Harvard makes climate pledge to end fossil fuel use

Harvard Gazette ^ | February 6, 2018 | by Colin Durrant

[woodbutcher1963]

Pellets are typically stored in a large silo and then gravity fed. They may then grind them like coal and blow it into a furnace/boiler. This produces steam, turns a turbine and creates electricity. Also, the boiler can just heat water or create steam to service existing hydronic heating systems.

The major benefit to torrefication is the long term storage. When wood fiber rots it also gasses off carbon monoxide. This makes storage in large amounts dangerous to humans that enter these storage facilities. Torrefication eliminates this rot that occurs when moisture contacts regular pellets.

[zeugma]

I looked up the term ‘torrification’ in wikipedia yesterday. From the description offered of the process, I find it hard to believe that it can be cost effective with alternatives such as oil or natural gas. I’d like to see a per-BTU comparison of the 3. Most of the sources I found during a (admittedly brief) search all seemed like cheerleaders rather than even moderately unbiased sources.

[woodbutcher1963]

I am not sure it is COST effective in comparison to oil, natural gas and coal. It certainly is not cost effective way to produce electricity in comparison to natural gas, coal, nuclear or hydro electric.

However, because torrefied wood pellets are considered “carbon neutral” they can be used as a fuel source to replace coal and conform to new mandated environmental laws or “green” ideals. The biggest volume demand for these is going to be from Europe. They are being mandated by their respective governments to replace old coal fired electricity generators with something else that is NOT considered carbon based. There is only so much natural gas available(see Russia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia). Nuclear has the NIMBY effect. Solar only works when the sun is shining. Wind only works when the wind is blowing.

Keep in mind that sawdust is really cheap as a by product of producing lumber. You are primarily paying for the transportation cost from the sawmill.

I only found ONE website under a search for Torrefied Wood Pellets For Sale. It was in Mississippi. If demand for these type of pellets increases you will see sawmills add these to their manufacturing plants. Some sawmills already produce regular wood pellets. Most current wood pellets producers are secondary manufacturers that bag them for the consumer market. Also, regular wood pellets for heating have much higher use in Europe than here in North America.

FYI, the reason I know anything about this is that a trader at my company tried to get in on buying/selling these torrefied wood pellets a couple years back. One of the colleges in NC was going to convert their coal fired boilers to burning these. They would have bought hundreds of tons($$$$). I also have a Harman Pellet insert in my residence in NH. My furnace is fired by #2 heating oil. Five years ago heating oil got to $4.50/gallon. Based on this the payoff on installing the pellet stove was 3 years. Of course, heating oil has gone down since then.

[zeugma]

he biggest volume demand for these is going to be from Europe. They are being mandated by their respective governments to replace old coal fired electricity generators with something else that is NOT considered carbon based.

Excellent. If we're scamming Europe with this I'm all for it. If their adherence to the religion of leftism costs them a fortune, that's their problem.

Keep in mind that sawdust is really cheap as a by product of producing lumber. You are primarily paying for the transportation cost from the sawmill.

As long as it's cost effective, I'd say it's good stewardship. It's when it gets mandated by government to satisfy religious orthodoxy that I have issues with this kind of crap domestically.

[woodbutcher1963]

“I’d say it’s good stewardship”

Sawmills practically give away their sawdust. Some mills package it in bales for animal bedding. There is less demand for wood chips because of the decrease in demand for newsprint/paper. We both know why that is happening.

Some sawmills already burn their own chips/sawdust in onsite cogeneration plants. They heat their own dry kilns, buildings and sell the electricity back to the local utility.

Seneca Sawmills in Eugene, OR installed a cogeneration plant a couple years ago because at the time the tax incentives from the state of Oregon and the Federal government made the payoff less than ten years. These plants cost multi millions to install. The electric utility can then state that X amount of their electricity comes from a “green” source. This all works great as long as the rate the electric company pays you does not go down. Also, back when PG & E (Enron) went under they owed a sawmill I deal with in Burney, Ca. over $1 million. That sawmill ended up going bankrupt because of that loss on electricity they had sold.