Wood Pellets Regain Popularity for Biomass Utilization

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan unveiled its National Strategy of Biomass Utilization in December, 2002. In Japan, wood pellets are attracting attention as a renewable resource of heat energy.

Wood pellets are a solid fuel made of by-products of lumber production and wood waste such as sawdust and shavings, timber left in the forest after logging, and used paper. To prepare wood pellets, these materials are broken into fragments, compressed, and formed into small pellets. Wood pellets are small and light (usually 1-2 centimeters in length, 6, 8, 10, or 12 millimeters in diameter) and dry, and therefore easy to store. They are also suitable for automated equipment because they have are uniform in shape and amount of moisture. Accordingly, they can be used as a fuel for a variety of equipment, from boilers for power generation to heaters for home use.

There are many advantages in using wood pellets. For example wood pellets are considered "carbon neutral," meaning that when burned, they neither increase nor decrease the carbon dioxide on the planet. Forests absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis as they grow, but this is offset when carbon dioxide is emitted when the wood pellets are burned. It is also expected that the use of wood pellets may help to create new industries.

Wood pellets are used for large-scale boilers of a generating capacity of over 100 megawatts of electricity that supply energy to surrounding areas. Pellets are also used for small and medium-sized boilers that are used at factories as their stand-alone power plants and at hospitals and schools as for heating systems. They can also be used for pellet stoves, consisting of a small boiler for household use. In Sweden, pellets are already commonly used both for industrial and household purposes.

In Japan, pellets are currently produced in 3 of the country¡Çs 47 prefectures: Iwate, Tokushima and Kochi, and 2,300 tonnes of wood pellets are produced annually. At the time of the oil crises in the 1970s, nearly 30 pellet mills were in operation and production of pellets was increasing, but that trend didn't continue long after oil prices declined. Recently, however, wood pellets are regaining popularity as an alternative fuel.


- Outline on Japan's National Strategy of Biomass Utilization Announced (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/db/153-j

Posted: 2003/03/18 08:27:39 PM
Japanese version