with ash 50–800kW
stoker


Underfeedrotatinggratecombustionsystems 3–20MW Notavailable
Fluidisedbedfiring (a) 5–15MW
(a)bubblingfluidisedbedwithlowergasflow (b) 15–>100MW
andadefinedboundarybetweenthebedand
thefreeboardor
(b)circulatingfluidisedbedwithhighergasflow
andablurredboundarybetweenthebedand
thefreeboard.

Moreinformationoncombustiontechnologiesincluding technologyprofilesofspecificcombustion
systems available within the seven European partner countries of the MixBioPells project are
availableintheReportonPelletizingandCombustionTechnologies.

3CATEGORIES  41

3.3.3 Fluegascleaningtechnologies

DependingontheemissionthresholdssecondarymeasuresforthereductionofNOx,SO2ordustmay
berequired.Mostoftheavailablefluegascleaningtechnologiescontributesalsotothereductionof
HCl, heavy metals and PCDD/F emissions. In principle, secondary emission reduction measures are
knownandareavailableforallharmfulemissioncomponents.However,particularlyonsmallscale
theirutilisationisrarelycosteffective.ThepossibilitiestobuildͲupviablecombustionsystemswith
advancedfluegascleaningincreasewiththesizeofthebiomasscombustionapplications.
Smallandmediumscaleapplications
If you plan to use alternative and mixed biomass pellets for small and medium scale combustion,
then reduction of small particle emission will probably be most critical. There are two different
approachesforthereductionofparticulateemissions:

x Manyboilermanufacturersfocustheirdevelopmentsontheoptimisationofthecombustion
chamberaswellasthefuelandairsupply.
x Anotherpossibilityistheuseofprecipitatortechnology.
The development of appropriate precipitator technologies is still subject of several onͲgoing
researchactivities.Evenforwoodstovesandboilersthereareonlyfewprecipitatorsavailableatthe
market. At the moment, electrostatic precipitators are most common. However, most of the
available systems have significantly lower separation efficiencies compared to the industrial
applications.Sofar,filterprecipitatorsarenotofferedforheatingappliances<100kW.Someofthe
precipitatortechnologiesaretestedfortheuseofnonͲwoodyandmixedbiomassandwereadapted
tosomeextendforhigherdustconcentrationsandvaryingdustcharacteristics.Theselectionofthe
appropriated precipitator technology strongly depends on the characteristics of the particles. You
canfindaverydetaileddiscussiononthistopicincludingtechnologyprofilesofdifferentprecipitator
technologies in the Report on Pelletizing and Combustion Technologies of the MixBioPells project.
Thehighspecificinvestmentandoperationcostspreventthewidespreadusageoftechnologyand
causealowdemand.
Industrialscaleapplications
Emissionreductionmeasuresparticularlyfortheremovalofparticles,NOxandSO2arestateofthe
art for industrial combustion systems. Other components that can also be reduced by secondary
measuresareHCl,heavymetalsandPCDD/F.However,secondaryemissionreductionmeasuresfor
these components will not be presented in detail because the solutions are made individually for
eachplant.Furthermore,informationanddataaboutconstruction,operationandcharacteristicsof
thementionedsecondarymeasuresarescarcelyavailable.Alistofmanufacturersandcontactdetails
isincludedinthefollowingchapter.
 


42
42 3CATEGORIES 

3.3.4 Keyactorslist

Manufacturersofpelletizingtechnologies

Raw
Company Address Website S M L PP BP
material
GERMANY
AmandusKahl Dieselstraße5 www.akahl. sawdust,
1 3 5 x Ͳ
GmbH&Co.KG 21465Reinbek de straw
MÜNCHͲ
Weststraße26 www.muench sawdust,
Edelstahl Ͳ 3 1 x Ͳ
40721Hilden Ͳgmbh.de straw
GmbH


AufderWeid1Ͳ15 www.agrar straw,

PuschAG Ͳ 1 1 x Ͳ
56242Marienrachdorf stick.de  wood
straw,
Bahnhofstraße15A www.salma
Salmatec n.a. horsedung, x Ͳ
21376Salzhausen tec.de
greens


Feldbach25 www.home
JumboGroup 1 Ͳ Ͳ straw x Ͳ
86647Buttenwiesen pelletierer.de 

wood,
Kreuzkrug44 www.eco
EcowroXX 1 Ͳ Ͳ straw,hay, x Ͳ
31604Raddestorf worxx.de
Miscanthus


Brunnenstraße13 www.energie straw,hay,

BauerPower Ͳ 1 Ͳ x Ͳ
65428Rüsselsheim vomland.de  Miscanthus
straw,
Michael Treppenstrasse1 www.schmitt
5 1 Ͳ sunflower, x Ͳ
Schmitt 66740Saarlouis Ͳenergie.de
spelt


straw,all
RUF
HausenerStr.101 www.briket kindsof
Maschinenbau 5 3 Ͳ Ͳ x
86874Zaisertshofen tieren.de fiber
GmbH&Co.KG
materials
MaschinenͲ
KönigsteinerStr.2 www.koep
fabrikKöppern n.a. n.a. Ͳ x
45529,Hattingen pern.de
GmbH&Co.KG
wood
Olgastraße13 www.votecs.
Votecs n.a. shavings, Ͳ x
74072Heilbronn de
hay


straw,
ADELMANN JohannͲSchönerͲStr.73 www.adel
n.a. wood, Ͳ x
UmweltGmbH 97753Karlstadt mann.de
Miscanthus


WesselGmbH
Hagdornstraße10 www.wesselͲ
KesselͲund n.a. wood x Ͳ
46509Xanten xanten.de
Apparatebau

S…Small<500kg/h;M…Medium500Ͳ2000kg/h;L…Large>2000kg/h;PP…Pelletpress;BP…Briquettepress;
n.a.…notavailable 

3CATEGORIES  43

Raw
Company Address Website S M L PP BP
material
GERMANY
www.euro
vonͲArenbergStr.1
EUROPRESS pressͲ 1 Ͳ Ͳ sawdust Ͳ x
49762Lathen
lathen.com
FUCHSͲ Hauptstraße199 www.fuchsͲ
1 Ͳ Ͳ wood Ͳ x
ALMABOIS 79576WeilamRhein almabois.com
GHEbavaria
Gebr.ͲHofmannͲRing4 www.ghe
Maschinen n.a. wood Ͳ x
97246Eibelstadt bavaria.de
GmbH
Gross www.grossͲ
Salzstraße96Ͳ98 sawdust,
Apparatebau zerkleinerer. 3 Ͳ Ͳ Ͳ x
74076Heilbronn hay
GmbH de
Höcker www.hoecker
BorgloherStraße cellulosic
Polytechnik Ͳpolytechnik. 3 Ͳ Ͳ Ͳ x
49176Hilter material
GmbH de
NestroͲ
Odenwaldring9 www.nestro. wood,
Lufttechnik 4 Ͳ Ͳ X x
63934Röllbach de paper
GmbH
Reinbold GottliebͲDaimlerͲ
www.rein
EntsorgungsͲ Straße13 8 Ͳ Ͳ sawdust Ͳ x
bold.de
technikGmbH 75050Gemmingen,
Gewerbepark2 www.schuko. sawdust,
SchukoGmbH 6 Ͳ Ͳ Ͳ x
49196BadLaer, de paperdust
wood,
OttoͲBrennerͲStraße6 www.spaen
SPÄNEXGmbH 10 Ͳ Ͳ paper, Ͳ x
37170Uslar ex.de
biomass
www.thͲ wood,
THͲAlternativͲ Rothelebuch3
alternativͲ 1 Ͳ Ͳ straw,hay, Ͳ x
Energie 87637Seeg/Allgäu
energie.de Miscanthus
Weimar wood,
GewerbegebietBustadt www.weima.
Maschinenbau n.a. other Ͳ x
74360Ilsfeld com
GmbH biomass
WINKEL wood,
Friedhofstraße www.jkfͲ
Lufttechnik 4 Ͳ Ͳ other Ͳ x
54317Osburg industrie.de
GmbH biomass
OldenburgerStraße107 www.agrifa. wood,
AGRIFAGmbH 5 Ͳ Ͳ Ͳ x
26316Varel eu strawetc.
AUSTRIA
StatteggerStrasse18 www.andritz.
ANDRITZAG 1 1 1 n.a. x Ͳ
8045Graz com

S…Small<500kg/h;M…Medium500Ͳ2000kg/h;L…Large>2000kg/h;PP…Pelletpress;BP…Briquettepress;
n.a.…notavailable 


44
44 3CATEGORIES 

Raw
Company Address Website S M L PP BP
material
AUSTRIA
Albert
Oberbrunnerweg10 www.knob
Knoblinger Ͳ Ͳ 1 wood x Ͳ
4910RiedimInnkreis linger.at
GmbH&Co.KG
www.neu
NEUHAUSER Fasanenweg4 hauserͲ
2 3 1 wood x Ͳ
FürlingerGmbH 4616Weisskirchen pelletstechnik
.at
BrikettierͲ Lastenstraße7 www.siegelͲ
6 Ͳ Ͳ wood Ͳ x
technikSiegel 9560Feldkirchen mb.at
WiederͲ Steindorf, www.wiederͲ
Maschinenbau GewerbegebietSüd7, maschinen 2 Ͳ Ͳ wood, Ͳ x
GmbH 5204Straßwalchen bau.at
ITALY

MarialuisaMeneghello wood,
www.general straw,hay,
GeneralDiessrl ViaStrà182 3 5 1 x Ͳ
dies.com other
37030ColognolaaiColli biomass
ViaBrescia,56Ͳ www.nova
NovaPellet 2 1 1 wood x Ͳ
Pontevico pellet.it
ViaLungofino187Ͳ wood,
CentroComm.leIbisco, www.Mak cereals,
MakXilias.r.l. 3 1  Ͳ x
BloccoB/1ͲCitta' Xilia.it chicken
Sant'Angelo(PE) litter
ViaPonticelli,51ͲPieve www.omaͲ
O.M.Aimpianti 3   wood Ͳ x
aNievole(Pistoia) srl.com
www.hener woodand
Henergeia
Chislaz(Romania) geiahelios. 2 2 1 agricultural x Ͳ
Helios
com residues
woodand
LarusImpianti ViadeiCascinotti7Ͳ
www.pellet.it 1 1  agricultural X Ͳ
s.r.l. Credera(CR)
residue
ViaVolta,2ͲSettimodi www.mtdsrl.
MTDsrl n.a. wood X Ͳ
Pescantina(Ve) it
Viadell'Industria38Ͳ www.ascotͲ cellulistic
ASCOT 6   x Ͳ
MaranoVicentino matic.com material
www.bsbolla dryand
BSBollareto Viadell'Industria16/14
retoimpianti. 12 2  wet x x
impianti ͲPORTOMANTOVANO
it biomass

S…Small<500kg/h;M…Medium500Ͳ2000kg/h;L…Large>2000kg/h;PP…Pelletpress;BP…Briquettepress
n.a.…notavailable 

3CATEGORIES  45

Raw
Company Address Website S M L PP BP
material
ITALY
ViadelleIndustrie,17Ͳ
Costruzioni www.nazza
VacildiBredadiPiave 5 1  wood x x
Nazzareno reno.it
(TV)
CorsoMatteotti, woodand
www.kemyx.
Kemyx 200ͲMontecatini n.a. agricultural x Ͳ
it
Terme(PT) residue
viaNicolini,1–Loc.
Lameccanicadi www.la
Facca 1 1 2 wood x Ͳ
Reffo meccanica.it
35013–Cittadella(PD)
ViadeGasperi,
www.coma
CO.MA.FER 25060Collebeato 7    x x
fer.it
Brescia
wood,
ViadellÌnnovazione,11, www.diͲ
DIPIÙ 4 7 3 biomass Ͳ x
36042Breganze piu.com
residues
SWEDEN
Kånnavägen3B www.bio
Biopress 2 1  wood x Ͳ
34131Ljungby press.se

Box71 www.bogma. wood,

Bogma 6 2  Ͳ x
52322Ulricehamn com straw,grass

Skaraborgsvägen35E www.pellet wood,

SPC 3 2  x Ͳ
50630Borås press.com straw,grass

FINLAND
wood,
Aimokortteen Pohjolantie2 www.murska.
1 Ͳ Ͳ other x Ͳ
KonepajaOy 84101Ylivieska fi
biomass
DENMARK
Solbjergvej19, www.cf wood,
C.F.Nielsena/s 2 3 1  x
9574Baelum nielsen.com straw
SPAIN:Nomanufacturersofpelletizingequipmentcouldbeinvestigated.

S…Small<500kg/h;M…Medium500Ͳ2000kg/h;L…Large>2000kg/h;PP…Pelletpress;BP…Briquettepress;
n.a.…notavailable




46
46 3CATEGORIES 

Manufacturersofcombustiontechnologies

Name Address Contactdetails

AUSTRIA

Gewerbepark1
ETAHeiztechnikGmbH
4716HofkirchenanderTrattnach
Industriestraße12
Fröling
4710Grieskirchen
AntonHargassnerstr.1
HargassnerGesmbH.
4952Weng
Flotzbachstraße33
KÖBͲViessmannGruppe
6922Wolfurt
KWBͲKRAFTUNDWÄRME Industriestraße235
AUSBIOMASSEGMBH 8321St.Margarethen/Raab
GUNTAMATICHeiztechnik Bruck7,BruckͲWaasen
GmbH 4722Peuerbach
RIKAInnovative Müllerviertel20
OfentechnikGmbH 4563Micheldorf
PolytechnikLuftͲund Hainfelderstr.69
FeuerungstechnikGmbH 2564Weissenbach(NÖ)
Biokompakt®Heiztechnik Froschau79
GmbH 4391Waldhausen
ITALY
GiuseppeCorbari
Termocabisrl ViaBorghisani13
26035PieveSanGiacomo(CR)
HorstStuffer
KWBItaliasrl ViaT.Edison15
39100Bolzano 
MatteoPippa
Ecoenergiesrl ViaLeonardodaVinci11
36066Sandrigo(VI) 
LucaCanovi
ECOMECC ViaPalladio1
37063IsoladellaScala(VR)
 
Tel.:+43(0)77342288Ͳ0
Fax:+43(0)77342288Ͳ22
info@eta.co.at
Tel.+437248/606Ͳ0
Fax:+437248/606Ͳ600
info@froeling.com
Tel:+43(0)7723Ͳ5274
Fax:+43(0)7723Ͳ52745
office@hargassner.at
Tel.:+43/55746770Ͳ0
Fax:+43/557465707
office@kob.cc
Tel:+43(0)31156116Ͳ0,
Fax+43(0)31156116Ͳ4,
office@kwb.at
Tel.:+43(0)7276/2441Ͳ0
Fax:+43(0)7276/3031
info@guntamatic.com
Tel.:0043(0)7582/686Ͳ41
Fax:0043(0)7582/686Ͳ43
Tel:+43(0)2672890Ͳ0
Fax:+43(0)2672890ͲDW13
Tel.:+4372604530
Fax+43726045304
gerlinger@biokompakt.com
Tel:+390372640033
Fax:+390372640354
 termocabi@termocabi.it
Tel:+390471053333
Fax:+390471053334
info@kwbitalia.it
Tel:+390444751132
Fax:+390444758386
info@ecoenergie.it
Fax:+39Ͳ0457300175
ecomecc@nuovacft.it

3CATEGORIES  47

Name Address Contactdetails

SPAIN
Tel:984281965
CiudadTecnológicaValnalón
Fax:984281621
HargassnerIbéricaSL C/HornosAltos,s/n
info@hargassner.es
33930ͲLangreoͲAsturias
www.hargassner.es
Pol.Ind.LosPozuelos,Parc.47 Tel:953708036
INJOCA
23660Alcaudete(Jaén) www.injoca.es
Tel:961270450
Calle:32nº119 Fax:961267211
RCB
Catarroja,46470Valencia rcbboiler@telefonica.net
www.calderasrcb.com
Tel:976140600
LASIANTecnologíadel Políg.Ind.LasNorias,parcelan.º7 Fax:976140522
Calor,S.L. 50450Muel(Zaragoza) info@lasian.es
www.lasian.es
IngenieríadeEnergíasRenovablesS.L. Tel.+34986090288
CtradeVillagarcía Fax.+34687822626
ÖKOFENEspaña info@emisioncero.es
LugardeCachapal,Campañó
36157Pontevedra www.emisioncero.es

HCIngenieríaS.L Tel:+34915483025
KWBEspaña C/SanQuintín10,2ºIzda info@hcingenieria.com
28013Madrid www.hcingenieria.com
SWEDEN
Tel+46(0)480Ͳ442850
Flottiljvägen15
AritermGroupAB Fax+46(0)480Ͳ442859
39241Kalmar
info@ariterm.se
Tel.044Ͳ218400
Hedentorpsvägen16
Hotab info@hotab.se
29162Kristianstad
www.hotab.se
Tel.:070Ͳ6004800
AGROMATSwedenAB
FAX:040Ͳ450520
Agromat Gottåkrav.14B
agromat@telia.com
23641Höllviken
www.agromat.se
Tel:035Ͳ177550
JärnforsenEnergiSystem Ryttarevägen18A
Fax:035Ͳ177559
AB 30262Halmstad
info@jfͲenergi.se
KMWENERGIiNorrtälje Baldersgatan16B Tel:0176Ͳ205600
AB 76121,Norrtälje info@kmwenergi.se
Phone+4631830680
Gräddgatan3
PetrokraftAB Fax+4631401659
41276Göteborg
www.petrokraft.com
 


48
48 3CATEGORIES 

Name Address Contactdetails

FINLAND

Uuraistentie1 Tel.+35614426300
AritermOy
41301Saarijärvi ariterm@ariterm.fi
Keskustie30 Tel:+356207299300
SäätötuliOy
61850Kauhajoki info@saatotuli.fi
Punojantie1 Tel.0107745000
HTEnercoOy
42800Haapamäki Fax.0107745095
Tel.0102299000
PietariBrahentie24
TulostekniikkaOy Fax.0102299009
43700Kyyjärvi
www.tulostekniikka.com
Tel+35820484100
Fabianinkatu9A
Metso Fax+35820484101
00130Helsinki
www.metso.com

DENMARK

Tel.(+45)98624011
Vestvej7 Fax.(+45)98624071
MaskinfabrikkenREKAA/S
9600Aars reka@reka.com
www.reka.com
Tel.+4597371511
Smedevej Fax+4597372434
HSTarmA/S
6880Tarm info@hstarm.dk
www.hstarm.dk
Tel.+4597341655
Nylandsvej38 Fax.+4597342017
LINͲKAMASKINFABRIKA/S
6940LEMST. linka@linka.dk
www.linka.dk
Tel+4539452000
Burmeister&WainEnergy Lundtoftegårdsvej93A Fax+4539452005
A/S 2800Lyngby info@bwe.dk
www.bwe.dk

Nørrevangen7 Tel.:+4598645222
TwinHeat Fax.:+4598645244
9631Gedsted kontakt@twinheat.dk
Falkevej2, Tel.+4576143400
VølundBabcock&Wilcox 6705Esbjerg Fax+4576143600
www.volund.dk
76143400


 

3CATEGORIES  49

Name Address Contactdetails

GERMANY

Träglhof2
A.P.Bioenergietechnik
92242Hirschau
HeizomatGerätebauͲ Maicha21
EnergiesystemeGmbH 91710Gunzenhausen
Tel+49(0)96089230128
Fax+49(0)9608913319
info@oekoͲtherm.net
www.oekoͲtherm.net
Tel.+49(0)98369797Ͳ0
Fax+49(0)98369797Ͳ97
info@heizomat.de

WVTWirtschaftliche Tel.:02204/9744Ͳ0
Bahnhofstraße55Ͳ59 Fax.:02204/9744Ͳ27
Verbrennungstechnik
51491OverathͲUntereschbach wvt@bioflamm.de
GmbH

Tel.:+493496660
VKKSTANDARDKESSEL AmHolländerweg21Ͳ23 Fax:+49349666605
KöthenGmbH 06366Köthen info@vkkstandardkessel.de

Tel:+4927713930
WeissKesselͲ,AnlagenͲ Kupferwerkstraße6 Fax:+492771393294
undMaschinenbauGmbH 35684DillenburgͲFrohnhausen info@weissͲkessel.de

Tel:052319555Ͳ0
NoltingHolzfeuerungsͲ Wiebuschstraße15
Fax:052319555Ͳ55
technikGmbH 32760Detmold
info@noltingͲonline.de

AmLohmühlbach21 Tel:+49(0)8161Ͳ9796Ͳ0
hsenergieanlagenGmbH Fax:+49(0)8161Ͳ9796–49
85356Freising www.hsenergie.eu

 


50
50 3CATEGORIES 

Manufacturersoffluegascleaningtechnologies

Rangeof Availabilityon
Company Product Type Website
capacity[kW] themarket
GERMANY
Schräder
ALͲTop E <100 x www.schraeder.com
Abgastechnik
Karlruhe
Instituteof CAROLA E <100 Ͳ www.kit.edu
Technology
SchiedelAG Ͳ E <100 Ͳ www.schiedel.de
THAlternativͲ
Feinstaubkiller E <100 x www.feinstaubkiller.com
EnergieGmbH
A.P.BioenergieͲ x(in
Ͳ E <100 www.oekoͲtherm.net
technik preparation)
OekoSolve
OekoTube
(Schräder E <100 x www.oekotube.ch
(FUTUTErefine)
Abgastechnik)
RuFFͲKatGmbH RuFFͲKat E <100 x www.ruffͲkat.de
SpannerRe² SFF E <100 x www.holzͲkraft.de
Spartherm
FeuerungsͲ Airbox E <100 x www.spartherm.de
technik
WVT–
Wirtschaftliche
Bioflamm®MK CF 50Ͳ5000 x www.bioflamm.de
VerbrennungsͲ
TechnikGmbH
WVT–
Wirtschaftliche
Bioflamm®R CF 30Ͳ400 x www.bioflamm.de
VerbrennungsͲ
TechnikGmbH
Schräder
KERATop F <100 Ͳ www.schraeder.com
Abgastechnik
Openlamellar
Kliewe F <100 Ͳ www.kliewe.de
filter
WVT–
Wirtschaftliche
Bioflamm®MF F 30Ͳ2000 x www.bioflamm.de
VerbrennungsͲ
TechnikGmbH
A.P.BioenergieͲ
Ͳ F >100 x www.oekoͲtherm.net
technik

E…electrostaticprecipitator;CF…dustprecipitatorusingcentrifugalforces;F…dustfiltration;FC…fluegas
condensation
 

3CATEGORIES  51

Rangeof Availabilityon
Company Product Type Website
capacity[kW] themarket
GERMANY
Bomat
Heiztechnik Bomat FC 40Ͳ2200 x www.bomat.de
GmbH
VVS
REITHER FC >100 x www.vssͲut.de
Umwelttechnik
BschorGmbH Ökocarbonizer FC 22Ͳ400 x www.carbonizer.de
AUSTRIA

Advanced APSenergy
E 50Ͳ3300 x www.apf.ag
ParticleFilters TowerFilter

Advanced APSenergy
E 50Ͳ2000 x www.apf.ag
ParticleFilters RotaryFilter
KÖB
KRT F >100 x www.kob.cc
Holzheizsysteme
FINLAND
OlandHeatTech. SPRAYͲC FC <100 x notavailable

E…electrostaticprecipitator;CF…dustprecipitatorusingcentrifugalforces;F…dustfiltration;FC…fluegas
condensation



52
52 3CATEGORIES 

3.4 Economics
If legal approval is possible, i.e. the project feasibility is ensured, realisation then depends on the
economic viability. Alternative and mixed biomass pellets production and utilisation projects are
mostlyaccompaniedbyhigherinitialcostsresultingfromcriticalfuelparametersandcharacteristics
of the alternative raw material. The situation becomes more sever under highly restricted legal
conditions requiring advanced technology solutions. Furthermore, costs are often higher since
increasedeffortsandadditionallyinvestmentsarerequiredtocomplywithstatutoryrequirements.
Supportoptionsareausefulmeasuretoovercomeconstraintsresultingfromthehighinitialcosts.
Therefore,theavailabilityoffinancialincentivesandsupportoptionsisstillakeyfactor.
Inthefollowing,youcanfindinformationonparametersthatinfluencethefuelcosts.Youwillseeto
whichextentfuelcostsandnecessaryinvestmentscontributetotheheatsupplycosts.Theimpactof
the plant size on the heat supply costs will also be explained. Furthermore, support options which
can help to ensure the project viability are described based on the result for the seven European
partner countries of the MixBioPells project. More detailed information can be found in the Cost
AnalysisReportoftheproject.

3.4.1 Fuelcosts

Within the MixBioPells project the fuel costs have been calculated for selected case studies. More
detailed information can be found in the Cost Analysis Report of the project. Fuel costs are
determined by costs for crop growing, harvesting, transport (up to 50km), drying and
pelletizing/briquetting.Asamajorpartoftheannualrunningcoststheyhaveawideinfluenceonthe
economyofaheatingsystem.Figure5presentsthefuelcostsidentifiedinthedifferentcasestudies
in €/MWh considering these aspects. Furthermore the fluctuations of fossil fuel prices in the
differentpartnercountriesareillustrated.
The fuel costs amount to 18Ͳ56€/MWh, depending on the used raw material and the pelletizing
plant. Necessary preͲtreatments of the raw material have a major impact on the pellet prices.
Thereforerawmaterialswhichdonotrequireintensivedryingshouldbeused.
ÆLowdryingandstoragecostsareessentialtoensureaprofitablefuel.
Thecostsforpelletizingandbriquettingamountto11Ͳ32%ofthewholefuelcosts.Certainly,these
costs strongly depend on the pelletizing/briquetting plant, but also on production parameters and
fuelproperties.
ÆOptimisingthepelletizingprocessintermsofsuitableproductionparametersandrawmaterial
mixturesisalargecostadvantage.
Duetotheincreasingpricesofheatingoil,theuseofagriculturalbiomassfuelsisgettingmoreand
more attractive from an economic point of view. Especially in the Nordic countries, the use of
alternative biomass fuels is much cheaper than using fossil fuels. Even medium to large scale
alternativeheatingapplianceswithfluegastreatmentsystemsaremoreprofitableoverservicelife
despitehigherinvestmentcosts.


3CATEGORIES  53


Figure5: Fuelcostsincl.costsofpelletizingandbriquettingin€/MWhaswellasfluctuationsof
woodandfossilfuelpricesinthevariouspartnercountries

3.4.2 Heatsupplycosts

WithintheMixBioPellsprojecttheheatsupplycostshavebeencalculatedforselectedcasestudies.
MoredetailedinformationcanbefoundintheCostAnalysisReportoftheproject.Thefollowingcost
categorieshavebeentakenintoaccount,Table17.
Table17: Costcategoriesincludedinthecalculationoftheheatsupplycosts

x boiler
x storageroom
Investmentcosts x constructionandinitialoperation
x fluegastreatmentsystem
x heatinggrid
x fuelcosts
x auxiliaryenergycosts
Runningcosts x fillingflatrate
x chimneysweepercosts
x maintenanceandrepair

The investment costs of heating systems for alternative biomass are in general higher than for
comparablefossilfuelledheatingsystems.However,fuelcostsasamajorpartoftheannualrunning
costshaveawideinfluenceontheheatsupplycostsandthusontheeconomicsofheatingsystems


54
54 3CATEGORIES 

(Figure6).Duetotheincreasedimpactoffuelcosts,mediumtolargescaleheatingsystemswhich
areoperatedwithalternativepelletsaremorelikelytobeprofitablethanfossilfuelsystems.Thus,
heating systems operated with alternative and mixed biomass pellets or briquettes are getting
favourable after an operation time well below the middle of the service life. For small scale
profitability within the service life can only be achieved for a particularly high difference between
fossilfuelpriceandalternativeandmixedbiomasspelletprice.


Figure6: Comparisonofheatsupplycostsofthealternativecombustionsystemsofthecase
studiesin€/MWhperyear

3.4.3 Supportschemes

There are direct and indirect support schemes to increase biomass utilisation for energy purposes.
Indirect methods increase the price of fossil fuel options, e.g. by environmental taxes, greenhouse
gasemissiontradingortheremovalofsubsidiesforcoalornuclearpower.CO2Ͳtaxationasindirect
support is implemented in Sweden, Finland and Denmark. Among the direct methods there are
differentoptions(Table18).
Table18: Directsupportschemestoincreasebiomassutilisationforenergypurposes

 Pricedriven Quantitydriven
Investmentsubsidies
Investmentfocused Taxcredits Tendering
Softloans
FixedfeedͲintariffs Greencertificates
Generationbased
Fixedpremiumsystems Quotaobligations

3CATEGORIES  55

In the following, the available information is summarised separately for small and medium scale
(<1MW heatproduction, Table19)andforindustrialscale (combinedheatandpowerproduction,
Table 20). For small and medium scale the existing support measures are almost exclusively
investment focused. The partner countries can be divided into two different groups according to
their support option in small and medium scale. The used colours indicate the affiliation to the
differentgroupswithinTable19:

x Countries providing no support options for small and medium scale biomass utilisation
(Denmark,Spain)

x Countriesprovidingsupportoptionsforsmallandmediumscalebiomassutilisation(Austria,
Sweden,Finland,Germany,Italy)
Table19: Available support for small and medium scale biomass utilisation within the
partnercountries

 ES DK AT SE FI DE IT

Investmentsubsidies   x x x x x

Lowinterestloans     x x 

Tariffsforusedfuels     x  

Onindustrialscalethesupportmeasuresarepredominantlygenerationbased.Thepartnercountries
canbedividedintothreegroupsaccordingtotheirmajorsupportstrategy.Theusedcoloursindicate
theaffiliationtothedifferentgroupswithinTable20:

x Countries supporting biomass utilisation preferably with quota obligations and green
certificates(Sweden)

x Countries supporting biomass utilisation preferably with feedͲin tariffs and/or premiums
(Austria,Spain)

x Countriessupportingbiomassutilisationwithapotpourriofsupportingmeasures(Denmark,
Finland,Germany,Italy)
Thesupportschemesimplementedtorealisepoliciescanaddresstheeconomicsofalternativeand
mixed biomass utilisation. It has to be ensured that the incentives and support options enable the
utilisation of the technology that is required to fulfil legal requirements. This is of particular
relevancebecauseanyprojectforalternativeandmixedbiomassutilisationwillonlyberealisedifit
iseconomicallyfeasible.
 


56
56 3CATEGORIES 

Table20: Availablesupportforindustrialscalebiomassusewithinthepartnercountries

 SE AT ES DK FI DE IT

FeedͲintariffsand/orpremiumfor
 x x x x x x
producedelectricity

Priority/Guaranteedaccesstothegrid    x x x x

Taxexemption x   x x  

Greencertificates x      x

Quotaobligations x     x2 x

FeedͲintariffsforheat  x1     

1
OnlyforCHPplants.
2
Onlyfornewbuildings.ObligationforRESusebutnotparticularlyforbiomassuse.


3CATEGORIES 57




58
58 3CATEGORIES 

59
4REALISATIONOFALTERNATIVEPELLETINITIATIVES  59

4 FRAMEWORKSANDTHEIRIMPACT
The legal conditions and availability of support options are key parameters for the following
definitionofthenationalframeworks.Thus,tofindouttowhichlegalframeworkthecountrywhere
youwanttostartyourprojectbelongstoyouhavetoansweronlytwoquestionsonthebasisofthe
givenindicators,Table21:
Table21: Indicatorsforthedefinitionoftheframeworks

No. Question Scale Indicator

1 Dofavourablelegalconditions Industrial
applyforyourcountry?
2 Aretheresupportoptionsfor
theutilisationofalternative
andmixedbiomass?
existenceandoperationofindustrial
scaleplantsforalternativeand
mixedbiomasspelletutilisation,as
wellastheconstructionand
installationoffurtherplants
Smallandmedium emissionthresholdsforparticulate
emission
Industrialaswellas availability
smallandmedium

Forthefirstquestionyouhavetodifferentiatebetweenindustrialaswellassmallandmediumscale
use.
For industrial scale application the indicator of favourable legal conditions is the existence and
operationofindustrialscaleplantsforalternativeandmixedbiomasspelletutilisation,aswellasthe
constructionandinstallationoffurtherplants.
Î Thus,ifthereareindustrialscaleplantsrunningonalternativeandmixedbiomasspelletsand
furtherplantsareplannedorbeingbuildthelegalconditionsforindustrialscaleusecanbe
appointedasfavourable.
The thresholds for particulate emission are good indicators for the legal conditions on small and
mediumscale.Ifstrictlimitsfordustemissionapplythereareusuallylimitsforotheremissionsas
well. Furthermore, dust emission thresholds are in general most difficult to comply with for
alternative raw material combustion. Thus, low thresholds for particulate emission also limit the
possiblefueloptionsformostcases.
The limit to indicate legal conditions for small and medium scale application as favourable is that
emissionthresholdsforparticulateemissionofч100mg/Nm3apply.
Î Thus,ifinyourcountrydustemissionthresholdsof>100mg/Nm3applyforsmallandmedium
scaleyoucanconsideryourlegalconditionsasfavourable.
Forthesecondquestionitisonlyrelevantiftherearesupportoptionsornot.
 


60
60 4REALISATIONOFALTERNATIVEPELLETINITIATIVES 

Toanswerbothquestions,adigitaldiscriminationischosen,i.e.youhavetoselect

x ifforyourcountrya“yesͲoption”(indicatedby&)or
x a“noͲoption”(indicatedby')applies.
In this context, the “yesͲoption” will be used for conditions that support alternative and mixed
biomasspelletproductionandutilisation.Incontrast,the“noͲoption”indicatesconditionsthatare
more likely to hinder alternative and mixed biomass pellet production and utilisation. As a result
therearefourdifferentpossiblecombinations,Table22.
Table22: Possiblecombinations

Favourablelegal Supportoptions
Description
conditions available
Thiscombinationindicatesthatunfavourablelegal
' ' conditionsapplyandtherearenosupportoptions
available.
Inthiscaseunfavourablelegalconditionsare
' & accompaniedbysupportoptionstoovercomefinancial
hurdles.
Underthisframeworktherearefavourablelegal
& ' conditions.However,thereisalsonosupportoption
available.
Thiscombinationindicatesthecombinationoffavourable
& & legalconditionswithavailablesupportoptions.

The procedure described above was applied for small and medium scale in all seven partner
countries of the MixBioPells project (Chapter 4.1). Among the partner countries all four distinct
frameworks for alternative and mixed biomass pellets production and utilisation in small and
mediumscaleapplicationsexist.
Accordingly,theproceduredescribedabovewasalsoappliedforindustrialscale(Chapter4.2).Only
two distinct frameworks for alternative and mixed biomass pellets production and utilisation in
industrial scale applications have been found among the partner countries. Cross subsidisation is
hardlyanoptiononindustrialscale.Therehastobeaperspectivefortheeconomicviabilityofthe
project which has to be provided by appropriated support options. Therefore, under frameworks
withoutsupportoptionsforindustrialscalesuchprojectsshouldnotbeattempted.

 

61
4REALISATIONOFALTERNATIVEPELLETINITIATIVES  61

4.1Determinationoftheframeworksforsmallandmediumscale

Favourablelegal Supportoptions
Partnercountriesforwhichitapplies
conditions available

' ' CouldapplytocertainregionsofAustria

Description: Thiscombinationindicatesthatunfavourablelegalconditionsapplyand
there is a lack of support options for alternative and mixed biomass
pelletutilisation.
 Thisframeworkisparticularlydifficultfortheinitiationofprojectsbased
on alternative and mixed biomass pellets. High legal restrictions are
implemented increasing the costs for alternative and mixed biomass
pelletutilisation.Furthermore,causedbythelackofsupportthereisa
low demand for technologies capable to handle more difficult
alternativerawmaterials.Thisframeworkcouldapplytocertainregions
in Austria since support options for small and medium scale use are
granted on federal level and may be subject to changes. The Best
Practice Examples and the Case Studies reflect the difficult situation.
Straw pellets are produced in Austria with a production capacity of
5,000t/a. However, there is no demand for the pellets. In another
project, based on the commitment of a local farmer a micro heating
network with an annual demand of 45 t of hay briquettes has been
started and is operated without major problems. In both Case Studies
alternative pellet production of less than 3,000 t/ais achieved and the
pelletsareusedlocally.
BestPractiseExamples: Austria: AnnexA1
CaseStudies:  Austria: AnnexA2
NationalConditions: Austria: AnnexA3
Advice:  Under this framework the initiation of alternative and mixed biomass
projects in small and medium scale can hardly be recommended. You
havetocomplywithunfavourableandhighlyrestrictedlegalconditions
andtheprojecthastoberealisedwithoutsupportforsmallandmedium
scaleutilisation.Therefore,seriousplanningshouldonlybestartedwith
astrongcommitmentoftheinvolvedkeyactorsandthesupportofthe
localauthorities.Theaccesstoverycheaprawmaterialsisrequiredand
the involvement of customers willing to cover the higher service and
maintenance efforts at no additional costs. If you aim at such project
despitethedifficultframeworkitseemsadvisabletoplantheprojectsas
sideͲkicksofalreadysuccessfulbusinesses.

62
62 4REALISATIONOFALTERNATIVEPELLETINITIATIVES 
Favourablelegal Supportoptions
conditions
'
1)
Formediumscale>300kW;2)Iffederalsupportoptionsareavailable.
Description:
BestPractiseExamples:
 
 
 
 
CaseStudies: 
 
 
 
NationalConditions:
 
 
 
Advice:  Underthisframeworkastrongcommitmentoftheinvolvedkeyactorsis
Partnercountriesforwhichitapplies
available
& Germany,Italy,Sweden1)andcertainregionsofAustria2)
Inthiscaseunfavourablelegalconditionsareaccompaniedbyavailable
support options for small and medium scale applications to overcome
financial hurdles. This framework exists in the context of policies
particularly supporting small and medium scale use. The utilisation has
toberealisedunderhighlyrestrictedlegalconditions.However,support
options are implemented to spur the utilisation nevertheless. The
increasedutilisationofalternativerawmaterialsshallhelptoovercome
oravoidscarcityofthemostcommonsolidbiofuelwood.Anadditional
politicaltargetisthereduceddependencyonfossilfuels.Theimpactof
this framework is reflected by the Best Practice Examples. In Germany
mixtures of grape marc with vine pruning as well as mixtures of
Miscanthus, grape marc, digestate and wood have been pelletized on
3,000t/a and 5,000t/a scale. Italian pellet producers successfully
realisedvinepruningpelletizingon15,000t/ascalebutaswellworkson
mobilepelletizingunits.TheCaseStudiescoverutilisationofgrapemarc
anddigestateinGermany,andofvinepruningsinItaly.
Austria: AnnexA1
Germany: AnnexD1
Italy: AnnexE1
Sweden: NoBestPractiseExampleavailableformediumscale
  >300kW
Austria: AnnexA2
Germany: AnnexD2
Italy: AnnexE2
Sweden: NoCaseStudyavailableformediumscale>300kW
Austria: AnnexA3
Germany: AnnexD3
Italy: AnnexE3
Sweden: AnnexG3
required for the successful buildͲup and realisation of the project. The
availablesupportoptionsindicateapoliticalwillforincreasedutilisation.
However,highlyrestrictedlegalconditionresultinalimiteddemandand
acceptanceofalternativeandmixedbiomasspellets.Itseemsadvisable
toplantheprojectsassideͲkicksofalreadysuccessfulbusinesses.

63
4REALISATIONOFALTERNATIVEPELLETINITIATIVES  63

Favourablelegal Supportoptions
Partnercountriesforwhichitapplies
conditions available

& ' Denmark,Spain

Description: Under this framework there are favourable legal conditions. However,
there are no support options available for small and medium scale
applications.
 Among these countries the small and medium scale utilisation of
alternativeandmixedbiomasspelletsisnotpoliticallyfavoured.Instead,
policyseemstopreferlargerscaleuse.Therefore,therearenosupport
options available to overcome the problem of higher cost due to
alternativeandmixedpelletutilisationinsmallandmediumscale.Thus,
thesefuelsareratherusedonlargescalewherehigherinvestmentcosts
affiliated with alternative and mixed biomass utilisation are less
problematic. The impact of this framework is reflected by the Best
Practice Examples available for Denmark and Spain. Industrial scale
pellet production is realised in Denmark based on straw. The current
capacityoftheSpanishpelletproduceris20,000t/ausingvinepruning
asrawmaterial.However,boththecapacityandthevarietyofusedraw
materials are going to be expanded. In the Case Studies, Spanish key
actors tested olive stone pelletizing and successfully realised almond
shellbriquetting.
BestPractiseExamples: Denmark: No Best Practise Examples available for small and medium
  scale
Spain: AnnexF1
CaseStudies:  Denmark: NoCaseStudiesavailableforsmallandmediumscale
Spain: AnnexF2
NationalConditions: Denmark: AnnexB3
Spain: AnnexF3
Advice:  Underthisframeworklargerscaleshouldbepreferred.Ifyoustillaimat
smallandmediumscaleutilisationparticularlycheaprawmaterialswith
low preconditioning effort should be used to keep fuel costs as low as
possible.Thelegalconditionsshouldbeaminorobstacleunlessundue
bureaucratichurdleslikeprolongedapprovaltimeshinderthesuccessful
realisation.Reducedservicelifeandhighermaintenanceeffortshaveto
be considered and projects should only be started if the heating plant
operator or customers feel able to handle these obstacles. The
comparisonwithpricesofcommonfossilandwoodfueloptionshaveto
indicate a high cost saving. Economics evaluation has to be done
carefully. 


64
64 4REALISATIONOFALTERNATIVEPELLETINITIATIVES 

Favourablelegal Supportoptions
Partnercountriesforwhichitapplies
conditions available

& & Finland,Sweden

Description: This combination indicates the combination of favourable legal

conditionswithavailablesupportoptions.
 Thisframeworkprovidesthestrongestsupportforalternativeandmixed
biomasspelletutilisationinsmallandmediumscale.Itcanbefoundin
FinlandandSweden.Atfirstsight,thismightappearsurprisingsincein
Finland and Sweden a large share of heating and cooling is already
provided from biomass. However, biomass use in these countries is
currently focused on logged and chipped wood. Alternative raw
materials are rarely used. Furthermore, despite the large share of
biomass in the heating and cooling sector, the Scandinavian countries
have ambitious targets requiring enhanced biomass use. Thus, a
framework is required to facilitate alternative and mixed biomass
utilisation.Thestilllimiteduseofalternativerawmaterialsisreflectedin
theBestPracticeExamples.Someexperienceisavailableforpelletizing
of herbaceous biomass using a mobile pelletizing machine in Finland.
The pellets are used as fuel by the farmers or sold as fuel or litter. In
Sweden, reed canary grass briquettes are produced with a capacity of
3,500 t/a and are provided to local heating plants. The Finnish Case
Studiescoverreedcanarygrasspelletizingforlocaluseandproduction
andutilisationofmixedwoodͲreedcanarygrasspellets.IntheSwedish
CaseStudyreedcanarygrassbriquettingisanalysed.
BestPractiseExamples: Finland: AnnexC1
  Sweden: AnnexG1
CaseStudies:  Finland: AnnexC2
  Sweden: AnnexG2
NationalConditions: Finland: AnnexC3
  Sweden: AnnexG3
Advice:  The acceptance and resulting demand appears to be the largest
obstaclesintheabovecountries.Neitherlegalnoreconomicconditions
should be a major problem. The successful realisation still depends on
bureaucratichurdlesthathavetobeovercome.

65
4REALISATIONOFALTERNATIVEPELLETINITIATIVES  65

4.2Determinationoftheframeworksforindustrialscale

Favourablelegal Supportoptions
Partnercountriesforwhichitapplies
conditions available

' & Austria,Germany,Italy,Spain

Description: In this case unfavourable legal conditions are accompanied by support
options for industrial scale applications to overcome financial hurdles.
This framework exists in the context of policies particularly supporting
smallandmediumscaleusebuttrytolimitlargescaleuseasaresultof
public concerns or in countries for which the bioenergy sector is less
developed. Though there are support options available the legal
condition and the apparent political will hinder the use of alternative
and mixed biomass pellets in large scale. Under this framework, large
scale utilisation is not favourable at the moment. The development in
the bioenergy sector might change the situation in the future.
Nevertheless, the current situation results in the lack of Best Practice
Examples for large scale from Austria, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Furthermore, only in Italy one Case Study analysed the utilisation of
MiscanthusͲpoplarpelletsforaCHPplant.
BestPractiseExamples: Austria: NoBestPractiseExampleavailableforindustrialscale
  Germany: NoBestPractiseExampleavailableforindustrialscale
  Italy: NoBestPractiseExampleavailableforindustrialscale
  Spain: NoBestPractiseExampleavailableforindustrialscale
CaseStudies:  Austria: NoCaseStudyavailableforindustrialscale
  Germany: NoCaseStudyavailableforindustrialscale
  Italy: AnnexE2(onlythefirstCaseStudy)
  Spain: NoCaseStudyavailableforindustrialscale
NationalConditions: Austria: AnnexA3
  Germany:AnnexD3
  Italy: AnnexE3
  Spain: AnnexF3
Advices:  Underthisframeworktherealisationofalternative andmixedbiomass
pellet projects is not advisable. If you still aim at the initiation of an
alternative and mixed biomass pellet project under these conditions
secureheatandelectricitydemandaswellaslongͲterm,lowcostsupply
of the raw materials are highly important. Experienced plant
manufacturers and operators should be involved to prevent problems
arising from inappropriate plant design. Furthermore, public and local
authoritiesshouldbeinvolvedatearlystages. 


66
66 4REALISATIONOFALTERNATIVEPELLETINITIATIVES 

Favourablelegal Supportoptions
Partnercountriesforwhichitapplies
conditions available

& & Denmark,Finland,Sweden

Description: This combination indicates the combination of favourable legal

conditions with available support options for industrial scale
applications.
This framework applies for Finland, Denmark and Sweden. In these
countries the framework supports large scale utilisation of alternative
and mixed biomass pellets. This is reflected by the Best Practice
Examples.IndustrialscalepelletproductionisrealisedinDenmarkbased
onstraw.InFinlandandSwedentherearelargescaleplants.However,
therespectiveplantsandsupplychainshavenotbeenselectedasBest
PractiseExamplesorCaseStudiesbythepartnercountries.
BestPractiseExamples: Denmark: AnnexB1
  Finland: NoBestPractiseExampleavailableforindustrialscale
  Sweden: NoBestPractiseExampleavailableforindustrialscale
CaseStudies:  Denmark: AnnexB2(onlythefirstCaseStudy)
  Finland: NoCaseStudyavailableforindustrialscale
  Sweden: NoCaseStudyavailableforindustrialscale
NationalConditions: Denmark: AnnexB3
  Finland: AnnexC3
  Sweden: AnnexG3
Advices:  Lookingattheeconomicandlegalconditionstherearenoobjections.In
general, secure heat and electricity demand as well as longͲterm low
costsupplyoftherawmaterialsarehighlyimportant.Toensureagood
plantdesignexperiencedplantmanufacturersandoperatorsshouldbe
involved. An early involvement of the public and authorities can
enhancetheacceptancethatisoftenacriticalpointfortheinstallation
oflargerplants



ANNEXA:AUSTRIA  67

ANNEXA: AUSTRIA
A1 BESTPRACTISEEXAMPLES
PelletizingstrawatFEX

Background thestoragephase,itreaches14%.Asaresult
ofthelowwatercontenttheharvestedstraw
FEXStrawManufacturingInc.providesawide
iswellstorable.
range of strawͲbased products. The primary
product is a horse bedding called STREUfex. InLowerAustriathepriceforstrawwasabout
All pellets are made of 100% straw and are 67.7€/t in 2009 and about 76€/t in 2010.
producedformaterialutilisation. The producer’s price for harvested straw was
about70€/tin2010.Thestrawpricedepends
The company made also first attempts to
ontheamountoftheharvest.
produce straw and hay pellets for the
energetic use, which have been successful. Besides the weather the decisions on
Admittedly the demand for these pellets was agricultural policy will basically affect the
lacking. available quantity of straw. For example an
intensified support of energy crops like rape
Rawmaterial
foresterificationcancauseadecreaseofgrain
Characteristicsoftheusedrawmaterial. cultivation.
Rawmaterial Straw(ave.)
Moisturecontent, 14
wt.Ͳ%
Heatingvalue,MJ/kg 17.5
Ashmelting 1,200
temperature,°C
Costoftheraw 70
material,€/t
Quantityinthearea, 155,000
t/a
Strawisaresiduefromthegrainharvest.The
areaͲspecificstrawharvestissubjecttostrong
weatherͲrelated variations. The Lower
AustrianaverageareaͲspecificstrawharvestis 
Figure1:Strawbales
about3t/ha.
Pelletizingprocess
Theharvest andlogistictechnologies arewell
established. Usually the harvested straw will Dataofpelletizing.
becompressedtobales.Fortheenergeticuse Pelletizing 
of straw, it would be useful to avoid raising Technologytype Ringdie
the soil during the harvesting operations to Productioncapacityin 5,000
reducethequantityofash,alreadyquitehigh t/a
in the clean product. During the harvest, the
moisture of the product is about 40%; during


68
68 ANNEXA:AUSTRIA

Only straw with a water content under 15% Producersview

will be taken over. Due to the low water
The company FEX has its own pelletizing unit
content a drying of the raw material is not
andalotofexperienceswithpelletizingstraw.
necessary. The straw suppliers are mostly
It is located in Lower Austria and in
farmersoftheregion(radius<50km).20%of
Lumberton/USA.
thestrawisobtainedfromtwostrawdealers.
The bale breaker has a capacity of 5t/h. The
hammer mill has also a capacity of 5t/h and
reduces the straw to 5Ͳ20 mm. The company
FEXusesaringdiewithaproductioncapacity
of2Ͳ3t/h.


Figure 4: FEX Straw Manufacturing Inc. in
Neusiedl/Zaya
FEXStrawManufacturingInc.hasparticipated
to MixBioPells project as subcontractor. The
objective is to increase the request of straw
 pelletsfortheenergeticuse.
Figure2:Balebraker
Contact
The cooling system is a counter flow tower
FEX
cooler with a capacity of 5t/h. Fines with a
ÖKOͲFaserverarbeitungsͲGmbH
diameterunder4mmarefiltered.
Dobermannsdorferstraße1
The annually production output amounts to Neusiedl/Zaya
5.000tandtheproductioncostsvarybetween Austria
80€/t and 100€/t. 80% of the straw pellets Tel:+43(0)2533Ͳ810210
are stored in big silos, the other 20% are Fax:+43(0)2533Ͳ810214
storedinbags. eͲMail:johann.payerl@streufex.com
Homepage:www.fex.at







Figure3:StrawPellets


ANNEXA:AUSTRIA  69

Combustionofhaybriquettes

hay are investigated like the thermal
Background
utilisation solid biofuel in biogas or
Within the project „Biennal monitoring of a combustionplants.
small scale combustion plant operated with
The harvest of hay from extensive cultivated
hay briquettes” in Upper Austria an
meadows amounts to 3 – 4 tons hay/ha/a.
automatically loaded combustion plant with
The water content is around 15% at
78kW nominal capacity was operated with
harvestingpoint.Duetothefactthatthehay
hay briquettes originating from abandoned
from extensive cultivated meadows is a
meadowsandnatureprotectionareas.
residualproductnomarketpriceexists.
Mr.Engledertheoperatoroftheheatingplant
Briquettingofhay
runs a dairyfarm in the region Mühlviertel, a
part of the province Upper Austria. The hay At the briquetting unit of Mr. Engleder
briquettes used for combustion are produced complete hay bales are fed to the bale
withahydraulicbriquettingpressonhisfarm. breaker. The chopped raw material is
The raw material used originates from the conveyedtoacollectionvesselandfurtherto
surroundingmunicipalities. the briquetting press. Due to the low water
content a drying of the raw material is not
Rawmaterial
necessary. The hydraulic briquetting press of
Characteristicsofthehaybriquettesused the type “Holzmag ELAN 25” has a capacity
Parameter(drybasis,averagevalues) rangefrom50Ͳ150kgperhourdependingof
Moisturecontent 15wt.Ͳ% thebriquettesdiameterandlength.
Heatingvalue 16.5MJ/kg
The used briquettes have a diameter of 6cm
Ashmeltingtemperature 1050°C
and a length of min. 3cm and max. 6cm.
Ashcontent 8wt.Ͳ%
Thereisnocoolingsystemforthebriquettes.
Themaingoalofnatureprotectionareassuch Thehaybriquetteswhichhavebulkdensityof
asNatura2000areasorbiospherereservesis about600kg/m³areretainedinafuelstorage
to maintain and preserve the ecological room.
situation by an extensive, environmental
friendly and adapted cultivation by the
agriculture. At present in Upper Austria the
area of the nature protection program
“Natura2000”coversabout750km².
One obstacle in the fulfilment of the
conservation requirements is the usability of
the harvested goods in today's intensive
agriculture. Due to the late mowing point in
time the hay of abandoned/protected
meadows has a reduced feed quality and
therefore isn’t suitable for animal feeding. 
Other possibilities for the utilisation of that Figure1:haybriquette–sideview


70
70 ANNEXA:AUSTRIA

Combustion and annual use efficiency where observed

whenapplyinghaybriquettesasfuel.
Dataofcombustion.
The combustion properties are similar to
automaticallyfeed
Technique herbaceous fuels. Hay briquettes have a low
biomassboiler
Installedcapacity 78kW ashmeltingbehaviourandahighashcontent.
Ashhandling reuseonarableland Modificationsinthecombustionchamberand
Finalusers 4customers at the ash removal system are necessary to
Operator Mr.Engleder,farmer avoidslaggingandfoulingaswellastoensure
Mr. Engleder operates a local micro heating acontinuousasremoval.
network with four heat customers. The Operatorsview
connected heat capacity amounts to 80kW.
Due to the late harvest time of the hay from
The biomass boiler of the type GerlingerͲ
nature protection areas like in the program
BiokompaktAWKECO80,hasaheatcapacity
“Natura 2000” the feed quality is low and
of78kW.
therefore unsuitable for the utilisation in
intensive animal husbandry. The thermal
utilisation of biomass from landscape
conservation is one reasonable possibility to
dispose that residual biomass in an
environmental friendly economical arguable
way.

Figure2:combustionunitͲBiokompaktAWK
ECO80
The annual demand on the raw material hay
Figure3:unusedhayballsinthenature
briquettesisonaverage45tons.
protectionareaStainz(Styria)
Theresultsofthetwoyearmonitoringproject
Contact
showthatthecombustionofhaybriquettesin
amodernautomaticallyfeedbiomassboileris AugustEngleder
technical possible. Without applying Männersdorf1,A–4134Putzleinsdorf
additional technical equipment the gaseous tel:+43(0)6644146932
emissions CO, NOx and SO2 as well as the eͲmail:a.engleder@aon.at
particulateemissionsareequaltoherbaceous 
fuelsandbelowthenationalthresholdvalues.

Nonegativeinfluenceontheboilerefficiency


ANNEXA:AUSTRIA  71

A2 CASESTUDIES
Casestudy1“Strawfromregionalfarmers”
Production: Thepelletsproductioncompanyusesaringdietechnology.
Customers: Thecustomersarethefarmerswhoarethestrawsuppliers.

Casestudy2“Miscanthus“
Production: Therawmaterialsupplierownsaprivatemechanicalbriquettingmachine.
Customers: Customershaveusuallyaheatingcapacitybetween50and500kW.

Theresultsofthecasestudiesareincludedinthe“CostAnalysisReport”oftheMixBioPellsproject.
Thereportisavailableattheprojectwebsite:www.mixbiopells.eu/en/publications.html.
 


72
72 ANNEXA:AUSTRIA

A3 NATIONALCONDITIONS
InAustria,theuseisrestrictedtonaturalwoodduetofederalstates’prescriptions.Since1995the
“Art.15aBͲVGagreement:PrecautionarymeasuresregardingsmallͲscaleheatingsystems”controls
the implementation of heating systems with a nominal heat output up to 400kW for residential
heating.Adraftofanamendmentisinprogresssince2004,butimplementationisproceedingvery
slowly.SofartheutilisationofnonͲwoodybiomassfuelsinsmallͲscalecombustionappliancesisonly
considered in the legal framework of the province of Lower Austria. Only in this region the
combustionoffuelsbasedonwood,bark,straw,cerealsandmixturesinprivatesectorsispossibleif
the pellets apply to a product standard. The threshold values are compiled according to the FAV Ͳ
(Feuerungsanlagenverordnung–combustionplantordinance).Thustwocaseshavetobeconsidered:
1) Combustioninprivatesectors:

parameter thermalinput CO OGC NOx particles

unit kW mg/MJ
woodybiomassfuels–manually 1,100 150
<400 80(50) 60
loaded (500) (300)
woodybiomassfuels– 150
<400 500 40(30) 60
automaticallyloaded (300)

Thenumbersinparenthesesindicatedifferingemissionthresholdvaluesforthecombustionofnon
woodybiomass(e.g.bark,straw)withinarangeof50–400kWaccordingtothe“§176BautechnikͲ
verordnung(1997)”ofLowerAustria.YearlymeasurementsforCOͲemissionsarerequired.
2) Combustion of standardised fuels made of other solid and herbal raw materials from
forestry and agriculture such as cereal whole plant, grasses and Miscanthus in public and
industrialsectors:

thermalinput CO OGC NOx SO21 HCl* particles

MW mg/Nm³(referenceoxygencontent11Vol.Ͳ%O2)
<0.4 800 50 500 350 30 150
502
0.4<1 50 20 500 350 30
1503
1Ͳ2 500 20 400 350 30 50
>2–10 350 20 400 350 30 20
>10 30 20 200 350 30 20
1
doesnotapplyforthecombustionofMiscanthusstandardisedfuelsmadeofothersolidandherbal
rawmaterials
2
woodybiomassfuels
3
Miscanthusstandardisedfuelsmadeofothersolidandherbalrawmaterials
Theemissionthresholdvaluesapplytocombustionofmixedbiomasspellets.Theimplementationof
morestrictemissionthresholdvaluesisnotplanned.IftheEuropeanUnionsFrameworkDirectiveon
EcoͲDesign of EnergyͲUsing Products (Directive 2009/125/EC) is coming into force most national
frameworks will be adjusted. If there are no regulations existing, legal authorities will set the
permissionandthethresholdvaluesattheirsolediscretion.


ANNEXB:DENMARK  73

ANNEXB: DENMARK
B1 BESTPRACTISEEXAMPLES
Pelletizingstraw&grainscreeningsatKøgeBiopelletFactory”


Background thatthereisnomarketpriceforstrawpellets
inDenmark.Thereisnoinformationaboutthe
Køge Biopellet Factory is a pellet producing
productioncosts.
plant built in 2004 by the utility company
Energi E2. It was built as 2 plants, one Rawmaterial
producing wood pellets with a capacity of
The raw material is straw in big bales of
180,000tons/year,theotherproducingstraw
approx. 530kg each. They are delivered by
pellets with a capacity of 110,000 tons/year.
farmers at Zealand and nearby Islands with a
Thepelletswasplannedtobeusedin2power
maximum distance of about 140 km. The toll
plants in Copenhagen: Wood pellets at
bridgestoSwedenandtoFunenarebarrierers
Avedøre power plant and straw pellets at
as the toll is at least 160 Euro for a truck
Amager power plant. It was not allowed by
making the business unprofitable for the
Copenhagen municipality to take this large
farmers. The truck takes 24 bales, 12 on the
amount of trucks daily into central
truckand12onthetrailerin2layers.
Copenhagen. Therefore Energi E2 built the
pelletplant45kilometersoutsideCopenhagen
by Køge Harbour, and the pellets are then
shipped into Copenhagen by boat. In 2006
VattenfallA/Stookoverthestrawpelletplant.
The wood pelletplant, now owned by DONG
Energy was stopped in 2007. The argument
fromDONGEnergywasthattherawmaterial
supply with round timber and wood logs
mainlyfromtheBalticareawastoounstable. 
Truckwith24baleswaitingforunloading.
Pelletizingstraw KøgeBiopillefabrik
Technologytype Ringdie
Productioncapacity,t/a 110,000
Priceofpellets,
Seebelow
€/MWh
Investment,€ Seebelow
The investment in 2004 for both the wood
pelletplant and the straw pelletplant was
50millionEuro(Source:ForskningiBioenergi, 
nr.3,2004).Thestrawpelletsarenotsoldina Theunloadingofstrawbalesfromthetruck.
commercial market, because all pellets are The 24 straw bales are unloaded by a crane
used inhouse at Vattenfall A/S. This means taking 12 bales in one lift. During the lift off


74
74 ANNEXB:DENMARK

the water content is measured by microͲ is available. Maximum ration of grain
waves and the weight is measured. Grain screeningsis20%.
screenings are also used as raw material
mixed with straw. The quality of grain
screenings differs from year to year
depending on a wet or dry harvest and
depending on the growth conditions during
thesummertime.
Characteristicsofrawmaterial
Grain
Rawmaterial Straw
screenings 
Moisturecontent,
13 10 ThepelletizinglinesatKøgeBiopillefabrik
wt.Ͳ%
Heatingvalue,
14,5 16,5
MJ/kg
Bulkdensity,
130 250
kg/m³
Ashcontent,wt.Ͳ% 5 10
Ashmeltingtem,C 870 N/A
Rawmaterial
N/A N/A
costs,€/t
1)
Quantity,t/a  800.000 30.000
1)
 StrawavailableforcombustiononZealand
 isaround800,000tons 

Pelletizingprocess Bulkstorageforstrawpelletsattheharbour

The pellet production runs 24 hours a day Producersview

reachingaround300tons/24hours.Thereare VattenfallA/Shasmorethan40CHPplantsin
4pelletlines.Theproductionconsistsof: operation, which partly or totally are fired
with biomass. Every year the biomass
x Unloadingareawithcraneforstraw
consumption exceeds 3 million tons, and the
x Shorttermstorage
amount is increasing. Vattenfall A/S is one of
x Conveyorbeltsandstrawchopper
the worlds leading companies in the energy
x Hammermillandpossibilityformixing
sector.
x Pelletiserwithringdie
x Coolingunit Contact:
x Conveyorbelttoharbour VattenfallA/S
x Bulkstorageattheharbour Støberigade14
x Largescalebulkloaderforships DK2450KøbenhavnSV
Thereisnodryingunitfortherawmaterialin Phone+4588275000
the process line. The percentage of grain 
screeningsmixedwithstrawdependsonwhat



ANNEXB:DENMARK  75

CombustionofmixedbiomassesatRandersCHP

Background consumption has dropped as low as 10% on
an energy basis and is only used during
Randers Combined Heat & Power plant was
wintertime. The ambition in Verdo A/S is a
originally commissioned in 1982 as a 100%
100%shifttorenewablefuels.
coal fired CHP plant supplying the town of
RandersinJutlandwithelectricityanddistrict
heating. The CHP plant was originally owned
by the municipality of Randers, but is today
ownedbythecompanyVerdoA/S.Thevision
for Verdo A/S is to make a profitable growth
byproducinggreenenergy.Thecompanyhas
many activities in the energy field, among
otherstwopelletproductionplantsintheUK,
in Andover in Southern England and in 
Grangemouth in Scotland. Each pellet plant ThestoragefordrybiomassatVerdoA/S
has an annual production capacity of 55,000
The logistic on the site is a daily challenge as
tonnes of wood pellets and 15,000 tonnes of
theharbourareawheretheplantislocatedis
briquettes.
quite narrow with few possibilities for
FuelsfortheCHPplant expansion.Theadvantageisthatmediumsize
ships, used in the Baltic Sea and on rivers in
Fuels2011 Tons GJ %
Woodchips 144,896 1,448,960 50.0 Germany, Poland and Russia can call directly
Wood 37,865 617,200 21.3 at the storage facilities of the plant. During
pellets hard winters the harbour is frozen giving
Dry 37,865 617,200 21.3 problemswiththelimitedstoragefacilities.It
biomass is very important to have continuous
Coal 8,583 214,575 7.4 monitoringofthedrybiomassstorage,asself
Total  2.897.935 100 ignitionhasbeendetectedsometimes.
Expected fuel consumption in 2011. Source:
VerdoA/S
The fuels are renewable fuels as wood chips,
wood pellets and dry biomass. The dry
biomassisamixofwoodpellets,sheawaste,
grain screenings, soja waste and sun flower
shells.Mostofthewoodchipsisproducedon
the site from round wood imported from the
Balticarea.Themainpartofthewoodpellets
is from Verdo’s own pellet plants in UK. The

rest of the dry biomass is traded on the ThewoodchipperatVerdoA/S
market. For 7 months in 2010 the CHP plant
was using 100% biomass. Today the coal 


76
76 ANNEXB:DENMARK

TheCHPplant
The boiler plant consists of two boilers. This
provides high operational reliability and good
opportunities to adjust the production to the
actual district heating consumption. In the
Danish context a CHP plant is a small power
plant situated at a larger district heating
network. The main priority for the energy
production is to supply the district heating 
network. The second priority is the electricity RandersCHPplantwithalotofbeltconveyors
production. The boilers were originally forfuelhandling.Theresevoironthechimney
equippedwithspreaderstokersforcoalfiring, is for the district heating system. To the left
but in 1994 a gas burner was installed for theoutdoorstorageforchalkusedinthedeͲ
landfill gas. In 2002 the plant was equipped sulphurisationproces.
with pneumatic air spouts for biomass firing. Producersview
Thecombustiontakesplaceinsuspensionand
onatravellinggrate. Verdo A/S believes in green energy produced
from carbonͲneutral fuels. The best way to
CHPplantdata  demonstrate this is to invest in biomass
Boilerpressure 111bar production and conversion. Verdo A/S is
Electricaloutput 52MWel
engagedingreensolutions,andbiomassfuels
DistrictHeatingoutput 112MJ/s
are characterized precisely by being
SuperHeater 525°C
temperature environmentallyfriendly.Thegoalistodeliver
Fluegascleaning1 El.Precipitator green energy using environmentally friendly
Fluegascleaning2 SO2reduction bioͲbasedfuels.Themaingoalistouse100%
CO2emission2005 228,400tons biomass for energy production round the
CO2emission2010 48,300tons year. In 2005 the CO2 emission from the CHP
NOxemission2010 445tons plantwas228,400tons.Thetargetfor2011is
Sulphuremission2010 8.8tons 20,600tons.
Dustemission2010 34tons
Residues.Bottomash 3,500tons Contact:
2010
VerdoA/S
Residues.Flyash2010 5,960tons
Kulholmsvej12
Residues.Gypsum2010 141tons
Source:Verdo.GreenAccounting2010 DK8930RandersNØ
Phone+4589114727
Bottom ash is used for road construction. Fly 
ash is reused. Gypsum is used as building 
materials. 







ANNEXB:DENMARK  77

Production&combustionofbiomasspelletsatVattenfallA/Sin
Denmark

Background farmers at Zealand and nearby Islands with a
maximum distance of about 140 km. The toll
Køge Biopellet Factory is a pellet producing
bridgestoSwedenandtoFunenarebarrierers
plant built in 2004 by the utility company
as the toll is at least 160 Euro for a truck,
Energi E2. It was built as 2 plants, one
making the business unprofitable for the
producing wood pellets with a capacity of
farmers. The truck takes 24 bales, 12 on the
180,000tons/year,theotherproducingstraw
truck and 12 on the trailer in 2 layers. The
pellets with a capacity of 110,000 tons/year.
second raw material is grain screenings
Thepelletswasplannedtobeusedin2power
deliveredinbulk.
plants in Copenhagen: Wood pellets at
Avedøre power plant and straw pellets at
Amager power plant. It was not allowed by
Copenhagen municipality to take this large
amount of trucks daily into central
Copenhagen. Therefore Energi E2 built the
pelletplant45kilometersoutsideCopenhagen
by Køge Harbour, and the pellets are then
shipped into Copenhagen by boat. In 2006
VattenfallA/Stookoverthestrawpelletplant.

Thewoodpelletplant,wasstoppedin2007. Truckwith24baleswaitingforunloading.
KøgeBiopellet The 24 straw bales are unloaded by a crane
Pelletizingstraw
Factory
taking 12 bales in one lift. During the lift off
Technologytype Ringdie
the water content is measured by micro
Productioncapacity,t/a 110,000
Priceofpellets,€/MWh Seebelow wavesandtheweightismeasured.
Investment,€ Seebelow Characteristicsofrawmaterial
The investment in 2004 for both the wood Grain
pelletplant and the straw pelletplant was 50 Rawmaterial Straw
screenings
million Euro (Source: Forskning i Bioenergi, Moisturecontent,
13 10
nr.3,2004).Thestrawpelletsarenotsoldina wt.Ͳ%
commercial market, because all pellets are Heatingvalue,MJ/kg 14,5 16.5
used inhouse at Vattenfall A/S. This means Bulkdensity,kg/m³ 130 250
Ashcontent,wt.Ͳ% 5 10
thatthereisnomarketpriceforstrawpellets
Ashmelting
inDenmark.Thereisnoinformationaboutthe 870 N/A
temperature,°C
productioncosts. Costofbiomass,€/t N/A N/A
1)
Rawmaterial Quantity,t/a  800,000 30,000
1)
 StrawavailableforcombustiononZealand
The raw material is straw in big bales of  isaround800,000tons
approx. 530 kg each. They are delivered by 

78
78 ANNEXB:DENMARK
Pelletizingprocess
The pellet production runs 24 hours a day
reachingaround300tons/24hours.Thereare
4 pellet lines. There is no drying unit for the
raw material in the process line. The % of
grainscreeningsmixedwithstrawdependson
what is available. Maximum ration of grain
screeningsis20%.
Transport&storage
The produced pellets are transported by a
long conveyor belt to the harbour to a bulk
storage waiting for ship transport to
AmagerværketinCopenhagen.
Bulk storage for straw pellets at the Køge
Harbour
AmagerværketinCopenhagenisaverylargePowerPlantsupportingthecitywithdistrictheatingand
electricity.Theplantisdesignedforbothcoalandbiomassandhasadvancedfluegascleaning
systems
CombustionatAmagerværket
Vattenfall A/S has in 2010 finished a larger
rebuilt of Unit 1 at Amagerværket for
combinedcoalandbiomassuse.Thecapacity
of Unit 1 is 88 MWel and 331 MJ/s district
heating. The plant has 3 boiler units and the
annually designed biomass consumption is
400,000tonswoodandstrawpellets.
Producersview
VattenfallA/Shasmorethan40CHPplantsin
operation, which partly or totally are fired
with biomass. Every year the biomass
consumption exceeds 3 million tons, and the
amount is increasing. Vattenfall A/S is one of
the worlds leading companies in the energy
sector.
Contact:
VattenfallA/S
Støberigade14
DK2450KøbenhavnSV
Phone+4588275000






ANNEXB:DENMARK  79

B2 CASESTUDIES
Case study 1 “Shea waste, rape waste, potato and beet pulp, grain
screenings”
Production: The energy utility who is the operator of the CHP plant also intends to own the
  pelletizingplant.
Customers: CHPplant(Electricaloutput:52MWel.Heatoutput:112MJ/s).

Casestudy2“Straw,grainscreenings,peanutshellsandcorncobs“
Production: Aformerwoodpelletfactorywhichisrebuild.
Customers: DistrictHeatingplantsorschoolsinthecountrysideandminorindustrieswith
  biomassboilers.Sizeofplantistypicalfrom50kWto10MW.

Theresultsofthecasestudiesareincludedinthe“CostAnalysisReport”oftheMixBioPellsproject.
Thereportisavailableattheprojectwebsite:www.mixbiopells.eu/en/publications.html.
 


80
80 ANNEXB:DENMARK

B3 NATIONALCONDITIONS
Awiderangeofrenewablesourcescanbeusedfortheenergeticutilisationincombustionsystems.
InDenmarkbiomassisdefinedaccordingtotheDanishActno.638ofJuly31997onbiomasswaste.
Anytypeofbiomassormixofbiomassthatisnotmentionedintheannextotheactisdefinedas
wasteandmustbehandledandapprovedaccordingtotheEUWasteincinerationdirectiveinterms
of temperature and retention time in an incineration plant. Furthermore, a waste tax is due. The
followingbiomassisdefinedaccordingtotheDanishActno.638of03.07.1997:

x rawwoodincl.bark,forestwoodchips,
x cleanwoodincludingshavingsandsawdust,
x woodwastefromtheproductionandtreatmentofcleanlaminatedwood,
x straw,
x kernelsandseedsfromfruitsandberries,
x fruitresidues,
x nutandseedshells
x untreatedcork,grainandseeds,cottonandflax,
x lollysticksandgreenpellets(driedgrass,cloveretc.),
x malt,thatchedroofingandtobaccowaste,
x fuelpelletsorfuelbriquettesproducedexclusivelyfromwastes.
The emission threshold values for the use of these materials in combustion plants are compiled
according to the guidelines for Air Emission Regulation No. 1, 2002 and Act no. 808 of 25.09.2003
about emission from large plants Danish Environmental Protection Agency for Biomasses and the
DanishActno.638of03.07.1997:
Parameter Thermalinput/ Reference CO OGC NOx SO2 Particles
thermaloutput oxygen
contentO2
Unit MW % mg/Nm3
Value 0.12Ͳ1.0 10 500 Ͳ Ͳ Ͳ 300
1.0Ͳ50 10 625 Ͳ 300 Ͳ 40
>501) 6 Ͳ Ͳ 300 200 30
>502) 6 Ͳ Ͳ 600 400 100
1)
Newplant
2)
Oldplant

Theemissionthresholdvaluesapplytocombustionofmixedbiomasspellets.Theimplementationof
morestrictemissionthresholdvaluesisnotplanned.IftheEuropeanUnionsFrameworkDirectiveon
EcoͲDesign of EnergyͲUsing Products (Directive 2009/125/EC) is coming into force most national
frameworks will be adjusted. If there are no regulations existing, legal authorities will set the
permissionandthethresholdvaluesattheirsolediscretion.


ANNEXC:FINLAND  81

ANNEXC: FINLAND
C1 BESTPRACTISEEXAMPLES
PelletizingofstrawandgrassatBiobotniaOy

Background content is about 10 – 15%. After one year’s
poorstorageconditionsthemoisture content
Biobotnia Oy is a company in Jalasjävi,
ofbalescanbeupto40%.Reedcanarygrass
foundedin2009.Thecompanyhasspecialised
is usually baled with baling machines of the
toproductionofrenewableenergy.Company
farm and stored in well covered stockpiles. A
has a mobile pelletizing unit, by witch it is
stockpile is situated on terrain and a truck
possibletogrindandpelletisefibrous grasses
transports the bales to the market. RCG is a
andstraw,e.g.strawsoflocalgrainsandreed
plant which can grow in same, modest place
canary grass. The unit can be reserved for
for several years. Price of the reed canary
pelletizing of larger storages of bales, in the
crass, excluding the transport costs, is about
minimum 100 bales. The mobile machine can
35€/t.
crushacompletebalewithoutanypreliminary
preparations, i.e. complete bales can be fed Characteristicsoftheusedrawmaterial.
into the crusher as such.Advances of straw
Grass Straw
pelleting are that raw material can be RawͲmaterial
(RCG) (ave.)
densified to 6 – 8 times smaller space. The Moisturecontent,% 10Ͳ35 10Ͳ25
heating value of the straw pellets is same as Heatingvalue,
17.6 17
that of wood pellets, and it is real renewable MJ/kg
energy! Straw pellets can be combusted with Bulkdensity,m3/kg 90Ͳ140 80Ͳ150
stoker burners or in fireplaces with so called Ashcontent,% 5Ͳ6 4.5–6.9
“pelletbasket”. Ashmelting 1,175Ͳ
1,125
temperature,C 1400
Rawmaterial Rawmaterialcosts,
30Ͳ50 0Ͳ30
€/t
There are several possible raw materials for
Quantityinthearea,
fuels in the area; wood, peat, straw, reed 14,000 8,000
t/a
canarygrassandevenmixturesofthem.Yield
Pelletizingprocess
ofstrawisabout4–7t/ha.Intheareathere
is plenty of fields. Density of round bales is The pelletizing process of Biobotnia Oy is
about110kg/m3andtheyweight150–300kg mobile. Complete straw or read canary grass
depending mostly on the moisture. Moisture bales are fed into the hammer mill of the
content should be under 20%. There are also machine. Hammer mill grinds the straws and
bigger bales, the density of which is little thegrindedmaterialgoesthroughascreenof
higher. The pellets are made of reed canary Ø18mm.Screenisrathercoarse,butitworks
grass, easily obtainable at the area. The fine,ifthemoistureofbalesisunder20%.Belt
potassium(K)andchlorine(Cl)contentsofthe conveyerfeedsamixingbinandafterthatthe
plants diminish because these chemicals are raw material goes to the press. The model of
water soluble and the reed canary grass will thepressisCPMandtypeofthedieisaring
beharvestedinspring.Inspringthemoisture


82
82 ANNEXC:FINLAND

die.Atthemomenttheproducerhasringdies
of60/6and60/8mm.

Pelletsfromstrawandpeatmixture.
ThemodelofthepressisCPMandtypeofthe
dieisaringdie.Atthemomenttheproducer
has ring dies of 60/6 and 60/8 mm. It is easy
to pelletise reed canary grass with the die of
60/6 mm. Die 60/8 is little “loose” for straw
pellets.Strawpelletsincludesmallamountof
caoline for better heating results. Machine
produces 1.2 – 2 t/h with different raw
materials and dies. Pellets are cooled on belt
conveyers.Inthesystemthereisabinof9m3,
where pellets will gather. The bin has to be
emptiedeverytimeitbecomesfull.
Dataofpelletizing
Mobileunit,
Technologytype
ringdie
Productioncapacity,t/a 3,000
Priceofpellets,€/MWh
35
(incl.VAT)
Producersview
BiobotniaOyhasparticipatedtoMixBioPells–
project as a test pelletiser. It was made two
kindsmixesstraw/peatandwood/reedcanary
grass. A little difficulty was that the batches
have to weight and mixed on the ground. In
palletising of the straw/peat (50/50%) –mix
there were no difficulties with the former
8/60 mm die. The tests of wood/RCG were
donewiththedieof6/60mm.Ineverydaylife
BiobotniaOypelletisesbatchesof100balesof
straw and reed canary grass to local farmers.
AfarmercallstoBiobotniaOyforpelletizingof
bales, which adds the order to the next
working period of the pelletiser. The costs of
the pelletizer vary. The contractor gets his
salary per cubic meter of straw material
pelletized.Insomecases,especiallywithreed
canarygrass,pelletsaresoldthepriceofday.
A100%readcrasspelletsareusedaslitterfor
horsessothisisalsoonepartofthebusiness.
There is also a contract between local heat
producerJalasjärvenLämpöOyandBiobotnia
Oy to produce agripellets for district heating.
For pelleting it is needed more suitable dies
for different raw materials. For a small
entrepreneur the purchase of dies is
expensive.Alsotheremightbeabiggercooler
inthefuture
Contact
BiobotniaOy,HarriHonkavaara
tel:+358405410802
fax:+35864572160
http://louhetar.fi/biobotnia

 
Themobilepelletizingprocess:Thecompletebalecanbeputtohammermill.Thepressisaringdieof
CPM.

CombustionofmixedpelletsatAritermOy

Background
Ariterm Oy develops, produces and markets
heating technology for renewable fuels like
pellets, wood chips and firewood. Ariterm Oy
has a tradition of hundred years to create
environmentally sound, effective and reliable
solutionsforheatingsystems.
AritermOyisaleadingproducerofbioheating
systems in Scandinavia, The head office and
plant is at Saarijärvi in CentralͲFinland. Main
marketsareinNordiccountries.

AviewoftheboilerproductionatSaarijärvi
plant(AritermOy).
Boilersandburners
Theproductioniscertifiedinaccordancewith
ISO 9001 and 14001 and quality assured in
accordance with the highest category of the
EU Pressure vessel directive (PED). In all
Arimax and Ariterm –boilers is the maximum
operating temperature 120°C and the
certificate of the pressure device given by
INS00Ͳ20. The products of Ariterm Oy are on
theinternetpagewww.ariterm.fi/en.
Burnersoftheexperiments
Heating experiments of straw/peat (50/50)
and reed canary grass/wood pellets were
done with two pelletburner; BeQuem pellet
ANNEXC:FINLAND  83
burner and the new Aritermin MultiJetͲ
bioburner.
BeQuem Ͳburner has a grate which is fed
underneath. During every operating cycle, a
smallamountofpellets(150g)isfedfromthe
pelletstorageviatheexternalfeedingsystem
to the upper connection of the burner. The
dosing is carried out by means of a separate
dosing auger via the blocking feeder and
burner auger to the combustion head. The
safety zone is always remains intact even in
the event of failure. Wood pellets burner is
effectiveandburningiseven,theefficiencyis
good, bullet proof solution, little ash, little
cleaning.

MultiJet–movinggrateburner(AritermOy).
The second burner in the experiments was
MultiJet60kW.Theburnerisabletousewood
chipofvaryingquality,woodandpeatpellets,
peat and various field fuels. The grate of the
burner(40–1,500kW)isfullymobileandthis
enables the fuel to mix efficiently on its
surface.Thegrate’smobilityimprovesmoving
the ash from the burning head to the ash
compartment,whichisusefulwhenusingfuel
that produces a lot of ash. The grate runs by
spindlemotoror,inthecaseoflargerburners,
hydraulics.ThefuelisfedusingatwoͲscrewed


84
84 ANNEXC:FINLAND

feeding system that is essential to the
structuralfiresafetyoftheequipment.
Resultsofexperiments
First experiments of the straw/peat (50/50) –
pellets were done with a BeQuem bowl
burner of 40kW. Two efforts were done at
nominal affectivity, but the bowl fulfilled and
chokedrapidly.Probablyitwaslackofprimer
air. In a small efficiency the bowl burner
worked acceptably but fouled little by little.
Burning values were low and the carbon
monoxide was high. The air holes of burning
began to block and the conclusion was, that
thistypeburnerisnotsuitableforstraw/peat
–pellets. Results were equal also in reed
Experiments were repeated 60 kW MultiJet –
burner, but now there was not kaolin as the
additive of the peat/straw –pellets.
Experimentsweredoneequalwayasprevious
experiments. Sintering was become some
amount, when the burner was flaked out.
During burning it was created little more slag
thaninthepreviousexperiment,inwhichthe
pellets included kaolin. Moving grate took
awaythebecomingslag.Burningvalueswere
still well e.g. CO was about 100 – 200 ppm.
Pelletswerelittlesofterthanpelletsincluding
kaolin.
16.0
14.0
12.0

canarygrass/woodexperiments. 10.0

Results from combustion experiences with 8.0

6.0
60kWburner.
4.0
% O2
Straw/peat 2.0 % CO2
Straw/peat
Pellets without 0.0
kaolin 11:02:24 11:31:12 12:00:00 12:28:48 12:57:36
kaolin 
15–50, 100Ͳ200, 60kW’sburner,straw/peat–mix(50/50%)
COͲcontent,
peaks100Ͳ peaks withkaolin.
ppm
200 1,000
CO2,% 10Ͳ14 12Ͳ15 Also experiments with mix of wood and reed
O2,% 7–10.5 5Ͳ10 canary grass will be done with MultiJet
Straw/peat–pellets,whichincludedkaolin(2Ͳ burner.
3 %), was tested a MultiJet burner of 60 kW. Conclusion
Experiment was driven in nominal efficiency
Itwasusedpeat/straw–pelletsabout1,500kg
and the burner behaved like peat heating.
in the experiments. Ash became clearly more
Sintering was become some amount, when
than wood pellets, but as much as peatͲ
theburnerwasflakedout.Duringtheburning
pellets. In practice the pellets which included
there were not notable amount of slag and
kaolin were clearly better fuel than pure
themovinggrateejectedthesmallamountof
peat/straw–mix.Theexperimentalpelletsare
slag from the grate. Generated slag was light
notsuitablesocalledfixedgrateburners.
andrathereasytobrake.Burningvalueswere
outstanding,COabout15–50ppm.Thetime 
of the experiment was 5 hours and it was 
repeatedthreetimes.







ANNEXC:FINLAND  85

C2 CASESTUDIES
Casestudy1“Reedcanarygrassfromlocalfarmers”
Production: Thepelletizingcompanyownsamobilepelletmachinewithringdietechnology.
Customers: Thecustomersareusuallylocalfarmerswithboilersfrom100upto500kW.

Casestudy2“Reedcanarygrassmixedwithwood(20/80)“
Production: The pelletizing company sells wood and mixed briquettes in big bags or loose (ring
  dietechnology).
Customers: Main customers are the farmers of the region and the local district heating plants
  (from200to2000kWboilers)

Theresultsofthecasestudiesareincludedinthe“CostAnalysisReport”oftheMixBioPellsproject.
Thereportisavailableattheprojectwebsite:www.mixbiopells.eu/en/publications.html.
 


86
86 ANNEXC:FINLAND

C3 NATIONALCONDITIONS
In Finland there is no general guideline for licensed fuels. Common solid biofuels are wood logs,
wood chips and wood pellets. Non woody biomass is not mentioned and must be handled
individually by the authority as a “special fuel”. Some farmers use energy grain (barley, oat, rye,
wheat) and other herbaceous biomass as fuel. Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea) has been
grown in Finland for several years and it is used as a supplementary fuel in about 20 power and
heating plants. It has also been used as mixture with other solid biomass for pellet production.
Additionally,peatpelletsareusedtosomeextent.
In Finland no general emission regulations for the use of these raw materials in small scale
combustionsystemsareexist.However,emissionthresholdvaluesforindigenousfuels(wood,wood
waste, peat, straw) are only valid for boilers with a thermal output > 1 MW. If there are no
regulations existing, legal authorities will set the permission and the emission threshold values at
theirsolediscretion.

parameter thermaloutput NOx SO2 particles

unit MW mg/MJ

1–5 Ͳ Ͳ 200
5Ͳ50 Ͳ Ͳ 85Ͳ4/3(PͲ5)1)
2002)
value 50–100 400 50
4003)
100–300 300 200 30
>300 150 200 30
1) 
Forgratecombustionlimitis200mg/MJinpowerrangeof1–10MW
2)
Biomass
3)
Peat

The emission threshold values apply also to combustion of mixed biomass pellets. The
implementation of more strict emission threshold values is not planned. If the European Union’s
FrameworkDirectiveonEcoͲDesignofEnergyͲUsingProducts(Directive2009/125/EC)iscominginto
forcetheFinnishlegalframeworkwillbeadjusted.


ANNEXD:GERMANY  87

ANNEXD: GERMANY
D1 BESTPRACTISEEXAMPLES
PelletizingofmixedbiomasspelletsatPuschAG

Background biomasspelletscanbedonewithoutchanging
the press die. Due to these advantages the
The PUSCH AG provides a comprehensive
Pusch AG has developed and manufactured
concept for the decentralized production of
the pelletizing plant PM 6Ͳ28 with a
mixed biomass pellets from agricultural and
production capacity of 1,000kg/h. The
woody raw materials. Based on the license
modular design provides an increase of the
concept “agrarSTICK®” different license
production capacity to a maximum of
holders are producing and marketing
4,000kg/h.
alternative pellets based on specific recipes.
Therefore these partners are provided with
complete production, sales and logistics
supportbasedonavirtualtradingplatformfor
all internal and external business activities.
Based on the „produced in and for the
region“Ͳphilosophy, the agrarSTICK® will be
distributedintherespectiveregion.
Rawmaterial
In general mixtures from herbaceous, fruity
and woody biomass have been pelletised so
far. Since kind and potential of the available 
raw materials differ significantly between the PelletizingplantPM6Ͳ28
regions, a suitable combination of different
Thebenefitsofthetechnologyare:
raw materials and additives has to be
developed.Duetothefactthatthepelletizing x UserͲdefinedpelletsfromamixtureof
plant PM 6Ͳ28 has low requirements on rawmaterialscanbeproduced.
mechanical properties and water content x Rawmaterialswithresidualmoisture
usually no preͲtreatment of the raw material upto30w.Ͳ%canbeused.
is necessary. To ensure a transparent x No additional grinding (e.g. hammer
communicationwiththecustomersafueldata mill) or preͲtreatment processes are
sheet will be provided from the production necessary for raw materials with a
partner. lengthupto5cm.
x The production energy is reduced by
Pelletizingprocess
anefficientplanttechnology.
Incontrasttopelletizingprocesseswithroller x Rotatingpartsarenotinstalledindirty
diesahydraulicpressofferslessworkandcost partsofthepelletizingplant.
intensive pretreatment of the raw materials.
Therefore, the production of different mixed


88
88 ANNEXD:GERMANY

Two different products are offered by PUSCH Producersview

AGͲtheagrarSTICK®blackfortheutilisationin
To establish the production of alternative
public and small industrial combustion plants
(mixed) biomass pellets in several regions in
above 100kW and the agrarSTICK® yellow for
Germany and Europe the marketing of the
small combustion plants. In the region of
pelletpressesisofgreatrelevance.Important
RhinelandͲPalatinate pellets produced from
aspects for enhancing regional pellet markets
Miscanthus and grape marc have a high
are:
potential.
x Therequirementsofthetargetgroups
regarding the optimal (regional)
mixtureareoftenunknown.
x The technical knowͲhow of the key
actors for production of alternative
  (mixed)biomasspelletsistooless.
Miscanthuspellets(left)andpelletsmade x Regional market structures do mostly
from2/3Miscanthus,1/3Grapemarc(right). notexist.
Themeanvaluesofthesepelletsarelistedin DuetotheseaspectstheagrarSTICK®concept
thefollowingtable: will provide the partners with knowͲhow of
2/3 theproductionofalternative(mixed)biomass
Miscanthus pelletsandsupportforthemarketingoftheir
Rawmaterial Miscanthus
and1/3 products.
grapemarc
By 2020 a production of 1,000,000 t/a
Moisture
6.0 4.0 alternative(mixed)biomasspelletswithabout
content,wt.Ͳ%
Heatingvalue, 60 to 90 partners is planned by building up a
MJ/kg(dry 18.557 17.754 decentralized production network which will
basis) becoordinatedbyPuschAG.
Bulkdensity,
676 645 Contact
m3/kg
Ashcontent,
wt.Ͳ%(dry 3.77 2.34 
basis)
Costofraw AufderWeid1–15
50.00 80.00 56242Marienrachdorf
material,€/t
Rangeforprice Phone:+49(0)2626/92569Ͳ0
ofpellets,€/t 100Ͳ130 130Ͳ160 Fax: +49(0)2626/92569Ͳ27
(incl.VAT) www.pusch.agͼwww.agrarstick.de
Rawmaterial info@pusch.agͼinfo@agrarstick.de
potentialinthe 4,500 2,500
area,t/a 

 

 


ANNEXD:GERMANY  89

Combustion of grape marc pellets in small and medium scale
combustionsystems

Background No.1 (1stBImschV) is needed. The recently
amended1stBImschVcoverstheconstruction,
In Germany, the total energetic potential of
quality and operation of small scale
residuesfromthevinicultureisapprox.4.9PJ
combustion systems up to 100kW which do
includingapprox.265,000t/agrapemarcand
not require any approval. Larger installations
318,000 t/a vine wood. This means an oil
(up to 50MW) are subject to licensing and
equivalent of approx. 135 million litres and
emission threshold values according to the
CO2 savings of 354,000 t/a. In terms of
“TechnicalInstructionsonAirQualityControl”
recycling management, a marketable product
(TALuft). In combustion plants without
should be created to improve the economic
permission(accordingto1stBImSchV)licensed
status and to offer new job opportunities in
fuels are “straw, whole plants (also pellets),
rural areas. Based on these political and
grains (also pellets), energy grain processing
economic objectives, RLP AgroScience GmbH
residues, husks, culms residues and similar
is developing and realising new processes for
herbaceous biomass substances (like
the energetic use of solid wastes, residues
Miscanthus or hay)” or “other renewable
from viticulture and vegetable gardening to
sources”.
establishapracticalrecoverystrategyinterms
of circular flow economy. The European Table1:Thresholdvalues
patentEP1783195B1(Processformakingfuel
1st
fromgrapemarc,particularlyinpelletform)is
Parameter Units BImSchV TALuft
heldbyRLPAgroScienceGmbH. (1ststep)
Nominal
>100–
heat kW ш4–<100
<1000**
output
Reference
oxygen Vol.Ͳ% 13 11
content
dust 100 50
*
CO 1000(250 ) 250
 NOx mg/m³ 600  *
500
Figure1:Grapemarcresidues
SO2 Ͳ 350
Legalframework HCl Ͳ 30
The revision of the German "Renewable Dioxine
ng/m³ 0.1* 0.1
energy act" and the market support program /Furanes
*
forrenewableenergyprovidesachallengefor Thresholdvaluefortypetests
**
theuseofrenewableenergyinruralareas.In basedonthermalinput
Germanyitisnecessarytodistinguishwhether According to 4th BImSchV no fuels are
a permission according to Federal Immission specified,onlyagroupNo.1.3“othersolidor
Control Regulation No.4 (4thBImSchV) or liquid fuels than coal, natural gas, heating oil


90
90 ANNEXD:GERMANY

(…)” is named. The requirements of both The grape marc pellets revealed good
controlregulationsarelistenedinTable1. combustion behaviour which, however,
caused some high gaseous emissions. In this
Combustionofgrapemarcpellets
context, the total COͲemissions are valid to
Grape marc is a manifold structured, insufficient air supply or rather insufficient
heterogeneous mixture which generally control characteristics of the combustion
consists of approximately 40% solid system.
components such as grape skins, kernels and
peduncles. The amount, consistency and
quality depend on the preͲtreatment of the
grape and mash, the type of grape, the
weather and stage of maturity as well as
putrescence. Grape marc pellets and blends 
withvinewoodcanfulfilltherequirementsof Figure2:Combustionofgrapemarc
the draft of the European standard for solid However, there may be problems in the
biofuels(EN14961Ͳ6).Thequalityparameters combustion as well as increasing NOxͲ and
of pellets from grape marc and mixture with SO2Ͳemissions as a result of increased
vine wood (ratio: 70/30Vol.Ͳ%) are listed in contents of nitrogen and sulphur. An
Table2. advantage is a low proportion of chlorine
Table2:Qualityparametersofthepellets whichleadstolowformationofHClͲemissions
grape andcorrosion,seeTable3.
parameter units blend
marc
Table3:Resultsofcombustiontestswith
Moisture
w.Ͳ% 10Ͳ13 10Ͳ12 pellets(n.m.:notmeasured)
content
MJ/kg parameter units grapemarc blend
Netcalorific
(dry 19.8 19.0 CO 3,174 ~800
value mg/Nm
basis) NOx 868 352
³
Ashmelting SO2 39 n.m.
°C 910 900 (13
temperature n.m.
HCl Vol.Ͳ% 0.4
Ashcontent 6.5 5.6
dust O2) 214 n.m.
N w.Ͳ%(dry 1.89 1.70
basis) Slagging tendencies have slightly been
S 0.12 0.14
Cl 0.004 <0.005 occurred during the combustion process but


had no negative impact on the bottom ash

First combustion tests with a small scale
removal. Although, the dust emissions are
underfeed burner has shown a good
high but can be kept with secondary
applicabilityfortheutilisationasasolidfuel.
measures.Additionally,blendswithvinewood
 can improve the fuel properties and
combustioncharacteristics.










ANNEXD:GERMANY  91

Operatorsview addition to an existing 920kW wood chip

boilerforspaceheatingpurposes.
Due to the fact that the licencing of the
combustion systems is difficult a The objective is to implement a marketable
demonstrationofthe technicalandeconomic product in a mediumͲterm period which
feasibility for the combustion of blended strengthens a sustainable recycling
grape marc pellets has been started in managementandruraleconomics.
March2011.
Contact


RLPAgroScienceGmbH
Breitenweg71
DͲ67435Neustadta.d.Weinstraße
 
Figure3:DemonstrationplantatAgroScience Phone: +49(0)6321671Ͳ429
Fax: +49(0)6321671Ͳ424
Therefore, a HARGASSNER AGROFIRE 30 will www.ifa.agroscience.de
providedomestichotwaterduringsummerin
 


92
92 ANNEXD:GERMANY

Production and combustion of mixed biomass pellets at Pusch AG
withinthe“agrarSTICK®”concept

Background requirements on mechanical properties and
watercontentusuallynopreͲtreatmentofthe
The PUSCH AG provides a comprehensive
raw material is necessary. To ensure a
concept for the decentralized production of
transparent communication with the
mixed biomass pellets from agricultural and
customers a fuel data sheet will be provided
woody raw materials. Based on the licensed
fromtheproductionpartner.
concept “agrarSTICK®” different license
holders are producing and marketing Pelletizingprocess
alternative pellets based on specific recipes.
Incontrasttopelletizingprocesseswithroller
Thus, these partners are provided with
diesahydraulicpressofferslessworkandcost
complete production, combustion, sales and
intensive pretreatment of the raw materials.
logistics support based on a virtual trading
Therefore, the production of different mixed
platformforallinternalandexternalbusiness
biomasspelletscanbedonewithoutchanging
activities.
Pelletizing the press die. The Pusch AG has developed
 technology and manufactured the pelletizing plant
Marketing Fuel PM6Ͳ28 applying the hydraulic press concept

and a production capacity of 1,000kg/h. The
 modular design allows an increase of the
 production capacity to a maximum of
4,000kg/h.



 Quality Combustion
 assurance technology

Based on the „produced in and for the

region“Ͳphilosophy, the agrarSTICK® will be

distributedintherespectiveregion. PelletizingplantPM6Ͳ28
Rawmaterials Thebenefitsofthetechnologyare:
So far, mixtures from herbaceous and woody
x UserͲdefinedpelletsfromamixtureof
biomass as well as fruit residues have been
rawmaterialscanbeproduced.
pelletised. Since characteristics and potential
x Rawmaterialswithresidualmoisture
of the available raw materials differ
upto30wt.Ͳ%canbeused.
significantly between the regions, a suitable
x No additional grinding (e.g. hammer
combination of different raw materials and
mill) or preͲtreatment processes are
additiveshastobedeveloped.Duetothefact
that the pelletizing plant PM 6Ͳ28 has low


ANNEXD:GERMANY  93

necessary for raw materials with a
lengthupto5cm.
x The production energy is reduced by
anefficientplanttechnology.
x Rotatingpartsarenotinstalledindirty
partsofthepelletizingplant.
Two different products are offered by PUSCH
AGͲtheagrarSTICK®blackfortheutilisationin
public and small industrial combustion plants
above 100kW and the agrarSTICK® yellow for
smallcombustionplants.
Different combustion plants and precipitator
technologiesareavailableatPuschAGtotest
andoptimisethefuelpelletsproducedwithin
the “agrarSTICK®” concept. Depending on the
origin of the raw materials, the critical
parameters of the fuel are often high
nitrogen, chlorine and sulphur contents
causing higher gaseous emissions of NOx, SO2
and HCl. Furthermore, higher contents of
alkaline metals such as K and Na can cause
increased dust emissions which can be
lowered by the use of electrostatic
precipitators.Therefore,fueloptimisationand
an adapted combustion technology are
required which is offered by Pusch AG within
the“agrarSTICK®”concept.

Miscanthuspellets
Atthemomentdigestates,Miscanthus,grape
marc and wood are the most interesting raw
materials.Thefuelcharacteristicsarelistedin
thefollowingTable:   
Combustion appliance PH 47 (left, www.phͲ
Parameter Units M GM D energy.dk) and dust precipitator Schräder Al
Diameter mm 20 21 21 Top(right,www.schraeder.com)
Moisture
wt.Ͳ% 3.23 9.78 11.3 In the following Table, results from the
content
Netcalorific MJ/kg combustiontestswithseveralfuelpelletsina
17.34 20.78 17.6
value (d.b.) combustionapplianceofPH,TypePH47witha
Ashmelting nominal heat output of 47kW and a
temperatur °C n.a. n.a. n.a. precipitator of Schräder, Type Al Top are
e
listed:
Ashcontent 2.66 7.86 11.3
N 0.31 3.2 1.7 Typicalcombustioncharacteristics
S 0.04 0.16 0.36
M+ D+
Cl wt.Ͳ% 0.05 0.004 0.34 ParaͲ
Units M 70% D 50%
K (d.b.) 0.47 2.78 1.59 meter
GM W
Na 0.02 0.01 0.01
Ca 0.14 0.83 1.08 CO 15 234 124 70
mg/Nm³
Si 1.0 0.28 1.25 NOx 247 556 651 443
(13Vol.Ͳ
M – Miscanthus, GM – Grape marc, D – HCl %O2) 0.5 1.1 73 23
Digestates,W–Wood,d.b.–drybasis,n.a.– dust 6.3 277 54 18
notanalysed M – Miscanthus, GM – Grape marc, D –
Digestates,n.m.–notmeasured,W–Wood


94
94 ANNEXD:GERMANY

Customers x The requirements of the target groups

Customers are both the license holders and regarding the optimal (regional) mixture
operators of small and medium scale areoftenunknown.
combustion plants. Based on the license x ThetechnicalknowͲhowofthekeyactors
concept “agrarSTICK®” different license for production of alternative and mixed
holders are producing and marketing biomasspelletsistooless.
alternative pellets based on specific recipes. x So far, regional market structures do
Based on the „produced in and for the mostlynotexist.
region“Ͳphilosophy, the agrarSTICK® will be By 2020 a production of 1,000,000 t/a
distributedintherespectiveregion. alternativeandmixedbiomasspelletswith60
Challengesforthefuture to 90 partners is planned by building up a
decentralized production network which will
Toestablishtheproductionofalternativeand becoordinatedbyPuschAG.
mixed biomass pellets in several regions in
Germany and Europe the marketing of the Contact
pelletpressesisofgreatrelevance.Important
aspects for hindering an enhanced market 
relevance of regional mixed biomass pellets
AufderWeid1–15
are:
56242Marienrachdorf
 Phone:+49(0)2626/92569Ͳ0
Fax: +49(0)2626/92569Ͳ27

www.pusch.agͼwww.agrarstick.de
 info@pusch.agͼinfo@agrarstick.de
 
 


 

Production and combustion of grape marc pellets and blends with
vinepruninginsmallscaleappliances

Background
In Germany, the total energetic potential of
residuesfromthevinicultureisapprox.4.9PJ
includingapprox.265,000t/agrapemarcand
318,000 t/a vine pruning. This means an oil
equivalent of approx. 135 million litres and
CO2 savings of 354,000 t/a. In terms of
recycling management, a marketable product
should be created to improve the economic
status and to offer new job opportunities in
rural areas. Based on these political and
economic objectives, RLP AgroScience GmbH
is developing and realising new processes for
the energetic use of solid wastes, residues
from viniculture and vegetable gardening
contributing to a circular flow economy. The
European patent EP 1783195B1 (Process for
making fuel from grape marc, particularly in
pelletform)isheldbyAgroScienceGmbH.
 CLM200andsomegrapeseedoilas
Figure1:Grapemarcresidues(above)and
pelletsmadeof70%grapemarc/30%vine
pruningpellets(bottom)


ANNEXD:GERMANY  95
Productionofgrapemarcpellets
Vinicultureproducesonaverage2.5tofgrape
marc with a dry matter content of approx.
41%and3tofvinepruningwithadrymatter
content of 50%. Grape marc is a
heterogeneous mixture which generally
consists of solid components such as grape
skins, kernels and peduncles. The amount,
consistency and quality depend on the preͲ
treatmentofthegrapeandmash,thetypeof
grape, the weather and stage of maturity as
well as putrescence. Utilisation of residues
fromvinicultureasfertilisertocoverlossesin
humus soil is possible only to limited extend.
Themainreasonsaretheseasionalandshort
availability and the increased risk of further
fermentation,rotandtherelatedformationof
odour, seepage water and mycotoxins
resulting from composting. Thus, excess
amounts of these raw materials are available
and can be pelletised for energy production
runningthroughthefollowingsteps:
x Cleaningandstorageofthegrapemarc.
x Dryingofthecleanedgrapemarcby
usingmechanicaldrainageandthermal
drying.
x Crushingofthedriedgrapemarcwith
mechanicalreleaseofthegrapeseedoil
containedinthegrapeseeds.
x Pelletizingofthecrushedgrapemarcby
usingaringdiepressofFriedliAG,type
additivetoimprovethepelletizing
characteristics.


96
96 ANNEXD:GERMANY

and facilitate the licensing of the fuel.

Therefore, a HARGASSNER AGROFIRE with a
nominal heat capacity of 30kW will provide
domestichotwaterduringsummerinaddition
to an existing 920 kW wood chip boiler for
heating.


Figure2:PelletizingplantofFriedliAG,type
CLM200
Grape marc pellets and blends with vine
pruning can fulfill the requirements of the
 
draft of the European standard for solid
Figure3:HargassnerAgrofire30
biofuels(EN14961Ͳ6).Thequalityparameters
(www.hargassner.at)
ofpelletsfromgrapemarcandmixtureswith
vinepruning(ratio:70/30Vol.Ͳ%)arelistedin First combustion tests have confirmed the
thefollowingTable: usability as solid fuel. The grape marc pellets
exhibtedagoodcombustionbehaviour.
Typicalfuelpropertiesofgrapemarcpellets
Grape
Parameter Unit Blend
marc
Diameter mm 6 6
Mechanical
wt.Ͳ% 92Ͳ95 94Ͳ98
durability
Amountof  
wt.Ͳ% 5Ͳ8 2Ͳ6 Figure4:DemonstrationplantatAgroScience
fines
Bulkdensity kg/m³ 650 630 An advantage is the low proportion of
Moisture chlorine, which can lead to low formation of
wt.Ͳ% 10Ͳ13 10Ͳ12
content
HClͲemissions and corrosion. However, there
MJ/kg
Netcalorific may be problems by increased NOxͲ and SO2Ͳ
(dry 19.8 19.0
value emissionsasaresultofincreasedcontentsof
basis)
Ashmelting nitrogen and sulphur in the fuel. Though the
°C 910 900
temperature nitrogen content in the fuel is rather high
Ashcontent 6.5 5.6 preliminary combustion tests resulted in
wt.Ͳ%
N 1.89 1.70 comparatively low NOx emissions (see the
(dry
S 0.12 0.14 followingTable):
basis)
Cl 0.004 <0.005
Grape Blend
CombustionatAgroscience Parameter Unit
marc
A demonstration of the technical and CO mg/Nm³ 2,735 825
economic feasibility for the combustion of (13Vol.Ͳ%
NOx 130 240
O2)
blended grape marc pellets has been started
in March 2011 to guarantee the applicability


ANNEXD:GERMANY  97

Minor slagging tendencies have been Challengesforthefuture

observed.However,theimpactonthebottom
Themajorchallengesforthefutureare:
ash removal was negligible. Although dust
emission is high, it might be reduced with x Theimplementationofamarketable
secondarymeasures.Additionally,blendswith productinamediumͲtermperiodto
vine prunings can improve the fuel strengthensustainablerecycling
characteristicsandcombustionbehaviour. managementandruraleconomics.
x Theestablishmentofalocallylicensed
Costs
fuelincombustionplantsaccordingto1st
It is planned to provide local farmers of BImSchV.
RhinelandͲPalatinate with the fuel pellets. x Adaptionofcombustionappliancesfor
Additionally, small district heating plants or thehandlingofashrichfuels.
public buildings such as schools can be
Contact
supplied.Therawmaterialcostsareabout45
€/t including storage, transport and drying.
The pellet price is about 180 to 200 €/t by

using a pelletizing plant with a capacity of 1
t/handaproductionof3,000t/year.Basedon RLPAgroScienceGmbH
a service life of 12 years and an operation Breitenweg71
DͲ67435NeustadtanderWeinstraße
period of 3,600 hours/year the costs for the
Phone: +49(0)6321671Ͳ429
30kWboilerare: Fax: +49(0)6321671Ͳ424
TotalInvestmentcosts[€] 50,000 www.ifa.agroscience.de
Totalcapitalconsumptions 
4,167
[€/a]
Totalrunningcosts[€/a] 9,420 
Totalannualcost[€/a] 13,587 
Totalcostsoverservicelife[€] 163,050


 


98
98 ANNEXD:GERMANY

D2 CASESTUDIES
Casestudy1“Grapemarc”
Production: Thepelletizingcompanyownsapelletizingplantwithamodulardesign.
Customers: Smallscaleheatplantsuptolargescaleplants.

Casestudy2“Drieddigestate“
Production: Thepelletizingcompanyownsapelletizingplantwithamodulardesign.
Customers: Thesepelletsshouldbeusedforthecombustioninapowerrangeof300kW.

Theresultsofthecasestudiesareincludedinthe“CostAnalysisReport”oftheMixBioPellsproject.
Thereportisavailableattheprojectwebsite:www.mixbiopells.eu/en/publications.html.
 


ANNEXD:GERMANY  99

D3 NATIONALCONDITIONS
The definition of biogenic raw material is included in Ordinance on Generation of Electricity from
Biomass (Biomass Ordinance – BiomasseV). Biomass within the meaning of this Ordinance shall be
taken to mean fuels made of phytomass and zoomass. Thisl also includes products, byͲproducts,
residuesandwastefromphytomassandzoomasswhoseenergycontentcomesfromphytomassand
zoomass. Biomass within the meaning of the ordinance includes the following raw materials in
particular:

x plantsandpartsofplants,
x fuelsmadefromplantsorpartsofplantswhosecomponentsandintermediateproducts
haveallbeenproducedfrombiomass,
x wasteandbyͲproductsofplantandanimaloriginfromagriculture,forestryand
commercialfishproduction,
x biologicalwastewithinthemeaningofArt.2No.1oftheBiologicalWasteOrdinance
(Bioabfallverordnung),
x wastewood,comprisingusedwood(usedproductsmadefromwood,woodmaterials
andcompositeswithaproportionallyhighwoodcontent)orindustrialwastewood
(wastewoodfromwoodworkingandwoodprocessingoperationsandwastewoodfrom
operationsinthewoodmaterialsindustry)whichisconsideredwaste.
ThefollowingrawmaterialsarenotconsideredbiomasswithinthemeaningofthisOrdinance:

x fossilfuelsandproductsandbyͲproductsmadefromthem,
x peat,
x mixedmunicipalsolidwastefromprivatehouseholdsandsimilarwastefromother
sourceareas,
x wastewood:
o thatcontainsmorethan0.005%byweightofpolychlorinatedbiphenyls(PCB)
oderpolychlorinatedterphenyls(PCT)withinthemeaningoftheprovisionsof
thePCB/PCTWasteOrdinance(Abfallverordnung)of26June2000(FederalLaw
GazetteIp.923)
o thatcontainsmorethan0.0001%byweightofmercury
o ofothertypes,ifitsthermalexploitationaswasteforrecoveryisprohibited
undertheClosedSubstanceCycleandWasteManagementAct.
x paper,cardboardandpasteboard,
x sewagesludgeswithinthemeaningoftheSewageSludgeOrdinance
(Klärschlammverordnung),
x harboursludgeandotherwaterbodysludgesandsediments,
x textiles,
x animalcarcassesorpartsthereofandproductswithinthemeaningofArt.1(1)ofthe
AnimalCarcassDisposalAct(Tierkörperbeseitigungsgesetzes),whicharetobedisposed
ofinslaughterhousespursuanttoordinancesenactedthereunder,andsubstanceswhich
occurthroughtheirdisposalorthroughothermeans.


100
100 ANNEXD:GERMANY

For the use of certain raw materials in combustion plants it is necessary to distinguish whether a
permissionaccordingtoFederalImmissionControlRegulationNo.4(4.BImSchV)orNo.1isneeded.
Incombustionplantswithoutpermissionaccordingto1stBImSchVlicensedfuelsare“straw,whole
plants(alsopellets),grains(alsopellets),energygrainprocessingresidues,husks,culmsresiduesand
similarherbaceousbiomasssubstances(likeMiscanthusorhay)”or“otherrenewablesources”.For
No.4 no fuels are specified, only a group no.1.3 “other solid orliquid fuels than coal, natural gas,
heating oil (…)” is named. The recently amended 1st BImschV (Federal Immissions Control
Regulations) covers the construction, quality and operation of small firing systems which do not
require any approval according to § 4 of the Federal Immissions Control law (BundesͲ
ImmissionsschutzgesetzesͲBImschG).Thislawdistinguishesbetweeninstallationsthataresubjectto
licensing and those that do not need an operation licence.This also includes small combustion
systems for the use of non woody biomass with a nominal heat output below 100 kW. Larger
installations(upto50MW)aresubjecttolicensing,emissionlimitvaluesaccordingtothe“Technical
Instructions on Air Quality Control” (TA Luft). The combustion of mixtures is done according to
1.BImSchV§3Abs.1No.13.Withintheframeworkof1.BimschVyearlymesurementsforparticleand
COemissionsarerequired.Therequirementsofbothcontrolregulationsarelistenedinthefollowing
tables.
Emissionthresholdvaluesaccordingto1stBImschV(FederalImmissionsControlRegulations):

reference
thermal dioxins/
parameter oxygen CO OGC NOx SO2 particles
output furanes
contentO2

unit kW Vol.Ͳ% mg/Nm3 ng/Nm³

strawandother
herbalrawmaterials,
nonfoodcereal 1,000
Ͳ 600* Ͳ 100 0.1*
cropsaccordingto (250*)
1.BImSchV§3Abs.1
No.8 ш4–<100 13

otherrenewableraw
materialsaccording 1,000
Ͳ 600* Ͳ 100 0.1*
to1.BImSchV§3 (250*)
Abs.1No.13
*thresholdvaluefortypetests

 


ANNEXD:GERMANY  101

Emissionthresholdvaluesaccordingto“TechnicalInstructionsonAirQualityControl”(TALuft):

reference
thermal dioxins/
parameter oxygen CO OGC NOx SO2 Particles HCl
input furanes
contentO2

unit MW Vol.Ͳ% mg/Nm3 ng/Nm³

Strawand
otherherbal >1.0 250 50* 500 350* 50 30* 0.1*
rawmaterials
(e.g.cereal
wholeplant,
11
grasses,
Miscanthus) <50 250 50* 400 350* 20 30* 0.1*
accordingtoTA
Luftchapter
5.4.1.3)

*Commonvaluewhichshouldbenotexceeded(accordingtoTALuftchapter5.2)
If the European Unions Framework Directive on EcoͲDesign of EnergyͲUsing Products (Directive
2009/125/EC) is coming into force the German framework will be adjusted. If there are no
regulations existing, legal authorities will set the permission and the threshold values at their sole
descretion.

102
102 ANNEXE:ITALY
ANNEXE: ITALY
E1 BESTPRACTISEEXAMPLES
PelletizingstrawandcornstalksatBagionigroup

Background
Bagioni Group is a consortium of companies
involved in agriculture, livestock and energy
sectors. Companies have been engaged for
many years in the cultivation and trade of
products for animal feed. Afterwards, the
grouphasdevelopedastronginterestinagriͲ
energy, building a biogas plant for electricity
production(850kWel).Partoftheheatenergy
produced by the power plant is used for
drying the materials used for pellet
productions. This makes possible saving
energy and reducing the production costs of
pellets and makes the process more
sustainable.
Rawmaterial
Thecompanyhasdevelopedexperienceinthe
productionofalfalfapelletmaterial.However,
other biomasses are involved (and will be
involved) in the production of pellets for
energy use. Among them: straw, corn stalks,
residues of maize, pruning of trees, plants
extirpated and also various types of wood
(mixedwithotherbiomasses).Theproduction
ofthesecropsishighlyvariable.Inthecaseof
straw, the production can range from 3 to 5
t/ha dry matter, depending on the kind of
crop (maize, sorghum,…). The biomass
moisture content at harvest time can vary
from 30% to 40%. Pruning trees production
can range in average from 1.5 to 3 t/ha dry
matter depending on the type of training
system and the residual crop. The moisture
content during harvest time can vary from
40%to50%.Cornstalksproductionisover3.5
t/ha of dry matter. Bulk density of the raw
material varies between 120 and 180 kg/m3.
The pellet production process increases the
bulk density of about 3.5/4.5 times and
improvesthestabilityofthefinalproductwith
less moisture content. The crops are
harvested using different machinery systems.
Strawmaterialisavailableduringthesummer
time (June and July preferably) after the
threshing.Thematerial,leftinthefieldsfora
short period of time, loses part of the
moisturecontent;thenitisstoredincovered
barns. The product is handled with the
traditional transport machinery used for
forage. Corn stalks are stored in bales (300 –
500kg).Goodstorageconditionscouldreduce
significantly the moisture content of the
materialsupto20Ͳ25%.Pricesofthematerial
varies between 25 and 35 €/ton (transport
excluded).Thequalityofthematerialdepends
on the kind of biomass and the conditions of
itsworking.It'simportanttoavoidpickingup
the soil from the ground during the
harvesting:inthisway,thelevelofashcanbe
kept low and the consumption of the die for
the production of pellets can be reduced. In
the following table the characteristics of the
materialsareshown.
Rawmaterialcharacteristics.
Corn Pruning

stalks tree
Moisturecontent
35Ͳ45 35Ͳ40
wt.Ͳ%
Heatingvalue
16.5Ͳ17.0 17.0Ͳ18.0
MJ/kg
Ashcontentwt.Ͳ% 6Ͳ7 3Ͳ6
Ashmelting
1,200 1,300
temperature°C


ANNEXE:ITALY  103

Rawmaterialcharacteristics(continued).
Corn Pruning

stalks tree
Chlorinewt.Ͳ% 0.05Ͳ0.06 0.03Ͳ0.04
Sulphurwt.Ͳ% 0.08 0.01
Nitrogenwt.Ͳ% 0.8 0.5
Rawmaterial
25Ͳ35 40Ͳ50
costs€/t
Pelletizingprocess 
Drumrotarydrier
The pellet plant of Bagioni Group has a
The moisture content before the pellet
production capacity of 15,000 t/year working
processisbetween10Ͳ14%dependingonthe
on three production lines. Great part of the
raw materials. Just produced pellets reach a
production is currently used for animal feed.
temperatureof90°C,thentheyarecooledby
Fortheproductionofmixturepellet,madeof
airandthedustisremovedfromtheproduct.
agriculturalresiduesandwood,theproductis
Productioncosts,withoutconsideringtheraw
loadedontoconveyorbeltsandthenmixed.
materialcost,rangefrom50to80€/t.


Cornstalks&sorghumstalksbalesclosetothe 
conveyorbelt Internalviewofthepelletizingmachine

Ahammermillgrindsisusedandthematerial
goes through a sieve of Ø20 mm before the
drying. This process takes place in a drum
rotating cylinder dryer until the material
reachesamoisturecontentof12Ͳ14%.Abelt
conveyer transports the raw material to the
pelletizing machineries (flat and ring die). At
the moment, the producer has ring dies of 6
and8mm(28mmforhardmaterial–50mm
for soft material) and no additives are used.
ModelofpelletizingmachineryisMatador30.
Producersview
Bagioni group considers the production of
pelletsforenergyanimportantalternativeto
thelivestocksector.It'sinterestingtoconsider
thatthiscompanycanutilizethelowͲcostheat
produced by the biogas plant. This
opportunity reduces the cost of the raw
material drying and especially for the wood,
used with alternative biomasses to obtain a
betterqualitypellet.
Contact
EUROFORAGGISocietàAgricolaS.r.l.,
V.Serachieda,1/C;47122Forlì(FC)
Tel:0543729628;Fax:0543729833


104
104 ANNEXE:ITALY

CombustionofalternativepelletinTomasonifarm

Background price can range from 130 €/t, for lowͲquality
pellets,upto190€/tforamixtureofpellets,
Tommasoni company is a livestock farming in
madeofwoodandagriculturalresidues.
the middle of the Padana plain (Visano Ͳ
Brescia).Thecompanyhasgotabout400dairy Typically, the purchase of the product takes
cows,amongwhichtherearemanycalvesfed place in summer, when the price of pellets is
with formula milk. The preparation of milk much lower than in autumn and winter. The
requires 85°C hot water to dissolve the product can be delivered in big bags or in
powdered milk; this operation is carried out standard bags (15 kg). The bags rarely have
twice a day. The total production is about labels with enough information on the
5000litresofmilkperday. productquality.
Upto4Ͳ5yearsago,theTommasonicompany
usedaboilerwithaburnerfedbyheatingoil
(dieseloil).Theburnerwasthenreplacedbya
new system, developed by Termocabi, fed by
pellets made of agriͲresidues and alternative
materials.
Thechoiceofchangingtheburnerwasmainly
duetotheincreaseinfossilfuelpricesandby
theopportunityoffindingcheappelletin the
localmarket.


BoilerinthedairyofMr.Tommasoni.
Thepellet,insomecases,hasaveryhighash
content(morethan6%):thiscanbeobserved
directly after burning, when the system of
collecting unburned and ash material is
emptied.
Rawmaterialcharacteristics
 Parameter Value
Internalviewoffarming Moisturecontentwt.Ͳ% <10
HeatingvalueMJ/kg 16.9
Alternativepellet
Ashcontentwt.Ͳ% >5.0
The pellets used by Tommasoni are made of Ashmeltingtemperature°C ͲͲͲͲ
various agricultural residues produced in the Chlorinewt.Ͳ% 0.08
region,mainlystraw,cornstalksandscrapsof Sulphurwt.Ͳ% ͲͲͲ
grain corn. The choice of the type of pellet is Nitrogenwt.Ͳ% 1.2
madeonthebasisofitspriceandquality.The Rawmaterialcosts€/t 130–190


ANNEXE:ITALY  105

Boilerandburner mechanism of combustion ashes. This last

system is particularly important to avoid the
The burner can supply a power of 50 kWh. It
formation of inorganic aggregates, especially
wasdesignedtousepelletizedmaterialsmade
incaseoflowtemperaturemeltingash.
of agricultural residue (AGRIPELLETS Model).
The burner is a blown air type, with the Producersview
horizontal flame in a monoblock structure.
The use of the pellet burner has determined
The burner can expel the ash material
significant cost savings. The initial investment
continuously as agglomerated, without
wasrelatedtothereplacementoftheburner
interfering with the combustion process. This
(a few thousand euros). In the last year the
burner system is also able to use other dry
price of diesel oil has increased from about
anddensebiomasses(moisturecontentlower
60€/kgto90€/kg.
than 15% and bulk density higher than
500kg/m3),asgrainofmaize. Theboilerhasnotshownparticularproblems
and the adjustment of the burner is quite
simple and doesn't take a long time. On
average, each year are consumed about 25
tonnes of pellets. The space available for
storage in the farm is essential to make
purchases of pellets during the period when
thepriceislower.
Contact:
AziendaagricolaTomasoniGiulioeOttavio
 Cascinaluogonuovo
Thepelletburnerof60kW. ViaIsorella,n1–Visano(BS)
Mr. Tommasoni can easily regulate the 
combustion of this burner: this is mostly

important when there is a changing of the
pellet type. The parameters that can be 
handledare:theregulationofprimaryair,the 
feedingspeedoftheburnerandthedischarge











106
106 ANNEXE:ITALY

Grapevinepelletsproductionandcombustion

Introduction
Pelletizing
Large quantities of pruning residues from
The pelletizing process of grapevine pruning
fruit trees, grapevine and olive cultivations
can be performed in an industrial plant
are available in Italy. In the northern part of
(ProduttoriPellet–ColognolaaiColli(VR))or
Italy, in particular, the amount of pruning
directly in the farm. In the first case, a
residues (dry matter), mainly grapevine
hammer mill is used for particle size
pruning,isestimatedtoabout0.7Ͳ0.8Mio.t.
reduction and to improve the homogeneity.
Particularly,intheVenetoRegion,about70Ͳ
Themillgrindsthepruningbiomasspassingit
75,000ha are cultivated with grapevine and
throughasieveofØ8mm;thegrindcanbe
produceabout0.1Ͳ0.12Mio.tdrymatterof
operated when the raw material moisture
biomass residues each year. Thus, regional
contentis15Ͳ18%:thisconditionisnormally
entrepreneurs involved in agricultural
realizedafteranaturaldryingperiodof3to6
machinery and biomass sectors have
months. After that, a belt conveyer
developed equipments for harvesting of
transports the refined product to a press
grapevine pruning and its utilization to
(220kW Ͳ 2 t/h) with a ring die (30/6 mm).
produceenergy.
During the pelletizing process, no additives
Rawmaterial are used. Pellets are cooled by air and then
stored in silos. Finally, the product is packed
The grapevine pruning residues are usually
inonebigbagorindifferent15kgbags.
collected between January and March.
Depending on the harvesting technique, the
residues can be baled or shredded; the
product is afterwards dried, usually on the
sides of the field, until the moisture content
reaches about 20Ͳ25%. The choice of the
different harvesting equipments and
technologies is very important because it
affects the quality (Table 1) of the product Picture 1: grapevine pruning harvester (left)
and the following steps: storage, transport andpellettizingmobilemachinery(right).
andprocessingofthebiomass. Pellets can also be produced directly in the
Table1:typicalfuelproperties(db…drybasis) farmusingmobilepelletpressesandhammer
mill machineries (General Dies), directly
Netcalorificvalue MJ/kgdb 17.6 connected to the PTO of a tractor. The
Ashcontent wt.Ͳ%db 2.1Ͳ3.5 biomassismilledtoreduceitssizedowntoØ
Watercontent wt.Ͳ% 35Ͳ50 8 mm and then fed in the pellet press (ring
Softening dieͲ6 mm) without using additives. The
°C >1,500
temperatureofash mechanicalqualityofthispelletislowerthan
Nitrogen wt.Ͳ%db 0.5Ͳ0.7 the industrial pellet but it is an interesting
Sulphur wt.Ͳ%db 0.01Ͳ0.02 solution to reduce the economic and
Chlorine wt.Ͳ%db 0.04Ͳ0.06 environmentalcostsoftransport.

Costs
A first assessment indicates a cost of 100Ͳ
120€/t for the pellet produced by mobile
pellettizer.Thecostfortheindustrialpelletis
evaluated to 120 Ͳ130€/t. This estimation
doesn't take in consideration the costs of
pruning, assuming that the raw material is a
residue.Duringthelastwinterseason(2010),
the grapevine pellet prize in the regional
market reached about 150Ͳ180€/t for the
differentpackaging.
Combustion
The combustion of alternative pellet causes
some problems when used in traditional
heating systems, developed for wood pellets.
The main problems are: incomplete and not
uniform combustion of pellets; low energy
efficiency; high quantity of ash produced in
the combustion chamber and of pollutants in
the flue gas. The most suitable combustion
technologies for the alternative pellets are
deviceswithblownairburnersorwithmoving
grate. In the first case, the burner separates
the gasification phase from the pellet
combustion phase and continuously removes
theresidualashes.Thesedevices,evenoflow
power (25 kW), can also be implemented in
conventional boiler systems, fueled by
traditionalfossilfuels.Thesecondtechnology
provides a mobile grate where the air
distribution system ensures the correct
air/fuelrationeeded.Themarketdevelopment
of alternative pellets is slow. However, it
seems to be continuously growing. Gas
emissionsweremonitoredinsomesmallscale
boilers.Themeasuredconcentrationvaluesof
CO, NOx and dust are similar to those of the
wood pellet systems and they are generally
below the emission thresholds established by
theDecree152/2006andEN303Ͳ5.However,
the results also depend on the abatement
systemsimplementedintheheatingdevice.
ANNEXE:ITALY  107
Summary
In some of the cases considered in the
MixBioPells project, the alternative pellet
users have shown a high satisfaction. The
mostimportantreasonsare:
x lowcostofthefuel;
x moreefficienttransportandstorage
operations;
x betterqualityincomparisontothe
tradionalsolidbiomassfuels;
x moreefficientheatingsystems.
However, the operators highlight also some
problems.Amongthem:
x highproductionofcombustionresidues
(ash)tobefrequentlyremoved;
x discontinuosavailabilityofalternative
pellets;
x lackofaproductqualitycontrol;
x difficultiestoreducetheemissionsinthe
exhaustsofsmallheatingplants.

Picture 2: Termocabi burner for agriͲpellets
implemented in a traditional boiler for wood
fuels.
Combustion system manufacturers are
focusingtheirattentioninthedevelopmentof
heating device technologies that are more
efficient and have low pollutant emissions.
The corrosion of materials, including the
chimneyandtheinternalpartsoftheboilers,
due to the high content of chlorine and
sulphur of some biomass residuals, is still a
problemthatneedstobesolved.


108
108 ANNEXE:ITALY

E2 CASESTUDIES
Casestudy1“Miscanthusandpoplar”
Production: Thepelletsareproduced(verticaldie)andconsumeddirectlyinthepowerplant.
Customers: Powerplantordistrictheatingsystemsarepossiblecustomers.

Casestudy2“Vinepruning“
Production: Thepelletsproductioncompanyusesaverticaldietechnology.
Customers: Thecustomersaremainlyhouseholdheatingsystems.

Theresultsofthecasestudiesareincludedinthe“CostAnalysisReport”oftheMixBioPellsproject.
Thereportisavailableattheprojectwebsite:www.mixbiopells.eu/en/publications.html.
 


ANNEXE:ITALY  109

E3 NATIONALCONDITIONS
InItaly,biomassisdefinedintwodifferentways:

x According to environment protection act (D.lgs 152/2006) biomass is considered as a fuel
onlyifithasnotbeensubmittedtoanychemicaltreatment.Insomecasesrawmaterialslike
poultrylitterorbyproductsoflandscapegardeningareexcludedfromthedefinitionandare
considered“byproduct”.Therawmaterialscanbeconsideredforenergypurposesas“fuels”.
ThisdefinitionisnotaneasyͲtoͲapplyrulewhichcausesbiguncertaintiesinthemarket.
x Accordingtolegislationonrenewableenergypromotion(implementationdecreeofDirective
2009/28)biomassisanybiogenicmatter,regardlessitsoriginorqualityincluding.Thus,any
vegetalbiomassfromagriculture,forestryoragroͲindustry,whichhasbeensubmittedonly
toamechanicaltreatment,canbeconsideredafuel.
FortheenergeticutilisationofrawmaterialsconsideredinLegislativeDecree152/06(annexX,part
V,Section4Biomass)thefollowingrequirementsfortheemissionthresholdvaluesaccordingtoDlgs
152:2006(EnvironmentalStandards)havetobefulfilled:
thermal referenceoxygen
parameter CO OGC SO2 particles NO2
output contentO2
unit MW Vol.Ͳ% mg/Nm3
>0.15Ͳ<1 350 Ͳ 200 100 500
>3Ͳч6 300 Ͳ 200 30 500
values 11
>6Ͳч20 250/1501) 30 200 30 400
>20 200/1001) 10 200 30 400
1)
Averagedailyvalue
Therearenospecificlegalconditionsforthecombustionofmixedbiomasspelletsaslongastheraw
materials are classified as "Biomass" (based on the Dlgs 152:2006) and the requirements for the
emissionsthresholdvaluesarefulfilled.Theimplementationofmorestrictemissionthresholdvalues
isnotplanned.IftheEuropeanUnionsFrameworkDirectiveonEcoͲDesignofEnergyͲUsingProducts
(Directive2009/125/EC)iscomingintoforcetheItalianlegalframeworkwillbeadjusted.Ifthereare
noregulationsexisting,legalauthoritieswillsetthepermissionandthethresholdvaluesattheirsole
discretion.


110
110 ANNEXF:SPAIN

ANNEXF: SPAIN
F1 BESTPRACTISEEXAMPLES
VinepruningpelletizingbyOrientaciónSurConsultoríaS.L.

Background No information is provided on the various
types of pellets that can be used. So far, all
Since 2010, Orientación Sur Consultoría S.L.
produced pellets have been generally called
owns and operates a pellet production plant.
"wood pellets", which has caused confusion
Theplanthasaninitialproductioncapacityof
among consumers, as not every one of them
20,000 tons/year. It has been designed to
presented the same behaviour during
allow for any necessary modifications of the
combustion.
raw material used for pellets production in a
shorttimespan.Thecompanyaimstoachieve Themainrawmaterialisthevinepruningthat
apelletsproductionwhichisconsumedwithin has been collected at a maximum distance of
thenationalmarket,aswellasitsuseforheat 15km from the place. Logistics is quite
generation.Theproductionsiteisbasedinthe complex due to two main factors: first, the
village of Valdepeñas, which is located at the lowdensityoftherawmaterialandsecondly,
Spanish region of Castilla la Mancha, the the average size of the agricultural
largestwineproductionareaintheworld.Due developmentplots.
tothebroadvarietyofbiomassgoodsthatcan
be treated, it is equipped with a pellets
combustion laboratory that carries out the
pellet design, which varies depending on the
combustion technology to be used.
Orientación Sur Consultoría S.L. is privately
ownedcompanyanditsR&D&Iworkisaimed
to be the Company´s main value for the
future. Orientación Sur Consultoría S.L.´s
vision can be summed up as a "THINK
GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY" philosophy and its

mainworklineisbasedonmakingthemostof
Prunedvine.
thelocalresourcesanduseorganicwasteina
properway. Another important factor is the seasonal
nature of vine pruning collection, from
Technologyused Ringdiepress
November to February, for its subsequent
Productioncapacity,
20,000 manufacturing, as we have to allow for the
tons/year
necessarystoragespace.
Themarketofvinepruningandorganicwaste
is fairly reduced, so even though the
possibilityoftheiruseisreal,theinformation
aboutitsadvantagesisnotreachingtheclient
atthetimehe/shebuyshis/herpelletsboiler.


ANNEXF:SPAIN  111

 
Vinepruningstorage. Aerialviewoftheplant.
Rawmaterial Drying is not necessary due to the local
Rawmaterialcharacteristics climate,whichsimplifiestheindustrialprocess
Rawmaterial Vinepruning andreducesproductioncosts.
Moisturecontent,wt.Ͳ% 30
LowerHeatingvalue,MJ/kg 17.86
Bulkdensity,kg/m³ 110
Ashcontent,wt.Ͳ% 3Ͳ5
Ashmeltingtemperature,°C <900
Rawmaterialcosts,€/t 45
Biomasspotential,t/year1) 500,000
1)
Total amount of the annual vine pruning
 produced within the region is 500,000
 t/year.

Pelletizingprocess 
LaboratorywithBiokompaktAWKboiler.An
The plant produces about 4 tons per hour
adjustedcombustiontechnologyisimportant.
dependingonthematerialused.Thereisone
pelletizingline: Producer´sview

x Rawmaterialstorage 100% of the biomass material used by

x Hammergrinder Orientación Sur comes from agriculture or
x Ringmatrixpelletizer forestry. The company is prepared to
x Cooler integrate several types of locally generated
x Packagingmachine biomassmaterialwithinitsproductiveprocess
and has worked at developing energy crops
x Bulkstoragetank
withlowwaterconsumptionneeds.
x Bigbagandstandardbagstorage
Contact
OrientaciónSurConsultoría,SL
AvdaPrimerodeJulio,70Local4
13300Valdepeñas(CiudadReal)Spain
Phone+34926323243
EͲmail:orientacionsur@orientacionsur.es


112
112 ANNEXF:SPAIN

CombustionofvinepruningpelletsatOrientaciónSur

Background
The available vine pruning within Spain is
TheregionofValdepeñashasawinegrowing 500,000tons/year.
area of 30,000 hectares, producing 20,000
tons vine prunings each year. Most of this
biomass is burned on the premise without
beingusedforheatingpurposes.Thispractice
is subject to sanctions by the Common
European Agricultural Policy. Furthermore, it
does not produce any benefit for the farmer.
Atthemoment,onlayaminorpartofthevine
prunning is used to produce a solid fuel
suitable for boilers. The combination of

available biomass resources and an Pelletsmadefromvinepruning.
underdeveloped biomass market as it is in
Combustionprocess
Spain offers great opportunities which is the
background basis for the initiative of The lack of information about the various
OrientaciónSur. types of pellets that exist and the different
available combustion technologies is a major
Southern Spain can be considered as a subͲ
deficit in Spain. The private or professional
desertarea.Therefore,thepossibilitiesforan
owner of a pellet boiler would look for the
agricultureͲbased energy market are limited
cheapest fuel without taking into account if
to wine growing. Similarly, forestry areas
the technology is suitable for the fuel. Thus,
undergoagrowthstageandarenotasuitable
boilermalfunctionanduserdissatisfactionisa
fuelsourceatthemoment.
common problem. Generally, these types of
Vinepruningpellets fuels have a clear industrial application.
Pellets were produced from vine prunnings. However, users don’t see why they shouldn’t
However, they do not fulfill the EN product benefitfromthislowͲcostfuel.
standards.Thus,thepropertiesandtheorigin The Spanish boiler & stove market is mostly
oftheutilisedrawmaterialshouldbeincluded covered by Austrian as well as Italian
in the fuel trade name increasing the manufacturers. A common feature of these
consumer’s awareness. Similarly, the boilers boilers is the lack of suitable ash removal
should be labeled according to the fuel types systemstotransporttheashintotheashbox.
theycouldbeusedfor. Thisisbecausetheseboilersaredesignedfor
Characteristicsofthevinepruningpellets highqualitywoodfuelswithlowashcontent.
Medium scale boilers are usually equipped
Watercontent,wt.Ͳ% 8Ͳ10
with moving grates which remove the ash by
Lowerheatingvalue,MJ/kg 17.86
pushing new fuel in and moving the ashes
Bulkdensity,kg/m3 650
Ashcontent,wt.Ͳ% 3Ͳ5 towardstheashbox.Thisequipmentisableto
use low quality fuels. However, the user has

still to clean the equipment more frequently.
Boilers with horizontal heat exchangers
require more maintenance than boilers with
verticalheatexchangers.Theefficiencyduring
combustion at this equipment is mostly low,
as combustion control is generally quite
limited. Large scale boilers offer an
exceptional combustion control, though they
have been designed for fuels in the shape of
pellets with very low ash content. Therefore,
fuels with higher ash content can cause
reduced efficiency and demand longͲterm
stopstocleantheequipment,asaccesstoits
innerpartisverylimitedorevenimpossible.
Orientación Sur made several combustion
tests, and finally found a technology which
wassuitableforvineprunningpellets.
 thefinalconsumer.Thepricepaidbythefinal
BiokompaktAWK(www.biokompakt.com)
TheAustrianmanufacturerBiokompakthasan
especiallydesignedboiler,whichisabletouse
any type of solid fuel while maintaining
combustion efficiency. The AWK Biokompakt
boiler proved successfully the combustion of
vine pruning pellet, rape pellet, fruit stones,
woodchip, straw pellets, bark, etc. The boiler
allowsregulating combustionefficientlywhile
ensuring an efficient function of the system
andkeepingalowconsumptionofthelocally
obtainedfuel.

ANNEXF:SPAIN  113

Pelletashesfromrapepellets(left)andpellet
ashesafteradjustingcombustionparameters
withalternativefuels(right).
The combustion tests proved that the pellet
ashes in the combustion system don’t cause
any malfunction problems. However it is
possible to optimise the functioning of the
boileradjustingthecombustionparameters.
Conclusions
Theproductionofsolidfuelsaspelletsandits
local use for heat production is a real
alternative to the creation of local jobs and
contributiontothewastemanagementofthe
Spanish agriculture sector. However, fuels
produced with local biomass resources are
unabletofulfilltheactualrequirementsofthe
solid biofuel market under the European
standardframework.
Ifasolidfuelstandardisestablished,itshould
includeeverypossiblesolidfuelthatmayexist
inordertocreateanopenmarket,whichcan
be competitive and offer various options to
consumer for alternative fuel can range from
15 to 35% less than for solid fuels subject to
the European Standard. The pellet, which is
produced from waste is energy and can be
used for saving. There are developed
commercialtechnologiesreadyforuse.
Contact
OrientaciónSurConsultoría,SL
AvdaPrimerodeJulio,70Local4
13300Valdepeñas(CiudadReal)Spain
Phone:+34926323243
EͲmail: orientacionsur@orientacionsur.es


114
114 ANNEXF:SPAIN

Production and combustion of almond shell briquettes in Crevillent,

Spain

Background Rawmaterialcharacteristics
As a company working in the field of Rawmaterial Almond
renewable energy Covaersa produces, and shells
distributes almond shell briquettes. In 2009, Moisturecontentwt.Ͳ% 2
the world production of almond reached Heatingvalue,kJ/kg 18,640
Ashcontentwt.Ͳ%,drybasis 1.52
2.4Miot. About half of the world´s total
Chlorinewt.Ͳ%,drybasis 0.021
production, come from the United States
Sulphurwt.Ͳ%,drybasis 0.01
(1,162,000t, 49%) followed by Spain being Mercury,mg/kg 0.013
thesecondworldproducer(282,000t,12%of Amount,t/year 30,000
total production), Spain´s production is
Pelletizingprocess
located at the Mediterranean seaside
communities: Catalonia Valencia, Balearic TheBRIECfactoryhasaproductioncapacityof
Islands (Mallorca), Murcia, Andalucia and 30,000 t/year. The shells are supplied with
Aragon.Theannualalmondproductionvaries trucks, sieved to remove stones and then fed
accordingtothechangingweatherconditions. toasilowithacapacityof45tbyaconveyor
Almond shells have a high heating value, and belt.
can be used for energy purpose and other
industrialapplications.
Almond shells are already used as fuel for
bakery furnaces, the ceramic industry and in
heatingfacilitiesoflivestockfarming.Inorder
to improve its marketing, the company
BRIEC–COVAERSAhasdecidedtousealmond
shell briquettes. This resulted in a series of 
difficulties which the company managed to Dryingtunnel
overcomebymeansofitsR&Ddepartment.
From the silo, almond shells are transported
Rawmaterial with a conveyor belt that is equipped to
remove contaminants and metallic impurities
For almond harvest and hulling a soͲcalled
tothewashingfacilities.Theshellsarewashed
"vibrator"isusedwhichisfittedtothetractor
in two tunnels by soaking in a water bath.
truck.Itresembles,onceexpanded,theshape
Afterwards, the shells are dried in a drying
of an inverted umbrella. Before milling the
tunnelͲvibrating drum with a capacity of
almondsareplacedonlargeopenairsurfaces
10t/h to reduce the moisture content to
to dry "under the sun". Once dried, they are
approximately2%.Consecutively,thealmond
sold to the miller where they are shelled and
shells are passed through a distribution silo
classified. The discarded shells are piled up
where they are fed to the compacting/
andsoldtofarmsandindustries.
pressingandbriquettingmachinery.


 far, no technical problems during combustion
Briquettingmachinery
Transportationandstorage
Thebriquettescanbepackedeitherinboxes,
bigbagsorshrinkwrapped.Thepackingtype
depends on the format of the almond shell
briquettes.
 appliances(e.g.fireplaces,woodboilers)seem
Almondshellbriquettes
CombustionattheRetirementHomeLa
PurísimainCrevillent

One of the BRIEC company`s clients is
Retirement Home La Purísima which is a
private retirement home located in the
municipality of Crevillent. It belongs to La
Purísima Social Enterprise Organization and
provides accommodation for 32 people. Its
heating boilers have a total installed capacity
of 235kW (2 x 100 kW heating boilers + 1 x
35kWboilerforhotwatersupply).Theboilers
ANNEXF:SPAIN  115
are equipped with feeding screws that are
abletodisintegratethebriquettesandwitha
1500litresbuffertank.Theboilershavebeen
installedthreemonthsago.Thus,itisdifficult
toestimatetheyearlyconsumption.Fromthe
replacement of the previous natural gas
boilers50–55%lowercostsareexpected.So
have been observed. Previously, boilers were
runningonly5h/dduetocostrestrictionsand
the old people used to be cold. Now, the
boilersoperate24h/dandtheoldpeoplecan
spend their twilight years much more
comfortable at a much lower price in
comparisontogas.
Otherusesforbriquettes
Almond shell briquettes can also be used as
fuel for bakery ovens aswell as at the woodͲ
fired ovens of pizzerias. When wood
briquettes were replaced by almond shell
briquettes in bakery ovens 30% smaller
amount of fuel was required. Domestic heat
to be further interesting options for the
utilisation of almond shell briquettes. Due to
its low moisture content and high heating
value quick heat up can be achieved using
very little fuel. Also, the flame image is really
cleanandattractive.Itdoesn´tstaintheglass
ofstovesorbuiltͲinchimneys.
Producer´sview
Covaersa´s aim is to achieve
a leading position by means
ofitsBriecbrand,bothatthe
national and international
biomassmarketsusingahigh
quality product endowed
with such properties and
characteristics which will
distinguishitgreatlyfromthe
restofbiomassfuels.


116
116 ANNEXF:SPAIN

F2 CASESTUDIES
Casestudy1“Olivestonesfromthefoodindustry”
Production: Onepelletizingexperimenthasbeencarriedout.
Customers: Possible end users are private pellet stove/boiler owners as well as small district
  heatingsystems(e.g.hospitals).

Casestudy2“Almondshellsfromthefoodindustry“
Production: Thepelletizingcompanyhasstudiedandtesteddifferentprocessesinordertoobtain
  physicallystabilebriquettes.Thefinalformulahasbeenpatented.
Customers: Possible end users are the industry, farms, industrial bread ovens (restaurants and
  supermarkets).

Theresultsofthecasestudiesareincludedinthe“CostAnalysisReport”oftheMixBioPellsproject.
Thereportisavailableattheprojectwebsite:www.mixbiopells.eu/en/publications.html.
 


ANNEXF:SPAIN  117

F3 NATIONALCONDITIONS
InSpaintherearedifferenttypesofbiomassavailableforenergeticuse.AccordingtothePER(Plan
deEnergiasRenovables)thefollowingrawmaterialscanbeconsidered:

x biomassfromforests,
x woodyagriculturalresidues(pruningofolivetrees,fruittreesandvineyards),
x grassagriculturalresidues,mainlystrawandcornmaizestover,
x residuesfromwoodindustry,
x residuesfromagriculturalindustries(oliveStones,almondshells,…),
x energycrops,mainlycardoon,sorghumandEthiopiancanola.
InSpain,therearenoemissionthresholdvaluesfortheuseofthesematerialsincombustionplants.
Legal authorities will set the permission and the threshold values at their sole discretion by
orientating on the legal framework of other European countries, e.g. Germany. If the European
Union Framework Directive on EcoͲDesign of EnergyͲUsing Products (Directive 2009/125/EC) is
comingintoforce,theSpanishlegalframeworkwillbeadjusted.


118
118 ANNEXG:SWEDEN

ANNEXG: SWEDEN
G1 BESTPRACTISEEXAMPLES
BriquettingofCanaryReedgrassatLåttraFarm,Sweden

Background Cultivationofreedcanarygrass(RCG)on
Låttrafarm
Due to increasing prices for woodchips and
growing competition for raw materials Låttra RCG is a perennial grass that can be grown
farm, located about 150km west of throughout Sweden. The quality and quantity
Stockholm,startedtolookintothepossibility of the harvest depends on the quality of the
to produce reed canaryͲgrass briquettes. A soil, the species of RCG and what and if
springharvestusuallyyieldsbetween4and6 fertilizer is used. The first harvest is taken in
tonnes dry weight per hectare under normal thespringtwoyearsaftersowingandisabout
conditions.Ifthecropisharvestedearlyinthe 20% lower than following harvests. The
springthedrysubstanceisusuallybetween80 harvest rate is around 4Ͳ6 tonnes DM per
to90percent.LåttraFarmgrowsreedcanary hectareatnormalconditionsforaspringcrop.
grass on 70 hectares and the goal is to
Typical fuel properties in spring (db…dry
increasethisto100hectaresby2012.Thereis
basis).
potentialtoincreasetheamountoflandused
Netcalorificvalue MJ/kgdb 17.5
for growing RCG in the area around Vingåker Ashcontent wt.Ͳ%db 5.9
and Katrineholm. Nearby land is used for ley Moisture wt.Ͳ% 13
and fallow because many farms in the area Softening
°C 1,420
havefieldswith“lowproductivity”i.e.thatdo temperatureofash
not yield enough profit to warrant growing Nitrogen wt.Ͳ%db 0.48
foodstuffs. Sulphur wt.Ͳ%db 0.06
Chlorine wt.Ͳ%db 0.04
Harvest
Reed canary is slain during autumn and dries
inwedgesinthefielduntilspring.Inspringthe
grass is pressed into round or square bales.
The goal is to store the bales protected from
the weather beside the field to keep storage
costs down. The Bales are afterwards
transportetd from the field to the the
briquettinghallforchippingandbriquetting.


LocationofLåttraFarm


Reedcanarygrass
Briquetting
Låttra farm has the capacity to produce 3500
tonnes of wood briquettes per year. The
briquetting presses have a capacity for
briquetting of reed canaryͲgrass from about
500 hectares. Today briquettes (wood) are
supplied to both households (15%) and
greater heating plants (85%). The bales of
grass are cut up in a slow shredder before
being shredded further in an industrial
grinder. The material is then fed into three
Bogma V40 briquette presses which produce
briquettes of 40 mm diameter. The finished
briquettes are fed into a horizontal silo with
capacity for 1000 tonnes of briquettes. The
briquettesaretakendirectlyfromthesilofor
deliverytocustomers.
 SPTechnicalReasearchInstitute
Briquettingpresses
Transport
ThebriquettesareloadedonLåttrafarmona
demountable container and transported
ANNEXG:SWEDEN  119
heatingsystematÖknaschool.Eachshipment
contains about 30 tons of reed canary grass
briquettes.

Consumers
There are currently a number of heating
plants within a 100 km radius of Låttra Farm
that use woodchips, wood pellets or
briquettes. One of these plants is the
briquetteͲfired plant at Ökna School in
Tystberga, which is run by TCG Teem
CombustionGroup,heatingsupplier,basedin
Ulricehamn.TCGbuildsandoperatesdifferent
kinds of district heating plants. The aim is to
replace one of the older solid fuel boilers
which runs on wood briquettes with a new
solidfuelboilersuitedforashͲrichreedcanary
grass briquettes during the summer of 2011.
In autumn 2011, TCG will begin work with
optimising the plant to be able to use reed
canarygrassfromLåttraFarm.
Problems/possibleobstacles
The main challenge is the establishment of a
profitable supply chain and market for reed
canaryͲgrassbriquettesespeciallywithregard
tostorageofrawmaterialbeforepressing.
Contact
ofSweden
AnnaSager
Tel:010Ͳ5165837
EͲmail:anna.sager@sp.se


120
120 ANNEXG:SWEDEN

CombustionofReedCanarygrassbriquettesatLåttraFarm,Sweden

Background Typicalfuelpropertiesofreedcanarygrassin
spring(db…drybasis).
Netcalorificvalue MJ/kgdb 17.5
Ashcontent wt.Ͳ%db 5.9
Moisture wt.Ͳ% 13
Softening
°C 1,420
temperatureofash
Nitrogen wt.Ͳ%db 0.48
Sulphur wt.Ͳ%db 0.06
Chlorine wt.Ͳ%db 0.04


LocationofLåttraFarm
Due to increasing prices for woodchips and
growing competition for raw materials Låttra
farm, located about 150km west of
Stockholm,startedtolookintothepossibility
to produce reed canaryͲgrass briquettes for
sale and own use. Låttra Farm grows reed
canarygrasson70hectaresandthegoalisto
increasethisto100hectaresby2012.RCGisa
perennialgrassthatcanbegrownthroughout
Sweden.
 
ReedCanarygrassbales

ReedCanarygrassbales
Briquetting
Låttrafarmhasthecapacitytoproduce3,500
tonnes of wood briquettes per year. The
briquetting presses have a capacity for
briquetting of reed canaryͲgrass from about
500 hectares. Today briquettes (wood) are
supplied to both households (15%) and
greater heating plants (85%). The bales of
grass are cut up in a slow shredder before
being shredded further in an industrial
grinder. The material is then fed into three
Bogma V40 briquette presses which produce
briquettes of 40mm diameter. The finished
briquettes are fed into a horizontal silo with
capacity for 1,000 tonnes of briquettes. The
briquettesaretakendirectlyfromthesilofor
deliverytocustomers.



ANNEXG:SWEDEN  121

CombustionatLåttrafarm
Låttra farm has a Veto Flisomat burner of
120kW. The Flisomat is equipped with a
movablegratemountedinaDanstokerboiler
of230kW.Reedcanarygrassbriquetteshave
been combusted successfully in this plant
duringlongͲtermcombustiontrials.Theashis
disposed through a screw that is going
lengthways in the boiler. Since the burner is
mountedinaboilerwithagreatereffectthan

the burner requires the ash is stored in a VetoFlisomat(Källa:
goodͲsized ash drawer. During NovemberͲ www.energiteknik.net/pdf/thmSWE.pdf)
December 2010 reed canary grass briquettes
Problems/possibleobstacles
with an ash content of about 6% were
combustedfor5weekswithoutanyproblems The main challenge is equipment that can
withashinthefireplace.Theadvantageofthe handle ash rich fuels and to find ways to
Veto technology is that the installation of decreasecorrosion.
movinggrateandashscrewisoptional,which Contact
facilitatestheupgradingofexistingfacilities.
SP Technical Reasearch
InstituteofSweden
AnnaSager
Tel:010Ͳ5165837
EͲmail:anna.sager@sp.se
















122
122 ANNEXG:SWEDEN

Production and combustion of Reed Canary grass briquettes in

Sweden

Background Bogma V40 briquette presses which produce
briquettes of 40mm diameter. The finished
Due to increasing prices for woodchips and
briquettes are fed into a horizontal silo with
growing competition for raw materials Låttra
capacity for 1,000tonnes of briquettes. The
farm, located about 150km west of
briquettesaretakendirectlyfromthesilofor
Stockholm,startedtolookintothepossibility
deliverytocustomers.
toproducereedcanaryͲgrass(RCG)briquettes
forsaleandownuse.LåttraFarmgrowsreed
canarygrasson70hectaresandthegoalisto
increasethisto100hectaresby2012.RCGisa
perennialgrassthatcanbegrownthroughout
Sweden.


Reedcanarygrassbales
Typicalfuelpropertiesofreedcanarygrassin
spring(db…drybasis).
Netcalorificvalue MJ/kgdb 17.5
Ashcontent wt.Ͳ%db 5.9
Moisture wt.Ͳ% 13
Softening
°C 1,420
temperatureofash
 Nitrogen wt.Ͳ%db 0.48
LocationofLåttraFarm Sulphur wt.Ͳ%db 0.06
Chlorine wt.Ͳ%db 0.04
GrowingandbriquettingofCanaryReed
Customers
Grass
There are currently a number of heating
Låttra farm has the capacity to produce
plants within a 100 km radius of Låttra Farm
3,500tonnesofwoodbriquettesperyear.The
that use woodchips, wood pellets or
briquetting presses have a capacity for
briquettes. One of these plants is the
briquetting of reed canaryͲgrass from about
briquetteͲfired plant at Ökna School in
500 hectares. Today briquettes (wood) are
Tystberga, which is run by TCG Teem
supplied to both households (15%) and
CombustionGroup,basedinUlricehamn.TCG
greater heating plants (85%). The bales of
builds and operates different kinds of district
grass are cut up in a slow shredder before
heatingplants.
being shredded further in an industrial
grinder. The material is then fed into three 


ANNEXG:SWEDEN  123

Transport x Maintenance
Briquettes are loaded onto trucks at Låttra x Operation
Farm and transported in demountable x Alarmmanagement
containersthatconnecttothefeedingsystem x Serviceandmaintenance
at Öknas School. Each shipment contains Annually TCG produces approximately
about 30tonnes of reed canary grass 2,500MWhheatatÖknasSchool.
briquettes.


FeedingsystematÖknasSchool 
Combustionchamber
CombustionatÖknasSchool
Problems/possibleobstacles
The old solid fuel boiler at the Ökna School,
which was run on wood briquettes, was The main challenge is to optimize the
exchanged with a new Ökotherm solid fuel equipment for handling of ash rich fuels and
boiler (800kW, C6) suited for ashͲrich reed tofindwaystodecreasecorrosion.
canarygrassbriquettesduringthesummerof
Contact
2011. In autumn 2011, TCG started to
optimise the plant for the of use reed canary SP Technical Reasearch
grassbriquettesfromLåttraFarm. InstituteofSweden
AnnaSager
SörmlandCountybuysthermalheatofTCGto
Tel:010Ͳ5165837
Öknaskolan. This concept is a hassleͲfree
EͲmail:anna.sager@sp.se
heatingalternative.TCGtakescareof:





 


124
124 ANNEXG:SWEDEN

G2 CASESTUDIES
Casestudy1and2“ReedCanaryGrass”
Production: Anyagriculturalcompanyrunningasmallcommercialbriquettingplant.
Customers: Heatingplants,publicbuildingsaswellashouseholds.

Theresultsofthecasestudiesareincludedinthe“CostAnalysisReport”oftheMixBioPellsproject.
Thereportisavailableattheprojectwebsite:www.mixbiopells.eu/en/publications.html.
 


ANNEXG:SWEDEN  125

G3 NATIONALCONDITIONS
Theconcept“licensedfuel”isnotusedinSweden.Solidfuelsaredividedingroupswithrespectto
theirorigin:forestfuels,peat,agriculturalfuels,fuelsderivedfromwasteetc.Furthermore,theterm
“combustionofalternativepellets”appliesonlytopurerawmaterials.Ifthebiomassfuelismixed
withacontrolledstreamofawelldefinedwasteproduct,itshouldbeclassifiedas“coͲcombustion”.
For utilisation of a more complex waste fuel the combustion should be classified as waste
incineration.IfthemainpurposeofthecoͲincinerationplantisnotthegenerationofenergyorthe
production of material products but rather the thermal treatment of waste, the plant shall be
regarded as an incineration plant. Generic emission standards for incinerators are in the form of
ordinances, regulations and guidelines. In addition, there are some guidelines for emissions set by
thegovernmentandparliament.Finally,thepracticedevelopedintheexaminationofplantsledtoa
formof"unofficial"guidelines.Moredetailedemissionsrequirementsfortheincinerationofwaste
takes place, see Environmental Protection Agency regulations for waste incineration (NFS 2002:28)
based on the EC Directive 2000/76/EC. In the following tables the emission threshold values are
listedaccordingtotheusedfuel:
Wastefuels(fortheuseinplantswithafuelcapacity<6t/h):

parameter referenceoxygen NOx SO2 particles HCl dioxins/furanes

contentO2
unit Vol.Ͳ% mg/Nm3 ng/Nm3
value 11 200/400 50 10 10 0.1
Renewablefuels:
parameter nominal reference OGC NOx SO2 particles
effect oxygencontent
O2
unit MW Vol.Ͳ% mg/Nm3
6
value <0.05 10 150/100  n.a. n.a. n.a.
0.05Ͳ0.3 100/806 n.a. n.a. n.a.
0.3Ͳ50 13 n.a. ~80 100 100/3501
50Ͳ100 6 n.a. 4004 1903,5/2005 n.a.
50Ͳ350 n.a. n.a. 1903,5/2004 n.a.
50Ͳ500 n.a. n.a. n.a. 1003/505
100Ͳ300 n.a. 3004 n.a. n.a.
>100 n.a.   304
>300  2004  
350Ͳ500   1000Ͳ 
4002,3/2004
>500   4003/2004 503/304
>500   4003/2004 503/304
1.withinresidentialareas/outsideresidentialareas;2.Lineardecreasewithincreasingcapacity.
SO2/Nm3;3.Existingplants.;4.Newplants.;5.mgS/MJfuel.;6.manual/automaticfeeding;n.a.…
notavailable


126
126 ANNEXG:SWEDEN

The following remarks have to be taken into account by the assessment of the emission threshold
values:
The Carbon Dioxide Tax was introduced in 1991 in order to provide energy tax incentives for an
increased use of biofuels, thereby reducing emissions of carbon dioxide (www.skatteverket.se). In
2005,asystemoftradingemissionallowancesintroducedinEuropewiththeaimoflimitingcarbon
dioxideemissionsinacosteffectiveway,seetheAct(2004:656)onemissionsofcarbondioxideand
Ordinance(2004:657)onemissionsofcarbondioxide(www.lagrummet.gov.se)Nogeneralnational
requirements on CO exist. The emission threshold values are set individually for each plant by the
responsiblelegalauthority(>300kW).Forthesmallscalecombustionsystemsupto300kWthere
areemissionnthresholdvaluesforOGCͲbutnotforCOͲemissionsvalid.
There are no absolute emission threshold values existing for NOxͲemissions. General emissions
thresholdvaluesareonlyvalidforlargecombustionplants(NFS2002:26).Inpractice,theemission
threshold values are set individually by legal authorities where each actor pays or gets paid
dependent on its annual emissions level (if the plant generates >25 GWh/year, national law
(1990:613)).Loweremissionlevelsresultinreimbursementandviceversa.
TheemissionsofsulphuroxidesareregulatedbythenationalOrdinance(1998:946)whichincludes
bothdirectemissionsthresholdvaluesandthesulphurcontentinfuel(www.lagrummet.gov.se).For
large combustion plants (> 50 MW thermal input) the emissions of sulphur oxide are regulated by
EPA regulations (NFS 2002:26, www.naturvardsverket.se) based on the EC directive 2001/80/EG9.
Since 1992, there is a sulphur tax on oil, coal and peat (30 SEK per kg sulphur). The tax incentives
bothtoreducesulphurcontentinfuelandtoincreasetreatmentoffluegas(www.skatteverket.se).
General requirements for particulate emissions are only valid for large combustion plants (NFS
2002:26).Forpowerplantsfrom0.5to10MW,theEPAhasdevelopedgeneralguidelines(AR87:2).
A level of 100mg/Nm3 is valid (higher valuesar possible if the combustion plant is located outside
urban areas). The implementation of stricter emission threshold values is planned for particle
emissions.Butnovalueshavebeensuggestedsofar.IftheEuropeanUnionsFrameworkDirectiveon
EcoͲDesignofEnergyͲUsingProducts(Directive2009/125/EC)iscomingintoforcetheSwedishlegal
frameworkwillbeadjusted.