There are many ways to dry wood chip
The process is time-consuming and has a great deal of effort put into it. Depending on the method and the desired level of moisture that needs to be achieved, the drying time and techniques vary widely. The wood chip that is dried adequately becomes an essential component of maximising heat and power production.
Wood chip moisture levels and efficiency
When it comes to the calorific value of woodchips, its usability depends primarily on the wood chip’s moisture content rather than on the type of wood. For example, when you examine fresh wood chips with a water content of 55%, you will learn that they provide an estimate of 2000 kWh in energy per one ton.
Woodyfuel dries wood chip to its optimal 20% (+/- 4%) moisture content, which means the calorific value is doubled to around 4000 kWh per ton and allows for boiler efficiency to raise as high as 80%.
Why should you use forced dried wood chip?
Drying process increases combustion value and lowers storage costs, as wood chips have less sensitivity to natural harmful effects such as microbiological degradation.
For wood chip boilers adequately dried wood chips will perform better. Too wet chips mean lower efficiency in generating heat. With forced dried wood chips, the flame burns hotter with more consistent combustion.
A dry wood chip will leave a smaller quantity of ash, reducing the cost of ash disposal and extend the lifetime of the heating system.
For shipment, removal of the water makes transportation easier reducing weight and therefore allowing for larger amounts of wood chip to be transported at the same time. During long transport in cold weather, or when lorries are parked overnight, dried chips won’t freeze as quickly to the truck body.
