Sieving and Covering of Wood Chips Improves Storability

Erik Anerud, Dan Bergström, Johanna Routa and Lars Eliasson
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Erik Anerud: Department of Forest Biomaterials and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, Forest Biomaterials and Technology, SE-901-83 Umeå, Sweden
Dan Bergström: Department of Forest Biomaterials and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, Forest Biomaterials and Technology, SE-901-83 Umeå, Sweden
Johanna Routa: Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Yliopistokatu 6B, 80100 Joensuu, Finland
Lars Eliasson: The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden, Uppsala Science Park, SE-751-83 Uppsala, Sweden

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 8, 1-11

Abstract: Minimising dry matter losses during storage of comminuted forest fuels is desirable from both an economic and a sustainability perspective. This study examined fuel quality and amount of recovered energy during the storage of forest wood chips stored at full industrial scale at three locations, and the effect of sieving and covering piles with a water-resistant, vapour-permeable fabric. Sieving wood chips before storage, that is, reducing the number of fines smaller than 8 mm, reduced the cumulative dry matter losses to <2%, while cumulative dry matter losses after storage for 4–6 months using current practices, that is, unsieved and uncovered, reached 10.6%. The combined effect of storage management led to a value loss of 11.5%, while both covering and sieving led to lower losses, with the combination of sieving and covering giving a 1.3% value increase, and thus, increased storability.

Keywords: dry matter loss; forest fuel; fuel quality; moisture content (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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