Opportunities to Use Thinning Wood as Raw Material for Wood Pellets

This article presents the opportunities to use small size round wood as a raw material for wood pellets. Article is aimed to give an insight to results of the study and to initiate discussion related on topical questions among pellet industry: what is the quality of pellets produced of undebarked young thinning wood (pine and pine-birch mixture) or debarked young thinning wood. Other topics of the study are to find out: has felling timing or growing habitat any influence to the chemical composition of pellets. Fuel quality indicates that high quality pellets can be produced of alternative raw materials. Key findings of this study are that there is a big opportunity to use undebarked small diameter pine and undebarked small diameter pine pine-birch mixture as a raw material for wood pellets. According chemical analysis small diameter thinning wood with bark is useful raw material for EN 14961-2 (2011) A1 wood pellets. In Finland traditionally small diameter wood has been used as a raw material for wood chips and for pulp and paper industry. Due to the changes in of pulp and paper industry new production opportunities for using small diameter wood should be found. In the future using small size thinning wood as a raw material for pellets can boost the demand of thinning wood and so help to manage young forests in Finland.