Review of technology in small-scale biomass combustion systems in the European market

This work studied the importance of wood pellets, chips and wood logs for small- and medium-scale heat production. Pellet use can contribute substantially to reaching the renewable heat and electricity goals set by the European Union (EU) Renewable Energy Directive. Consequently, to integrate into European energy markets, pellet use must be a key piece of the EU energy policy. tudy provides a wide perspective on the state-of-the-art small-scale biomass combustion units, particularly those that use pellets for fuel. Small-scale combustion units include stoves and boilers with capacities less than 200 kW. A wide market review has been conducted, including a review of the literature and information from manufacturers and test institutes. A database has been created, which includes 186 companies and offers 995 different models, providing an extensive view of the European market. The large number of new companies shows that the solid-fuel boiler market is continuously increasing across Europe. The technologies that are currently the most widely used are described and compared.