Quality standardization for solid biofuels
The SolidStandards project aims at gathering and spreading first experiences with the practical implementation of new European standards in biofuel production and logistics. The consortium will support 7 selected companies (solid biofuel producers, traders, end-users) in standard implementation through the elaboration of feasibility studies, product testing and quality management.
Ensuring high quality of solid biofuels is critical to market development. Solid biofuels are produced from a variety of plant materials with differing chemical and physical characteristics. Furthermore, production processes and biofuel handling largely impact solid biofuel quality. This results in solid biofuels being a heterogeneous fuel. This has to be considered e.g. in contracts within solid biofuel chains, as the value of the fuel depends on its characteristics. The creation of European quality standards for solid biofuels aims at facilitating the involvement of economic operators in the solid biofuel industry.
CEN (CEN/TC 335) is in the process of developing more than 30 standards on solid biofuel quality. An overview on the status of the solid biofuel standardization process, including standards under development at ISO level (ISO/TC 238) can be found here. For this project, two standards are most relevant and will be briefly described.
EN 14961 is a multipart standard consisting of 6 parts. The first part (General requirements) provides the framework for a common and clear classification method for solid biofuels. The other 5 parts are product standards for commonly traded forms of biofuels such as wood and non-wood pellets, wood briquettes, wood chips and firewood.
EN 15234 on quality assurance for solid biofuels also is a multipart standard. This standard defines the basis of a quality assurance system for the whole biofuel supply chain. It includes general definitions of specifications necessary for agreements between actors along the supply chain, needs for documentation and traceability and critical control points. In addition to general guidance (part 1), specific parts (corresponding to EN 14961) have been developed. Part 2 for example gives an overview on critical quality issues specifically for the wood pellets supply chain.
For an introduction to the standardization process and an overview of solid biofuel related standards, please click here.
For more information about storing and handling of solid biofuels please check the following guideline: http://www.nordtest.info/index.php/methods/item/guidelines-for-storing-and-handling-of-solid-biofuels-nt-envir-010.html
All the resulting publications on sustainability in the frame of the SolidStandards project can be found here