Waste From Tree Surgery And Its Application As Biomass Fuel
Even though the change is gradual, the environment in which we live is always changing. There are many causes for the changes, both natural and man-made, and these are creating changes that are challenging for the environment to handle.
Climate change and pollution are the biggest issues. It is clear that we are up against a significant global crisis, and we all must adapt and change of relationships with the natural world if we are to limit the worst impacts of change in our climate.
What Does Tree Surgery Waste Mean?
Waste from tree work typically falls into one of three categories:
Timber
Wood chip
Non-chippable waste
How Tree Surgeons Can Help?
In order to use more ecologically friendly procedures, tree surgeons can change their current processes. By converting the "green waste" they produce into fuel, for example.
How Are Green Wastes Used as Fuel?
Trees need carbon dioxide to grow (CO2). During growth, carbon is utilised in the structure of the tree. It is bound together in the molecules that make up the plant tissues, such as cellulose. The CO2 that the tree has accumulated over the years is released back into the environment when it is ready to be cut down and turned into fuel. Other trees that are growing use this again.
The fuel generated from a renewable resource, such as wood, is excellent for producing a substance known as biomass. As a result, logs and branches are cut into chippings, which are then utilised in industrial plants to produce electricity. The use of biomass is sustainable and clean.
Naturally, the entire process must have a low carbon footprint; otherwise, it will be ineffective. This calls for low carbon footprints in the processes of felling, extracting, chipping, and transporting to end users.
How Are Green Wastes Made Into Chips?
This procedure is really easy to follow. For use in small boilers and power plants, wood chips must be of uniform size. Per chip, the sizes might range from 30 to 50 mm. We also need to take the moisture content of the wood chips into consideration when burning them in boilers. The moisture level of the wood chippings must be less than 30% for the boilers to operate as well as feasible. The wood is stacked high to allow for enough air in order to "dry out."
Chipping: How Does It Occur?
The wood is converted to tiny chips using a woodchipper or tree chipper. Modern chippers are typically lightweight, the towable chippers we use at The Glasgow Tree Surgeon are under 750kg they are mounted on frames with wheels that are pulled behind our trucks. Typically, an internal combustion engine supplies the energy. Usually, these range from 2.2 kW to 750 kW, or 3 to 1000 horsepower. On a vehicle with a separate engine, stronger chippers can be installed. These often include hydraulic cranes.
A wood chipper typically has a collared hopper, a chipping device, and occasionally a chip bin. The collar helps prevent foreign objects, such as body parts, from getting close to the chipper's blades. Tree branches are fed into the hopper, processed by the chipping mechanism, and then released through a chute as chips. The chips may be deposited on the ground, in a container, or in a truck.
What Other Purposes Do Woodchips Serve?
Woodchips can be made into mulch for walkways or gardens in addition to being used as fuel for power plants and boilers. At The Glasgow Tree Surgeon, we supply woodchips to forest schools, community projects, hospitals and Strathclyde University. Woodchips will be kept for a few months to allow them to decay before being turned into mulch. Fresh mulch may be harmful to any plants growing in gardens if it is applied there. This is because nitrogen will be depleted from the soil because the bacteria that break down the wood demand nitrogen. This can be avoided by allowing the wood chips to compost before use.
What Happens to the Non-Chippable Waste Produced by Tree Surgery?
Hedge trimming produces a significant amount of waste that chippers cannot handle. Furthermore, any material that has been caught up or raked cannot be chipped since the blades of the chipper may become harmed by the grit and soil that is present. Non-chippable waste can be crushed, and in some power stations, this biomass fuel can be used in place of chipped waste.
What other tasks may tree surgeons perform that will benefit the environment?
Low carbon footprints are equally important, as was already established. To conserve energy and time, tree surgeons can process items in large quantities. Also, they can try to sell locally produced waste items like mulch and woodchips to offset their carbon footprint.
What Is The Law Regarding Tree Waste?
Regarding tree waste, the law is extremely strict. Tree surgeons in England and Wales are required to register as trash carriers (different rules apply to Scotland and Northern Ireland).
If tree surgeons carry out any of the following actions, this regulation will apply:
Their waste is transported.
Transporting or disposing of rubbish on behalf of someone else.
Buy or sell waste.
Operate as a garbage broker by finding someone else to take care of a person's waste.
Failure to register can result in fines of up to £5000.
There are many registration levels as well. For instance, carrying away building materials would be classified as being in the top tier while a garden landscaper or tree surgeon carrying green bushes or waste they have removed would be classified as being in the lower tier.
But there are some exceptions, like with mulch. 100 tons of mulch can be kept on hand and used each month. Additionally, every week, 500 tons of waste wood or plant matter can be kept or treated and stored for three months. There are further exceptions.
Tree Surgery Waste – Conclusions
It's amazing to see that there are now so many options for dealing with tree surgery waste. These days, tree surgery can benefit the environment, whether the wood is chipped for biomass fuel or used as mulch. There is no need to be concerned about the environmental effects of the wastes produced by tree surgeons as long as they follow the regulations and work to make the entire operation as carbon-neutral as feasible.
