The social debate about the combustion of wood

Bioenergy falls under the heading of renewable energy because the source is called ‘renewable’. Unlike natural gas, oil and coal, a biomass source (such as trees and plants) can regrow. At least, that is true for some biomass sources. But does this work out in practice? Is bioenergy much greener than energy from fossil fuels? This is the subject of much debate among experts. "There are cowboys in the world of the 'biomass boiler’ and everyone is experiencing the disadvantages of that. Bioenergy gets a bad reputation and for end users it is not self-evident that they buy the right boilers,” says Ester Stam. She thinks the bad reputation is unjustified: "Good boilers have good emission values, which means they can be used in a very clean and responsible way." Ester Stam refers to the annual report of NBKL from 20203, among other things , which states that the emission of particulates from a modern bio-boiler for a residential home per hour is comparable to the emission of particulates from an electric car.

Ensuring the quality of bio-boilers

By clean combustion, Ester Stam means the burning of wood that is properly dry (dried for three years) and that doesn’t contains nails, chemicals, sand, etc. "Only then is it possible to achieve the desired emission value. Although this certainly also involves the quality of the boilers. There are some very good brands, where you can see that they originated in the so-called woodlands. Countries such as Sweden, Switzerland, Austria and Germany, where they are traditionally used to burn," adds Ester Stam. She herself works from the Netherlands with Fröling products, made in Austria: "By delivering a Tüv report with the boiler, an independent quality label is given. I expect that eventually only those brands that meet the emission values will remain. Boiler inspections are not yet necessary in all cases, at least in the Netherlands. I hope that this will change in the future, so that every boiler that is installed is also inspected.”

Criticism regarding large-scale tree felling

When you run a Google search on biomass, you quickly come across a lot of criticism regarding tree felling and production forests. Even though it is said that the beauty of biomass from plants and trees is that it regrows, unlike fossil fuels. A tree absorbs as much CO2 during its lifetime as is released during combustion. But does this ultimately result in significant CO2 reduction, and can the growth of new trees keep up with tree felling? According to science it is not possible to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, as agreed in the Paris climate agreement, without the use of biomass4 . Of course, this does not mean that we should not remain critical, on the contrary! We will continue to make strides to make biomass as sustainable as possible.

Ester Stam on the use of wood: "You are dependent on fuel, for every tree that is felled, at least fifteen trees have to be planted. To keep forests manageable, trees are always felled, although there are also large production forests where many trees are structurally felled. There is a lot of concern about this. 75% of our customer base consists of SME companies, especially woodworking companies. Such as gardeners, furniture makers, etc. Companies with a lot of residual wood, which they burn with our bio-boilers. Precisely because we have many specialist end users, there is a lot of clean combustion. Also many wood pellets used for combustion are made from residual wood. In addition, our supplier continues to develop the boilers. For example, electronic filters which reduce the number of particles in the air and a condensation technique which recovers the vapor in the boiler. These are important technical developments.”

Our campsite is carbon neutral thanks to the combination of solar panels and a pellet boiler.

Case story: heating a swimming pool with a bio-boiler

A campsite is one of the locations that lends itself extremely well to use a bio-boiler. Campsite de Blauwe Haan, for example, opted for a combination of sustainable solutions 5. "There are ninety solar panels on the roof of the central buildings and in combination with a pellet boiler we have become CO2 neutral," says Henk Eissens. "The wood-central heating system takes care of all the heating requirements. Among other things, the public toilet building, the office and the canteen are heated by a Fröling boiler. By using a 2,200-liter buffer tank, there is always enough hot water available. There is even capacity left. Since there is virtually no demand for heat from the sanitary building in winter, we decided to use a heat transport pipeline to heat the homes with the pellet boiler too."

Green Key quality label

By investing in sustainable solutions, the company has been awarded the international Green Key quality label.6 This is the international quality label for sustainable businesses in the recreation and leisure industry and business market. Companies with a Green Key quality label are doing everything they can to save the environment, without their guests compromising on comfort and quality. Green Key companies go one step further than the normal laws and regulations require.

The potential of Biogas

In addition to the combustion of biomass, it can also be converted to biogas through fermentation or gasification. At present, about half of the biogas produced is converted into green electricity and heat 7. But these forms of energy can generally be generated more cheaply, for example by solar and wind power. Biogas therefore has added value mainly when it can be used in processes for which green electricity is not suitable, such as certain industrial processes.

Green gas8

Green gas is not the same as biogas. When biogas has been produced from, for example, sewage sludge, biodegradable waste and animal residues, it is purified and dried. It is brought to the same quality as natural gas. Only after all of these processes, green gas produced is, making it a sustainable alternative to fossil natural gas. Green gas can therefore be used in the regular gas grid. The production of green gas only requires a limited amount of energy, so the CO2 reduction is 80 to 90% compared to the use of natural gas. 9

Thanks to its various applications, biomass can play an important role in the transition to more sustainable energy. In agricultural areas, for example, there are agricultural collectives that will collectively produce green gas from their own manure. Fermentation of fresh manure has the added benefit of greatly reducing methane emissions, which is a major environmental benefit.

Safety risks when working with biogas

The need for sufficient knowledge is also very important when we are talking about biogas. If there is a gas leak, a biogas explosion can also occur, in which toxic substances can also be released.10 Of course, there are strict requirements for green gas and there are strict controls to ensure quality and safety.

Why choose bioenergy?

Bioenergy is seen as an essential step towards achieving sustainability goals. Worldwide, biomass is the most important sustainable energy source.11 The application of biomass reshapes waste streams and can significantly reduce CO2 emissions, despite criticism on certain fronts. The fact that biomass can be processed and used in different ways makes it an interesting energy source with many possibilities. For example, green gas can be applied in the regular gas grid. In theory, everyone who has a gas connection can use it without having to modify their equipment.

Who can use bioenergy?

Sustainable construction projects are increasingly looking at the use of bio-boilers, in combination with other sustainable techniques. For wood processing companies it is also worthwhile to use bio-boilers, as for other SME companies. There are several applications for biogas 12. As mentioned, it can be converted into electricity and heat. Biogas can be used to supply heat to swimming pools, hospitals or the industry. Biogas can also be used as 'green gas', the sustainable alternative to natural gas. Natural gas is an important fuel in the industry and agriculture, for example. The production of green gas offers a solution in these sectors, among others. It can also be used in locations where other forms of energy supply are difficult to apply or too expensive.

Sources

1. Milieu Centraal, 2020

2. Energievergelijk, 2019

3. Jaarverslag NBKL, 2020

4. Hier, 2018

5. PTH Hout CV

6. Green Key

7. Rabobank, 2020

8. Groengas Nederland

9. Expertise Centrum Warmte

10. Wikipedia

11. Hier

12. Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO), 2020