Contact
Mehrdad Arshadi, Associate Professor
Department of forest biomaterials and technology, SLU
mehrdad.arshadi@slu.se, +46 90-786 87 73, +46 70-611 78 84
SafePellets
Last changed: 20 August 2020
Wood pellets under certain conditions emit inflammable and toxic gases, mainly composed of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), CO, and CO2, in a phenomenon known as off-gassing. For this reason, biomass pellets may cause safety issues during storage.
It is obvious that the needs for research and investigations in the area are crucial and therefore a European (FP7) Collaborative Project, with acronym SAFEPELLETS has been approved. The SAFEPELLETS project aims to solve the questions concerning the origin of CO, CO2 and other VOCs emissions which reportedly occur during storage and transportation of wood pellets as well as questions related to self-heating and spontaneous ignition of wood pellets. The plans of the three years project (2012-2014) are basic and applied research, networks of excellence, coordination and support actions, research for the benefit of specific groups in particular Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Sweden and also European pellets industry.
SAFEPELLETS aims to provide technical and quality assurance solutions to prevent and overcome related threats for industry and final customers. Moreover, SAFEPELLETS aims to establish a comprehensive set of characterization methods for the mechanisms of off-gassing and self-heating, which provides the basis for a unique and new risk assessment procedure for wood pellets supply chains.
This investigation will ultimately contribute to creating guidelines for safe production, transport and storage of pellets, as well as a Material Safety Data Sheet for biomass pellets.
Research is being performed by the following entities Bioenergy 2020+ GMBH (BE2020), Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum Gemeinnuetzige GMBH (DBFZ), Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet Enheten för Biomassateknologi och Kemi (SLU BTK), Sveriges Tekniska Forskningsinstitut AB (SP), Teknologisk Institut (DTI), and Association Europeenne pour la Biomasse (AEBIOM).
Participating industries are Propellets Austria-Netzwerk zur Forderung der Verbreitung von Pelletsheizeungen Verein (PPA), Pelletsindustrins Riksforbund i Sverige Ekonomisk Forening (PIR), Firefly AB, Laxa Pellets AB, De Danske Halmleverandorer (DanskeHalm), Verdo Energy AS (Verdo), Deutscher Energieholz-und Pellet-Verband E.V. (DEPV), Pusch GMBH & CO KG (PuschAG), Dansk Traeemballage AS (DTE AS).