This section provides an overview for biomass boilers as well as their applications and principles. Also, please take a look at the list of 8 biomass boiler manufacturers and their company rankings. Here are the top-ranked biomass boiler companies as of November, 2024: 1.AC BOILERS SpA, 2.Messersmith Manufacturing, Inc., 3.Hurst Boiler & Welding Co, Inc..
Table of Contents
A biomass boiler is a heat source device that produces steam and hot water by using industrial waste such as wood chips, paper waste, and scrap tires as fuel instead of fossil fuels such as heavy oil, which were conventionally used to produce steam and hot water.
One of the main features of biomass boilers is they can significantly reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, compared to burning fossil fuels.
By burning biomass at temperatures above 800 degrees Celsius, these boilers are extremely environmentally friendly, reducing the generation of dioxin, a pollutant.
Biomass boilers are used in a variety of applications, the most common being small-scale power generation systems.
They produce approximately 4 tons of steam per hour, which drives a power turbine that can generate 300 kilowatts of electricity.
In addition to steam, the system also produces hot water, which is used to heat and warm agricultural facilities and to supply hot water to thermal baths.
Biomass boilers are also used in large-scale chemical plants that require large amounts of steam, hot water, and hot water, and as drying equipment in various factories.
There are three main types of combustion methods for biomass boilers: direct combustion, pyrolysis gasification, and biochemical gas.
In the direct combustion method, biomass fuel is directly combusted to generate steam and hot water. The steam generated by the combustion process turns a turbine to generate electricity.
The pyrolysis gasification method uses the same fuels as the direct combustion method (wood chips, thinned wood, combustible garbage, etc.), but combustible gas is generated by heating, and steam and hot water are generated by burning the gas.
The biochemical gas method uses livestock manure, raw garbage, or sewage sludge as fuel.
Instead of burning these fuels, they are fermented to produce a gas called methane, which is then used to turn a gas turbine to generate electricity.
Although it is tempting to think that both methods contribute to an increase in so-called greenhouse gases, they are based on the idea of being "carbon neutral". This is because they efficiently obtain energy directly from within the biosphere, rather than from fossil fuels, thus closing the carbon cycle and not leading to an increase in carbon dioxide emissions. This is based on the idea of "carbon neutrality", which does not lead to an increase in CO2.
Wood biomass boilers are said to have lower fuel costs than fossil fuel boilers. Fuel can be procured from forestry, manufacturing (wood processing), construction (mainly general house construction), and industrial waste disposal industries. To maintain the low fuel cost, a cooperative effort from many sectors of the public and private sectors is necessary to seek a stable supply of both mass and fuel.
Compared to fossil fuels, wood biomass boilers have a smaller calorific value of wood fuel and vary in quality. This means the equipment cost will be higher to obtain the same output. To popularize the use of these boilers in the future, it is desirable to expand subsidies from the government as well as technological improvements.
In the case of wood fuel, combustion ash is generated at around 10% of the fuel input. Although it is reasonable to return the ash to the soil since it is of ecological origin, it is also a sensitive issue since, under some laws, it is considered waste from industrial activities. The decision is left to each municipality, and in practice, different municipalities make different decisions.
The fuels for wood biomass boilers include firewood, wood chips, and wood pellets.
Firewood is wood that has been cut from logs into manageable sizes and dried to increase combustion efficiency. Wood chips are shredded wood offcuts from the forestry, manufacturing, and construction industries, and are easier to transport than firewood. Wood pellets are made from wood chips, sawdust, etc., which are formed into small pieces and processed for easy combustion. The price varies depending on the number of man-hours involved in the processing. The design of the equipment is determined by the fuel to be procured and the amount of steam and heat to be generated.
Woody biomass boilers, like wind and solar power generation, are classified as a renewable energy source. Compared to other renewable energies, wood biomass boilers have the advantage that they are not affected by weather conditions. If fuel procurement and other issues can be resolved, it will be a very promising energy source.
*Including some distributors, etc.
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Hurst Boiler & Welding Co. Inc., established in 1967 and based in Coolidge, Georgia, is a custom manufacturer of packaged boilers, boiler systems, and biomass boiler systems. The company sells pressurized feedwater and blowdown separator surge tanks and manufactures a complete line of boiler parts and boiler room peripherals. The boiler parts include exchangers, water softeners, and pollution control systems, and the company also offers in-stock replacement parts for all major commercial and industrial boilers. The company’s boilers range from 6 to 4500 hp and can reach up to 900 psi pressure.
Messersmith Manufacturing, Inc., established in 1982, is based in Bark River, Michigan, and is a manufacturer of biomass boiler systems. Its manufactured products include combustion systems such as dry and green fuel systems. It also manufactures replacement parts like damper actuators, sight glass, emissions equipment, wood-fired forced air furnaces, and wood boilers. Its products market covers the USA region and is utilized for schools, hospitals, state office facilities, greenhouses, and forest product facilities sectors.
Sigma Thermal is based in Marietta, Georgia, and designs, engineers, supplies, and services process heating systems. The company serves multiple industries including gas processing, petrochemical, power generation, aerospace, and several others including agriculture. The company’s product lines include waste heat recovery, thermal fluid systems, biomass energy systems, electric process heaters, and various automation solutions. The company also provides aftermarket support including maintenance, retrofitting, upgrades, OEM replacement, and repairs to extend the operational life of components, machines, and systems.
AC Boilers SpA is a manufacturer of steam generators established in 1853 and based in Gallarete, Virginia. Its manufactured products include utility boilers, heat recovery steam generators for combined cycle power plants, waste-to-energy boilers, and low NOx firing systems. Its products comply with the ASME regulations. Its products market serves across the USA. The company is part of the Sofinter Group and has the authorization of ASME Stamp for power boilers and piping. It acquired several ISO certifications, such as ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and ISO 3834-2 certifications.
Bacon Engineering Limited (BEL) is a Canadian contract manufacturer specializing in industrial boilers that was established in Brampton, Ontario in 1962 as a subsidiary of E. Bacon & Co. Ltd. The company is equipped to handle all aspects of industrial boiler plant construction from design to commissioning, including regulatory compliance and accreditation. Its capabilities are geared to the production of industrial burners and steam boilers, as well as boiler control and burner management systems. BEL also offers retrofitting and fuel conversion services to its clients in the water treatment, renewable energy, industrial packaging, and pharmaceutical sectors.
Triple Green Products, a manufacturer of biomass energy equipment, was established in 2019 and is based in Morris, Canada. It specializes in manufacturing TGF biomass boilers and furnaces, grain dryers, biorotor composters and dehydrators, as well as steam generators. It has a patented product, namely Cyclonic Filter. Its products are equipped with BioDryAir, TGF Forced Air, and Walking Floor Fuel Supply systems. The manufactured products serve the agricultural, petrochemical, food processing plants, biomass, and refineries sectors across the Southern US, North US, and Canada. Its products adhere to waste disposal regulations of Health Canada from the Government of Canada.
Fives, founded in Paris, France, in 1812 is a of manufactures machines and process equipment. The company's product portfolio includes CNC machines, milling machines, lathes, and grinders that are used in reactors, heat exchangers, filtration systems, mixers, and other bespoke solutions. The company serves markets including Medical and Healthcare, Aerospace and Defense, Consumer Goods, Industrial Manufacturing and Construction and Building. The company provides services such as Product Selection Guidance, Engineering Support, New Product Design and Development and Custom Manufacturing.
Ranking as of November 2024
Derivation MethodRank | Company | Click Share |
---|---|---|
1 | AC BOILERS SpA |
19.5%
|
2 | Messersmith Manufacturing, Inc. |
18.1%
|
3 | Hurst Boiler & Welding Co, Inc. |
14.2%
|
4 | Sigma Thermal Inc |
12.8%
|
5 | Triple Green Products |
11.3%
|
6 | Bacon Engineering Limited |
9.4%
|
7 | Veljekset Ala-Talkkari Oy |
7.8%
|
8 | Fives |
6.9%
|
Derivation Method
The ranking is calculated based on the click share within the biomass boiler page as of November 2024. Click share is defined as the total number of clicks for all companies during the period divided by the number of clicks for each company.Number of Employees
Newly Established Company
Company with a History
*Including some distributors, etc.
*Including some distributors, etc.
Country | Number of Companies | Share (%) |
---|---|---|
United States of America | 3 | 50.0% |
Italy | 1 | 16.7% |
Canada | 1 | 16.7% |
Finland | 1 | 16.7% |