Reducing emissions in Europe is possible with the help of biomass

The massive renovation of obsolete domestic heating equipment, and its replacement with modern biomass systems, would drastically reduce PM10 emissions in Europe . Two recent studies carried out in France and Austria demonstrate this.

Both the French environmental agency, ADEME , and the Austrian research center BEST , reach the same conclusion : to reduce CO2 and particle emissions into the atmosphere it is necessary to replace equipment that uses fossil fuels and also obsolete stoves and boilers. firewood.

Doing it with modern biomass equipment would speed up the process significantly , although it is also essential to use quality biofuels and carry out correct operation and maintenance of the facilities.

How are emissions measured?

Austrian researchers from the BEST center reviewed the Austrian air pollutant inventory method of the Federal Environment Agency in 2019, finding that:

• Emissions of PM10 particles due to biomass heating systems have been overestimated due to an erroneous distribution between obsolete and modern technologies.
• Modern biomass boilers and stoves generate far fewer emissions than those globally allocated to heating with woody biofuels.

Based on these findings, they proposed a change in the emission factor used for modern biomass equipment and a more accurate distribution of the number of modern vs. obsolete equipment to perform a more realistic emissions calculation.

In France, the CARVE project has evaluated emissions from obsolete equipment for 4 years (between 2015 and 2019), comparing them with modern systems, both firewood and pellets, under real operating conditions.

The results confirm an improvement in all the parameters studied when replacing old equipment with another with advanced technology: performance improvement between 16 and 34%; reduction of CO emissions between 41 and 87%; and reductions in particle emissions between 44 and 57%.

The ADEME study points out the three decisive factors in the generation of emissions from biomass combustion: humidity of the biofuel, working power of the equipment and maintenance of the installation.

In addition to having high-performance biomass equipment, it is essential to correctly size the power, according to the dimensions of the home, use certified biofuels and carry out good maintenance of the installation.

More biomass, less emissions

The BEST researchers conclude that in 2050 the Alpine country could reduce particle emissions by 90% in a 100% renewable climate control scenario in which the participation of modern biomass was increased using current technology (although in reality all manufacturers focus a large part of their technological efforts on continuing to reduce emissions).

In their study, they collected consumption and emissions data from 50 cases of replacement of old equipment with biomass boilers, before and after the replacement, observing a reduction of more than 70% of CO2 - including emissions in the biofuel logistics chain. - and 50% in particles.

Thus, they estimate that, currently, for each wood-burning equipment replaced, between 8 and 10 diesel boilers could be changed to a modern pellet system without increasing PM10 emissions.

But they also highlight that, although important, the replacement of domestic heating equipment is not the only solution to ending particle emissions. It would be highly recommended, on the one hand, to design a plan that forces large emissions generators to replace their obsolete technologies and, on the other, to raise awareness about the importance of using appropriate fuels.  

In 2050

Achieving a future with more efficient heating systems and without fossil fuels requires improving the energy performance of the building stock . Replacing obsolete wood-fired boilers with modern biomass equipment will speed up the process significantly. According to BEST, in 2050 particle emissions in Austria could be 90% lower than today.

And in Spain?

On February 23, AVEBIOM organizes the free webinar “Biomass emissions. Are they being accounted for correctly?” in which a researcher from the BEST technology center will explain the project in detail.

According to Javier Díaz, president of AVEBIOM, “the image of thermal biomass is damaged in some cases by an erroneous allocation of particle emissions. With this webinar we intend to show that the methodology used to estimate emissions at the national level must clearly distinguish obsolete and inefficient equipment from technical biomass systems, which more than comply with the Ecodesign regulations .”

AVEBIOM has recently presented to the Government of Spain two ambitious projects to promote the implementation of biomass in municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants, through 100 new heat networks and the replacement of 255,000 obsolete or fossil fuel heaters with modern biomass systems. . “Actions fully aligned with the objectives of the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the reduction of emissions,” says Díaz.