German government tells the truth about wood.

[GregLocock]

According to the German Ministry of the Environment, burning wood produces even more carbon dioxide than fossil fuels such as coal and gas.
– 202 kg of carbon dioxide for natural gas
– 340 kg carbon dioxide for hard coal
– 403 kg carbon dioxide wood

Per MWh of heat

Now this rather oversimplifies things. If you leave a tree standing, sure it continues to absorb CO2, but eventually it will die and a substantial proportion of the cellulose will be converted back into CO2.

So in the long term burning trees and planting new ones makes sense, but in the short term they are making things worse not better.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

 

[TugboatEng]

When biomass dies it makes a lot of CO2 and CH4. We should be burning as much as possible to prevent that nasty CH4 formation. Then again, biomass produces a lot of real pollutants when it is burned.

 

[Compositepro]

If that is true, it may be due to the moisture content of wood requiring heat to be vaporized, and to cellulose being a carbohydrate, which contains oxygen and is thus already partially oxidized.

Also, just as a practical matter, it is difficult to burn wood very efficiently.

Did they give any details about this?

 

[dik]

Maybe the object is to burn neither...

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[rb1957]

do you mean, like, do something with the trees ? like, i don't know, make timber framing ? plywood ??

"Hoffen wir mal, dass alles gut geht !"
General Paulus, Nov 1942, outside Stalingrad after the launch of Operation Uranus.

 

[CWB1]

Stateside, burning wood has been banned in many urban, suburban, and even some rural municipalities for emissions reasons. Its more than a heating issue tho. When munis burn banning they end up having to offer curb pickup for trees/branches/leaves/brush bc not only do homeowners want reasonably nice yards, they dont want rodents and other disease-carrying pests around kids and pets. Making matters worse is that munis usually end up hauling the waste to an incinerator, so "benefit" depends on the system and who's keeping score.

Many of my relatives live rurally and a few completely off-grid, relying on woodstoves for heat in northern environments. Some have upgraded to other energy forms, some simply cant, and others refuse to do so. When asked, I usually tell them to be prepared for the woodstove and fireplace to be banned bc I suspect it'll happen in my lifetime.

 

[LittleInch]

Life cycle is a bit different according to this.

https://8billiontrees.com/carbon-of...tors/carbon-footprint-of-wood-burning-stoves/

But there is lots of stories about the issue of micro particles - PM2.5 - and the impact on the environment.

Politically it will never happen, but the restrictions get worse every year.

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[enginesrus]

Aren't prescribed burns, burning wood? Its okay to do that but dare to heat your home with it right? Nothing to see here.