Biofuel - Miscanthus and Willow

MickeyShtyles

I'm studying Ag-Engineering in IT Tralee and I'm doing an assignment on Biofuel in Ireland in relation to Willow and Miscanthus. I've read reports by Teagasc and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. What are farmers views in relation to Willow and Miscanthus? Thanks in advance.

blue5000

I don't know if there are any actual growers on here. I don't grow them either but there are a lot of dissapointed miscanthus growers between you and Limerick. What exactly do you want to know?

MickeyShtyles

I was just looking for opinions.... Yeah by all accounts whoever has started growing them has been spoonfed lies regarding how they'll establish in the ground and their growth.

may2001

It might be worth looking at this thread:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=2056264024

Its not only farmers who have been left out to dry either. It would be worth reading a small article in 5th October 2010 edition of the Farming Independent.(page 6), which I assume will be available in your library.

goat2

for what it is worth, i boughht one of those small bags of bio fuel briquettes about a week ago at my local supermarket, miscanthas is the plant they are made of, i was delighted with the heat and the burning time of the briquettes, so much so that i have bought a few more of these bags, have shown them to about four of my friends who have in turn bought them on recommendation from me and my experience with them, not alone that i know i am helping keep jobs, it is renewable, leaves no toxic fumes as it is smokeless and organic, and the other beauty is i can use the ash on my flower beds, it is just brilliant, i cannot speak highly enough about this product,

MickeyShtyles

Whats the brand of these Briquettes?

goat2

MickeyShtyles wrote: »

Whats the brand of these Briquettes?

they are called green flame, biomass briquettes,
also it says one hundred per cent renewable, carbon neutral and smokeless, the plant is grown here in ireland and it is produced in ireland, which means we are also helping keep irish jobs, as they say, money was made round to go round, and i am all for that, and the beauty is, they give great heat in my multi fuel stove and leave very little ash, also i can use the ashes in my flower beds, due to no additives, just perfect,
just today i bought three more little bags, and i have been singing their praise to all my friends, and they in turn have bought some to try out,

10-10-20

I was talking to a firewood supplier recently. He refuses to supply miscanthas logs for a couple of reasons. Mainly, if they are made up using the leaves of the plant, he says that this causes the burn-off vapours to be caustic and cause corrosion in the stove. He said that they should only use the wood stem instead of the leaves. Opinions?
Also, from burning them here I notice that the ash is very bulky, clumps up and clogs the grate. I could fill the ash-tray in a 6 hour burn when I'd normally only fill it in 14 hours using ash or oak (yes, only the best for my stove).

Other than these two reasons, I'd buy nothing but Irish miscanthas logs.

reilig

10-10-20 wrote: »

I was talking to a firewood supplier recently. He refuses to supply miscanthas logs for a couple of reasons. Mainly, if they are made up using the leaves of the plant, he says that this causes the burn-off vapours to be caustic and cause corrosion in the stove. He said that they should only use the wood stem instead of the leaves. Opinions?
Also, from burning them here I notice that the ash is very bulky, clumps up and clogs the grate. I could fill the ash-tray in a 6 hour burn when I'd normally only fill it in 14 hours using ash or oak (yes, only the best for my stove).

Other than these two reasons, I'd buy nothing but Irish miscanthas logs.

I suspect your firewood supplier is telling porkies. He just doesn't want to lose business to Miscanthus. There is no corrosion caused by the miscanthis logs. They are mader from dry materials which are packed very well. There is no corrosive vapour off them.

In fact, if you buy a log gasifying boiler, it will come with a warning about oak. The vapour and gas off oak is the most corrosive of any wood and will shorten the life of your boiler in any appliance that you burn it in. Gasifying boiler manufacturers do not recommend burning oak in any gasifying boiler because of this.

I may be biased, but I have test burned a good stack of miscanthus logs in my gasifyer for an irish manufacturer. They give an excellent burn. They release no vapour - even wood dried to 20% moisture will have a damp vapour on the rim of the boiler, and they have a very long burn.

While I agree that they do produce a good bit of ash, it really isn't any more ash than you would get from burning peat briquettes or turf. However, miscanthus ash is very fluffy. It can be compressed into a small size in a bag or a bucket for easy disposal. At the end of the day, its a cheap price to pay for such a clean and renewable source of energy.

goat2

10-10-20 wrote: »

I was talking to a firewood supplier recently. He refuses to supply miscanthas logs for a couple of reasons. Mainly, if they are made up using the leaves of the plant, he says that this causes the burn-off vapours to be caustic and cause corrosion in the stove. He said that they should only use the wood stem instead of the leaves. Opinions?
Also, from burning them here I notice that the ash is very bulky, clumps up and clogs the grate. I could fill the ash-tray in a 6 hour burn when I'd normally only fill it in 14 hours using ash or oak (yes, only the best for my stove).

Other than these two reasons, I'd buy nothing but Irish miscanthas logs.

i dont beleive for one minuit that they cause any damage, and furthermore the ashes i thought it gave less ashes than coal or peat briquettes, and beauty about them is i am putting ashes in little pile in corner of my garden to put in flower beds, i see nothing to back up that statement, and i have burning the leaves of my bamboos when the wether also, but these logs last for a nice time in my little stove, i intend carrying on burning them, the leaves are dried to a crisp, so no vapour.
other reasons.
trees take years to grow,
miscanthas is a perennial that come up year after year for about twenty years, giving great yield, giving employment to many families,
they are also economical to buy,
their packaging make them clean and easy to carry, and also nice and light to transport
lastly, i cannot praise them highly enough,

djmc

AFAIK miscanthas is harvested in march after being dorment for winter when
it would have no leaves left on it.

may2001

10-10-20 wrote: »

I was talking to a firewood supplier recently. He refuses to supply miscanthas logs for a couple of reasons. Mainly, if they are made up using the leaves of the plant, he says that this causes the burn-off vapours to be caustic and cause corrosion in the stove. He said that they should only use the wood stem instead of the leaves. Opinions?

I grow miscanthus which goes to either the power stations or to make briquettes. Miscanthus is harvested in March / early April when before the new season growth starts. It is then at its lowest moisture content and the leaves have all fallen off and so only the woody stems remain for harvesting. There would be very little leaves in the harvested material.

I also forgot to mention that in some cases these eco logs are made from a combination of wood chip and miscanthus. The wood chip provides a natural resin to bind them the particles together. The wood chip can be from forest or energy crop sources. Some of the logs are manufactured from willow wood chip only.

MickeyShtyles

Cheers for the feedback lads.! Greatly appreciated.

Grass Hopper

goat2 wrote: »

i dont beleive for one minuit that they cause any damage, and furthermore the ashes i thought it gave less ashes than coal or peat briquettes, and beauty about them is i am putting ashes in little pile in corner of my garden to put in flower beds, i see nothing to back up that statement, and i have burning the leaves of my bamboos when the wether also, but these logs last for a nice time in my little stove, i intend carrying on burning them, the leaves are dried to a crisp, so no vapour.
other reasons.
trees take years to grow,
miscanthas is a perennial that come up year after year for about twenty years, giving great yield, giving employment to many families,
they are also economical to buy,
their packaging make them clean and easy to carry, and also nice and light to transport
lastly, i cannot praise them highly enough,

Tough slog promoting it eh,hope the business goes well :rolleyes:

goat2

Grass Hopper wrote: »

Tough slog promoting it eh,hope the business goes well :rolleyes:

im sorry you think i grow it, i dont only own a half acre ground on which my home is built, but i bought this product a few weeks back and have not looked back, to me it has everything that is good about it, it is cheap to buy, which is a plus for me who am out of work, it burn as good as most fire products, leave little ash, is smokeless, is non toxic to environment and it grows every year, so no carbon footprent,i first saw it at ploughing match, and when i saw it next to firelighters and firelogs in my local supermarket i bought a bag to try it out it cost 2 euro per bag of about nine logs, it is produced here in ireland on irish farms, so creating employment, there are enough of us out of work, and very little money going around, so i guess i do rather keep the money around, i also buy local meat, veg, and any other product i can get that is local.
so just because i am singing its praises, dont automatically think i have some financial gain,
the only financial gain is that i have to pay 2 euro for the product instead of paying 4 euro another product that i used to use that sits beside it on shelf of my local supermarket