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Under the rather unlikely-sounding headline of "SCR Euro-4 Axor barks up the BioDiesel tree" Biglorryblog learns that environmentally-friendly heating pioneer The Energy Crops Company is underlining its 'green' credentials by running its new Mercedes six-wheeler on BioDiesel. And as you all know, (or should do by now following my recent blog on Volvo's green truck fleet) BioDiesel fuel is almost CO2 neutral. The Axor 2633's Euro 4 SCR engine will run on a 50:50 blend of the stuff with regular diesel and according to the press blurb '...as a result, its emissions are exceptionally low.'
The new 26-tonner has a custom-built tank body, with high-pressure blowing system, by Feldbinder UK, of Spalding and for those of you that are curious The Energy Crops Company was founded in 2005 to provide sustainable wood-fired heating solutions to a wide range of commercial and industrial customers and specialises in supplying woood pellet fuel and, through its network of partners, offers a complete service for converting to biomass heating.
While it's still in its infancy in the UK, apparently the wood pellet industry is well established on the Continent and particularly popular in Austria, Germany and Scandinavia. The dried pellets are produced from wood taken from sustainable forests and are a carbon neutral heat source, the CO2 absorbed by trees during growth cancelling out that emitted when they are burnt.
The pellets require specially adapted biomass boilers but I am told are highly efficient, producing twice as much energy as 'wet' wood – 1kg of pellets provides as much heat as a 1 kilowatt electric fire running for five hours. And not a lot of people know that.
The new Axor has a maximum payload of 16 tonnes and will work on a contract with Nottinghamshire County Council which, over the last three years, has converted coal-fired boilers in 15 of its schools to wood pellet units; following the award of a £500,000 Bioenergy Capital Grant, more schools are now due to follow.
The new 26-tonner has a custom-built tank body, with high-pressure blowing system, by Feldbinder UK, of Spalding and for those of you that are curious The Energy Crops Company was founded in 2005 to provide sustainable wood-fired heating solutions to a wide range of commercial and industrial customers and specialises in supplying woood pellet fuel and, through its network of partners, offers a complete service for converting to biomass heating.
While it's still in its infancy in the UK, apparently the wood pellet industry is well established on the Continent and particularly popular in Austria, Germany and Scandinavia. The dried pellets are produced from wood taken from sustainable forests and are a carbon neutral heat source, the CO2 absorbed by trees during growth cancelling out that emitted when they are burnt.
The pellets require specially adapted biomass boilers but I am told are highly efficient, producing twice as much energy as 'wet' wood – 1kg of pellets provides as much heat as a 1 kilowatt electric fire running for five hours. And not a lot of people know that.
The new Axor has a maximum payload of 16 tonnes and will work on a contract with Nottinghamshire County Council which, over the last three years, has converted coal-fired boilers in 15 of its schools to wood pellet units; following the award of a £500,000 Bioenergy Capital Grant, more schools are now due to follow.
