Commercial biomass boilers
Things to consider
There are many things to consider when you are looking to install a commercial biomass boiler. By far the most important thing is to do your homework on the installer. Most of the boilers that are sold in the UK have been around for some time or are imported from the continent where they have been established for over 30 years and work very well.
Out of the 20 or so types of boiler I have come across (Ether as an installer or as a design engineer called out to a system that doesn’t work very well) I would say that 95% of the faults that I come across are due to incorrectly sized/designed systems.
Systems have various fault from an incorrectly designed fuel store that cannot take the required delivery or requires a large amount of manual intervention, to over/undersized boilers, pipe work and pumps.
Potential faults
The vast majority of issues arise when the installer of domestic type installations step in the world of commercial or industrial installations.
We have found that generally they do not have the in-house design/CAD engineers to correctly calculate all of the requirements that a large scale commercial system requires, for example the hydraulic flow rate required, pipe and pump sizing, flue dispersion models and heat demand profiles, as well as the system controls and philosophy.
I would say it is imperative to contact the clients of installations that they have completed to gain an understanding of how well the project is functioning and to see if the scale of the system that has been installed, is a similar size or greater to the one proposed at your site.
Other major stumbling blocks that are common revolve around the type of fuel you are proposing to use.
We have installed or been involved in commercial biomass boilers that are burning horse manure, wood waste, wood dust, wood chip, grain and pellet.
There are major differences in characteristics and the calorific value of all of these fuels, as well as differing regulations regarding the emission values. So again, ensure that the installer has sufficient knowledge of this type of fuel regardless of the type of installer they are (Domestic, Commercial, or Industrial).
Dear sir/madam
I am looking for a bit of guidance to speak to someone regarding horse waste as a fuel.
I am looking to bed a number of horses on shredded paper/cardboard and I understand that a drier can be placed on site and this will be emptied and the waste to be made into briquettes ? I am on the Oxford/Berks boarder and looking for a company that would supply a bin and take it away? I’m also in interested in the costs involved to see it it is viable.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Regards
Victoria
Hi Victoria,
I have completed a project in London where they use the horse manure bedding to generate heat. The waste is collected in bins, which then goes through an automated process, including drying before it can enter their boiler. Due to the cost of the machinery required, this needs to be done on a relatively large scale. The stables have over 150 horses and the site can accommodate the heat that is produced from the boiler (some of which goes to the drier) which makes this particular project viable.
If you are looking to make Briqueets from this type of waste for use as a fuel to sell or burn yourself, any heat emitter that uses the fuel will need to be WID/IED (Waste incineration directive, Industrial emissions directive) compliant. The above project meets all of the requirements under the WID/IED regulations, but this type of boiler makes up a very small fraction of the biomass market and is normally a result of a particular companies waste stream. All of the projects that i have been involved with process their own waste on site. I do not know of any companies that would take this away for processing off site.
That being said, there are govenment incentives which will help offset the cost of installing this equipment and you could see a considerable return on any investment made, so long as your site fits the criteria to be viable.
Please contact me on info@www.mechselectedservices.co.uk or call 07929206094 and we can discuss further to see if this would work on your site. If so we can then arrange a free site visit.
Regards
John Southwood
Director
Selected Eco Energy Ltd