Supply

In order to decide on a suitable biomass system, careful consideration must be taken when deciding on a fuel source. Many factors affect a fuel supply and to make the most of a biomass system and be as low carbon emissions as possible it is advisable to source fuel locally. This will save on transportation and environmental costs.

Difficulties with supply arise from the fact that only the combustible fraction of wastes and residues can serve as an energy source and only a fraction of these combustible residues are available for conversion to energy. Therefore, the aim when considering supply, is not to expend more energy and finance in collection and transportation of residues to the processing sites than can be gained back from using biomass.

It should also be noted that certain combustible biomass materials may have other uses, such as fertiliser, which may be deemed higher priority especially if it is in food production.

In the early stages of the analysis wood fuel and anaerobic digestion, using animal slurry/ vegetable waste, were considered as potential biomass fuel sources for Barony College.

This section will give an overview of the anaerobic digestion and wood fuel supply chains available to Barony College.

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