2017619 TypesofbiomassboilerTheGreenAge

Choosingabiomassboiler

Domesticbiomassboilersareusuallydividedintothefollowingcategories:movinggrate,planegrate,batchfiredand
stoker.Herewewilllookateachofthesesystemstohelpyoudecidewhichisbestforyou.

MOV I NG GRATE

Themostflexible,butalsothemostexpensivetypeofsystem,themovinggratesometimescalledinclinedorstep
grate requires considerable combustion space and additional equipment. The fuel is shuffled into the combustion
chamberusingsteppedgrates,whichcausethefueltodryquicklyandthencombust.Byvaryingthegratespeed,
youcanallowforawidevarietyoffuelwithvaryingmoisturecontent(usuallyupto60%).Ascombustionoccurs,ash
isproduced,whichfallsofftheendofthegrate.
ThesearecommonlyfoundinnorthernEurope,includingtheUK,becauseofthewideavailabilityofmoistsoftwood
fuels.
Advantages

Widerangeofmoisturecontentandparticlesizes,socheaperfuelcanbeused
Lesspronetoblockages
Higherefficiency

Disadvantages

Canhavealongwarmuptimewithwetterfuels
Lowloadoperationcanleadtohighermaintenancecosts
Highercapitalcosts

P LANE GRATE S Y S TE MS

Inthesesystems,thecombustionchamberissmallerandthefeedisunderneathorsidefed.Thesesystemsareideal
forusewithdrierfuelswithamoisturecontentbelow35%.Ashisauguredfromthebottomofthechamberorremoved
manually.
Advantages

Smaller combustion chamber and less refractory material means that these systems can be situated in a
smallerspacethanothersystems
Theycanalsooperateonmultiplefueltypes,allowingflexibility
Asimplerdesignmeansthatitwillbecheaperthanamovinggratesystem

Disadvantages

Due to the smaller combustion chamber, the moisture content of the fuel must be lower, and as a result
higherqualityfuelisneeded.

https://www.thegreenage.co.uk/tech/typesofbiomassboiler/ 1/3
2017619 TypesofbiomassboilerTheGreenAge

S TOKE R BURNE R S Y S TE MS

These systems are more straightforward than either plane grate or moving grate and generally around 30500kW
systems.Fuelisauguredintothecombustionchamber.
Advantages

Thesmallfuelinventorymeansswitchingbetweenfueltypesisquicker
Itisidealiftherearedownperiodswhennoheatisrequiredasitusesverylittlefueltomaintainignition
Theyarealsousuallycheaperthangratesystemsbecauseoftheirsimplicity

Disadvantages

Fuel must be dry (below 35%), the particle and moisture level must be consistent due to the very small
combustionzone
Insmallersystems,thelackofvariableairsupplymeansfinetuningforvaryingfueltypesisnotpossible

BATCH FI RE D S Y S TE MS

Fedmanuallywitharangeofpossiblefuels,thissystemrequireslittleinputotherthandailyfillingthehopper.They
burntheirfuelinbursts,ratherthanslowandcontinuouswithfansfittedtoensurecompletecombustion.Typicallythe
systemisunder500kW.
Advantages

Wherethefuelandlabourareavailableatlowcost,thisisacheapandsimplechoice
Thereisalsolessmaintenancerequired

Disadvantages

Dailymanualinputrequired
Fuelmustbebelow25%moisturecontent
Lowerefficiencythanothersystems

Howtosizeabiomassboiler

Fromatechnicalandeconomicpointofview,itisbesttohaveyourboilerrunningcontinually,atbetween30100%
capacity.Generally,biomassplantsdonotworkwellwithhugevariationsinload.Assuch,certainapplicationsare
goingtobemoreefficientandcosteffective.Processapplicationswheretheloadrequiredissimilar24/7(suchas
swimming pools or manufacturing plants), will be more costeffective than heating applications where the load
changesdramaticallybetweensummerandwinter,andnightandday.Dailyandseasonalheatdemandneedstobe
consideredtoproperlysizeasystem.
Whensizingasystem,itisimportanttoconsiderthevariationsindemandovertheyear,andconsequentlywhether
youareusingthesystemtocatertothebaseload,thepeakloador,asisusuallythecase,abalanceofthetwo.

https://www.thegreenage.co.uk/tech/typesofbiomassboiler/ 2/3
2017619 TypesofbiomassboilerTheGreenAge

By catering to the base load only, the system will provide all the
heatrequiredduringthetimeoftheyearwiththelowestdemand,
with the grid or other means providing heat during the periods of
high demand. The advantage of this is that the plant is operated
continuallyatthesamelevel,whichisidealforabiomasssystem.
Itischeaperthanalargerpeakloadsystem,anditprovideslower
costperunitofcarbonsaved.
Catering to peak demand means ensuring that the system can
deal with the periods of maximum demand, with spare capacity
duringperiodsoflowdemand.Theadvantagesofthisisthatitcan
provide all the heat required for the property, maximise carbon
savings,lowertheunitinstalledcosts,anditremovestheneedfor
backupgeneration.
Usuallyacompromiseisreached,takingintoaccountthecostsof
theadditionalcapacityversusthecostofusinggridheatingduringtheperiodsofhigherload.Thoseeligibleforthe
RenewableHeatIncentivemustalsofactorintheincomefromthis,andthecarbonsavingsyouneedtomake.Itisa
trickybalance,thatwillbedifferentforeverybusiness,butitiswellworthcrunchingthenumbersbeforeyoubuyyour
system.

Systemintegrationoptions

Thereareseveraldifferentwaystointegrateyoursystemtohelpdealwiththevaryingload.

BI OMAS S P LANT WI TH BUFFE R TANK

Thisiswhereaheatstoreisusedtosaveheatgeneratedwhenthedemandislowerthancapacity,andthenused
when demand is high. For daily changes in demand, the heat store can allow the plant to run at a constant level,
saving heat generated at one time and releasing it during periods of high demand. During seasonal changes in
demand,theheatstorecanallowthesystemtoturnonandofflessfrequently,reducingoperationalcosts.
TheCarbonTrustsuggeststhatthebuffershouldbearound10litres/kWofplantcapacitywhereloadsdonotfallto
zero,risingto20litres/kWwheretheydo.

BI OMAS S P LANT WI TH FOS S I L FUE L BACKUP

ThisiswheretypicallyanoilorLPGsystemisusedasbackuptothebiomass,eithertomeetpeakload,ortoprovide
heatattimesofbaseload,whenusingthebiomasssystemwouldbeuneconomicalorimpractical.Thismethodis
really useful where it is essential to have an uninterrupted heat supply (e.g. a hospital). It can also be used as
redundancyifthemainsystemeverfails.

BI OMAS S P LANT WI TH BUFFE R AND FOS S I L FUE L BACKUP

Usingbothsystemswillobviouslyhaveahigherinitialupfrontcost,buthastheadvantageofcombiningthebenefitsof
both systems. This maximises the heat generated by the biomass, whilst providing a backup system able to cope
withanyeventualityatthesametime.

https://www.thegreenage.co.uk/tech/typesofbiomassboiler/ 3/3