Energy News  
BIO FUEL
Walki Biomass Cover: Improves Drying Process And Energy Content Of Energy Wood

Caption 1: Residue covered with the Walki Biomass Cover become drier than piles which are left uncovered. Image courtesy Walki Group
by Staff Writers
Espoo, Finland (SPX) Apr 26, 2011
Logging residue is an inexpensive and easily accessible source of biofuel, but to improve the energy content it must first dry on the ground and after that it can be stored in piles for several months. To shelter the piles from moisture through rain, snow and ice, Walki has developed a paper-based, waterproof cover that can be chipped and burned together with the residue.

The importance of biofuels is increasing globally due to tightening emissions restrictions. Interest in wood-based biofuels has also increased because there are new combustion technologies available on the market that are suitable for solid biofuels.

At first glance, Walki's biomass cover doesn't look very high-tech, but it's an ingenious invention that very efficiently improves the energy content in logging residue. The cover itself is a four-meter wide laminate, mainly produced from renewable fibrous materials. It shelters the top of the pile but leaves the sides open, allowing moisture to evaporate.

A very thin plastic layer within the cover makes it both waterproof and very strong, but thanks to the characteristics of the plastic, the cover can be chipped along with the residue and used as fuel as well.

"The biomass cover is already the widest of its kind on the market and the production is constantly growing. Now we are also developing a six-meter wide version that can cover even bigger piles of logging residue and other wood-based biofuels," says Hannu Nieminen, Product Line Manager at Walki.

In addition to shielding the residue from water and snow, the biomass cover also protects the residue from freezing, which can transform the pile into an icy heap that's almost impossible to handle and has low energy content.

"The phenomenon is familiar to anyone who has piled chopped firewood outside and forgotten to cover it," says Mr. Nieminen. "In the wintertime, the wood is icy and heavy and produces much less heat than dry firewood."

In phase with the environment
Finland and Sweden are pioneers in harvesting energy wood, but because energy saving and biofuels are the latest buzz, interest in the technology is increasing in other parts of the world as well.

"Energy wood is, in many countries, an almost unused resource for producing energy in an environmentally sound way," says Mr. Nieminen. "Our product maximizes the energy value of logging residue; measurements have shown that the solids content of wood can be raised by as much as 15% by using the cover."

In Finland, the main reseller of Walki's biomass cover is Uittokalusto Oy, a Finnish company owned by Grube KG Forstgeratestelle of Germany. The company has been selling the cover for about five years now and is very pleased with the feedback from customers. The main customers are big forest companies in Finland and their subcontractors.

"The cover is easy to spread with the same machinery that gathers the residue in the woods," says Ilkka Leskinen, Sales Manager at Uittokalusto. "Our customers are satisfied with the benefits of the biomass cover and how easy it is to use the product."



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Walki
Bio Fuel Technology and Application News



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


BIO FUEL
Learn To Run A Biorefinery In A Virtual Control Room
Ames IW (SPX) Apr 21, 2011
David Grewell flipped on the augers that carry corn from a truck to a biorefinery. Then, with a few more clicks of his computer mouse, he turned on the pumps that send grain all the way through an ethanol plant, from storage to hammer mill to slurry tanks to jet cooker to liquefaction, fermentation, distillation, water separation and ultimately to ethanol storage. Don't forget the centrifu ... read more







BIO FUEL
Solar power goes viral

Chevron Starts Operations Of 1MW CPV Solar Field

Solar Lighting Consortium Hopes to Develop Universal Specifications

Photovoltaic Systems Boost the Sales Price of California Homes

BIO FUEL
BIO FUEL
Better understanding turbine wakes

Google, Japanese invest $500 million in wind farm

Manitoba wind farm comes online

Alstom Announces Commercial Operation Of First North American Wind Farms

BIO FUEL
Outside View: Gas prices and blame game

China lends Turkmenistan 4 billion dollars for gas field

Scientists Focus on Light Ions for Fast Ignition of Fusion Fuels

Research Contracts Awarded For Renewable Biogas Processing And Carbon Capture

BIO FUEL
Majority of European firms fail on carbon reporting: study

NASA Releases Scorecard On Energy And Sustainability Goals

Coal miners cold on Australia carbon tax

Nonprofits Awarded For Energy Efficiency And Water Conservation

BIO FUEL
Purdue picked for international 'EcoCAR' competition

Icon Parking Systems In Manhattan Continues To Roll Out EV Charging Stations

Ford looks to fill gap due to Japan supply problems

Luxury carmakers see golden age in China

BIO FUEL
Can biochar help suppress greenhouse gases

Rotten meat doesn't stand a chance

Distribution of British soil bacteria mapped for the first time

Growing threat of wheat rust epidemics worldwide

BIO FUEL
Researchers Discover Optical Secrets of Metallic Beetles

Sony challenges iPad in tablet war

A scratched coating heals itself

Primordial fear: why radiation is so scary


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement