Project - SafePellets - Monitoring of giant stocks of biopellets

Project has finished December 2014. Find summary report here

Danish Technological Institute is Danish project leader in the EU-project, SafePellets. The task is to develop methods for safety and quality monitoring of giant stocks of bio pellets at power stations – mainly straw and wood pellets.

The transition from coal to wood or straw pellets at power plants poses new challenges in terms of security of heat and gas activity. The SafePellets project examines the activity in different pellet storages and documents this. The objective is to create international standards for safe production, quality assurance, treatment and storage of straw or wood pellets.

Development of measurement method

Danish Technological Institute has in this connection developed a method for performing measurements in big stockpiles.

Hanging metrics are hung from the ceiling and different spears (3 - 10 meters long) are placed in different places into the mile with pellets.

Each measuring point registers temperature, O2, CO2, CO and CH4. Alongside, gas samples are taken and analyzed for a variety of other gases. The measurement points are connected to a mobile technical house where measurement equipment is located and data is logged and can be tracked online. The measuring installation complies with ATEX provisionally for Zone 22. Furthermore, an alarm system has been installed that reacts when selected thresholds are exceeded. 

Project partners

SafePellets is part of EU’s 7. Framework and counts following project partners:

• Deutsches BiomasseForschungsZentrum
• SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden
• Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
• European Biomass Association
• Austrian Pellets Association
• German Pellets Association
• Swedish Pellets Association
• Danish Straw Association
• Firefly AB
• Laxå Pellets AB
• Pusch AG
• Verdo Energy A/S
• Dansk Træemballage A/S

Read more here