In 2015-2016, China plans to establish 120 sets of biomass pellet fuel boilers heating projects in North China Area, Yangtze River Delta Area and Pearl River Delta Area, where the air pollution there is severe and urgent to reduce the coal consuming. The total investment is about 5 billions.

      “Biomass pellet fuel for heating is green, clean, low-carbon, eco-friendly and economical, ‘replace the coal by biomass’ is the second way of clean energy replace the coal heating after ‘replace the coal by natural gas’, biomass provide a new choice for controlling pollution and reduce the coal consumption.” Said by Wang Zhongying, deputy director of National Development and Reform Commission Energy Research Institute. China consume 0.8 billion tons of bulk coal each year at present, the potential for biomass pellet fuel to replace the coal boiler heating is great.

New Economical Heat Supply Way of Low-carbon Renewable Energy

      Biomass pellet fuel for boiler refers to the raw material from agriculture and forestry ( crop straw, forestry waste and so on) pressed by pellet equipment to become stick, bulk, pellet fuel and burned in the special biomass burner, the heat can be used to industry and for civil use.

      In Wang Zhongying’s opinion, the unit document issued by Ministry of Environmental Protection and Bureau of Energy further clear that the biomass pellet fuel is clean energy, the heat supply by biomass pellet fuel is a low-carbon and economical distributed renewable method. To establish demonstration projects not only for conforming the renewable energy heat industry, but also contribute to the research of new heat supply way and commercial style. “There are several advantages of biomass heating. Firstly, the production and utilization technology is comparative maturity. Secondly, the heat value of biomass pellet fuel is 3000-4500 kilocalories, the density is dense and easy to be stored and transported. Thirdly, the production process of pellet fuel is simple, the main consume of process is the electricity and wearing parts. The biomass pellet fuel burner is special fire grate furnace and recycle fluidized bed boiler, the technology is maturity.”

      In addition, biomass pellet fuel is green and low-carbon, no-carbon while burning. Raw materials of biomass fuel including crop straws ( such as cornstalk, rice straw, wheat straw, cotton straw, oil crops straw and son on), by-products of agrotechny (such as peanut shell, rice husk, sugar cane bagasse, mushroom bags and so on), together with “three wastes” in forestry (tending slash, logging slash, process slash), these biomass is the typical renewable resources, the conversion process of biomass is the photosynthesis of plants to conform the CO2 and water, the use procedure of biomass produces CO2 and water again, realize no-carbon release theoretically.

      The document make sure of the requirement that the demonstration project must exercise strict control over the release: dust emission concentration less than 30mg/m3 , SO2 emission concentration less than 50mg/m3, nitrogen oxide emission concentration less than 200mg/m3. “Actually the biomass contains little sulfur itself, the emission concentration of furnace burning is lower than natural gas. If the furnace equipped with dust removal installation, the dust and nitrogen oxide emission will exceed the standard at present, and approach to the natural gas. The pollutant is less, that is clean and eco-friendly.” Wang Zhongying said, energetically promote the biomass pellet fuel furnace heat supply will improve the forming of collect straw, this can solve the problem of open burning of straw that aggravate the smoke haze. To change the waste straw into clean fuel, turning the waste into treasure and increase the incomes of peasant.

      For the place of coal controlling, the most effective element is economy, The data displays that the biomass pellet fuel for furnace heating is cheaper that natural gas, set Guangdong as an example, the price of steam generated by natural gas heating is 380-450 CNY/Ton, while the biomass fuel is 100 CNY which is lower than natural gas. Thus when the price of natural gas is higher than 3.5 CNY/m3, the cost advantage of biomass pellet fuel prominent, the marketization degree is higher and don’t need public subsidies.

Important supplement of natural gas instead of the coal

      As well-known, price of Chinese natural gas is riding year by year, the lack of resource is obvious. The project of natural gas instead of the coal causes energy shortage and price rising.

      Wang Zhongying says that biomass pellet fuel plays an important role in replacing the coal, China has abundant biomass resources separates widely, potential biomass energy corn, rice, wheat, cotton, oil plants and by-product of agrotechny is about 0.2 billion ton of the standard coal, forestry “three wastes”, rest material of wood processing is about 0.2 billion ton of the standard coal, totally 0.4 billion ton of the standard coal. Conservative estimate that the heat produced by biomass pellet fuel can take at least 75% of the bulk coal, this is feasible from the source and technology condition.

      Seen from the national experience, Europe countries have widespread biomass heat supply, biomass energy heating take 43%, 28% and 31% in Finland, Denmark and Austria. Renewable energy is mainly used to generate electricity in China. Biomass pellet fuel furnace heating is the new and renewable way for heat supply. Developing the biomass pellet fuel heat supply can open the door of new enhance the proportion of energy use.

      “Compared with the general heat supply way of large scale long distance transportation of fossil and set large scale pipe network, biomass pellet fuel heating is typical distributed heat supply, the raw materials can be collected, processed and used at local, instead of the coal and realize the method of disperse overall, flexible operation and high adaptation, it can meet the need of most heat ways, is the important content of energy producing and consumption revolution.” Said Wang Zhongying.

Develop the endogenous industry, promote the folk investment of new energy

      It is known that biomass pellet fuel burning for heat supply is the typical endogenous industry, raw material collected and processed and used at local. In the collection of raw material, the price is 250-350 CNY/Ton, the pellet fuel is about 950-1150 CNY/Ton, the heat value is more than 1300 CNY/Ton, it provides many jobs for people and breed a new industry. If the biomass fuel can instead of 75% of the coal, the amount need of biomass is 80 million tons, and can conform a new type biomass energy industry with the annual value of production of 200 billion CNY. Part of our import cost of natural gas can support the biomass pellet energy in China, and a new industry will born.

      “Biomass pellet fuel heat supply is the typical private investment leading clean energy industry, including the source collection, biomass pellet fuel production, furnace heat supply and biomass pellet machine, biomass burning equipment research and development. The demonstration project is the positive response of national policies of private investment, which lead the private capital to invest into clean energy area.” Summarized Wang Zhongying.