Wood fuel
With energy Wood is designated to be used exclusively for the production of energy by combustion. In principle, such an energetic use with all wood is possible. In practice, however, there are numerous ways to use higher quality wood, which is then used materially, ie by processing in sawmills, paper mills and other manufacturing companies in the timber industry. Therefore, only low-quality types of wood from the forest, zoom drawn as an energy crop in short rotation coppice wood, wood residues from wood processing industry, as well as waste wood are treated as energy wood.
Use
The energetically used wood can be burned in the heaters and fireplaces in private homes. In this case, chopped firewood in handy billets used, which usually comes out of the forest, or in the last few years is also available in hardware stores. However, it is also possible prior to finishing wood chips, wood pellets and wood briquettes. Also for the production of charcoal and gas energy wood is employed.
On a large scale, however, wood is burned mainly in the industry. The Renewable Energy Act promotes the supply of electricity that can be generated during combustion in industrial plants. This black liquor plays a major role. This consists largely of the obtained in the pulping lignin, the substance that makes up about half of the dry mass of wood. Black liquor is usually burned directly in the corresponding pulp mills and generate electricity. Even with other woodworking operations such as sawmills covered waste timber to a significant extent. If there is no energy use directly in the factories instead, these residual wood are mostly sold to heating or electricity, which can beifeuern this wood with appropriate technical equipment, or which use only organic fuels.
The use of used wood (used furniture, timber, transport packaging and the like ) is problematic because it can be contaminated by foreign and impurities and in the energetic use unknown pollutants would be released. More advantageous is the use of natural wood, which is obtained not only from forestry and the remainder wood from woodworking operations, but also in the landscape and fruit tree care. However, the energy use of contaminated waste wood little is possible under certain conditions. Heavily contaminated material must be disposed of against it.
Importance
In a global scale wood is still one of the most important energy sources. In many countries, even for heating and cooking in rural areas mainly with wood. The great demand for energy wood led inter alia to the shortage of wood at the end of the 18th century in Central Europe, was a consequence of the substitution of wood by fossil fuels in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Today, the importance of wood rises in this respect again. For forestry, important opportunities arise to increase sales, especially of difficult marketable weak ranges. The increased demand for firewood has been wearing the last few years a decisive contribution, also state-owned and municipal to improve the economic situation of many forest enterprises.
An important advantage of wood and bioenergy is generally the base load capability: While other renewable energies can be expected with strong fluctuations in the generation, such as wind energy, wood can ensure a minimum level of energy available at any time. It is therefore an important part of the energy mix. However, wood is the growth of this sector natural limits by the scarcity of the resource.
Despite continuously increasing forest cover from the current 31% of the national territory and Europe's largest timber reserves the absolute share of wood in the total power generation in Germany is only about 3%. On the other hand, in Europe there are also forest -rich countries such as Sweden and Finland, for the development of the wood energy sector has a relatively large importance. In Europe, Latvia has the highest proportion of wood to the total energy production (35 %).