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Bioenergy

Showing 1-10 of 64 matches
  • Case studies
    19 June 2009

    Waste was one of the first considerations for Southern Pine Products when it started manufacturing MDF (medium density fibreboard) products.

    The company opted to install a briquette press, which turns MDF dust into combustible briquettes for boiler fuel.

    Moffatts Flower Company, a greenhouse complex only 5 km from Southern Pine, now buys all the briquettes the company produces.

  • Case studies
    19 June 2009

    In May 2008 Cashmere High School switched from coal to renewable wood energy to heat its site.

    The new boilers produce around five times less particulate emissions than a typical school coal boiler. Carbon emissions have reduced by 216 tonnes per year. The wood-fired system is also 14% more efficient.

    "There used to be soot and ash in the gutters. Now we just have clean, clean emissions," says Cashmere High support services manager Roger O'Regan.

  • Case studies
    19 June 2009

    A 50kW wood pellet-fired boiler is proving considerably cheaper than electricity for heating the Bay of Plenty‘s 30 bed Titoki Healing Centre.

    Fully automated and fed by a 3-tonne hopper topped up by the truckload, the system operates virtually hands-free.

    Installation cost around $80,000. That compared more than favourably to the other main option, heat pumps, at around $90,000. Running costs are even more competitive at about $4,400 annually, almost a third of the costs estimated for running heat pumps.

  • Case studies
    29 June 2009

    With its future at stake, New Zealand Foam Latex needed an economically viable and environmentally friendly fuel to produce steam needed to manufacture their products - all made from foam.

    Coal was cheap, from $6.10/GJ. But emissions and the costs of mitigating them ruled it out. Diesel and LPG would cost over $30/GJ.

    Wood was cost-effective and clean-burning. A variety of sources helped assure reliable supply - forestry hoggings, timberyard residues, left-over pallets and demolition, even dunnage reclaimed from shipping.

  • Case studies
    1 March 2009

    Christchurch specialty meats producer Verkerks is paying for a lot less energy after taking a fresh look at how it generates heat and processes waste.

    By converting the boiler to burn tallow, a meat processing byproduct, Verkerks will likely cut their energy costs by $150,000 a year.

    The boiler at the company's processing plant produces steam for heating the smoke houses and fermenting rooms, and water heating.

    Until recently the boiler operated only on diesel, consuming around 7,000 litres - and thousands of dollars - every week.

  • Case studies
    19 June 2009

    In May 2008 Cashmere High School switched from coal to renewable wood energy to heat its site.

    The new boilers produce around five times less particulate emissions than a typical school coal boiler. Carbon emissions have reduced by 216 tonnes per year. The wood-fired system is also 14% more efficient.

    "There used to be soot and ash in the gutters. Now we just have clean, clean emissions," says Cashmere High support services manager Roger O'Regan.

  • Case studies
    19 June 2009

    A 50kW wood pellet-fired boiler is proving considerably cheaper than electricity for heating the Bay of Plenty‘s 30 bed Titoki Healing Centre.

    Fully automated and fed by a 3-tonne hopper topped up by the truckload, the system operates virtually hands-free.

    Installation cost around $80,000. That compared more than favourably to the other main option, heat pumps, at around $90,000. Running costs are even more competitive at about $4,400 annually, almost a third of the costs estimated for running heat pumps.

  • Case studies
    19 June 2009

    Waste was one of the first considerations for Southern Pine Products when it started manufacturing MDF (medium density fibreboard) products.

    The company opted to install a briquette press, which turns MDF dust into combustible briquettes for boiler fuel.

    Moffatts Flower Company, a greenhouse complex only 5 km from Southern Pine, now buys all the briquettes the company produces.

    The saving in Southern Pine's waste disposal costs is projected to be $180,000 a year and annual revenue from briquettes is projected to be around $25,000.

  • Case studies
    26 August 2009

    ‘Biogas' - gas produced during the breakdown of organic matter - can be harnessed and used to provide heat, electricity and transport fuel. Biogas schemes help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deal more effectively with effluent disposal on farms. This guide to biogas schemes is aimed at a farming audience, and includes practical examples.

  • Fact sheets and brochures
    1 June 2005

    Utilising biogas makes sense because it occurs as a result of a number of existing natural processes and the gas would otherwise be emitted into the atmosphere as a harmful greenhouse gas. Biogas contains methane, which has twenty times more greenhouse effect than carbon dioxide. The process of burning biogas for electricity generation or heat converts the methane into carbon dioxide, therefore significantly reducing the environmental impact.