Preservation of wood chips

The project will investigate and pinpoint practical possibilities for minimizing these effects through theory and practice. The theory will address conditions allowing for preservation of wood chips through airtight storage. Comparable to ensilaging methods used for preservation of animal fodder. In practice 4 stacks of chips will be made from summer dry Norway spruce; green Norway spuce chips; and fresh chips from hole Norway spruce stems. One stack will be a reference stack stored conventionally. Stack temperatures will be measured during storage providing good insight into the biological activity. After storage the usual fuel quality and ensilaging parameters and spore numbers will be analysed. The chips will be examined during combustion to determine if their handling and combustion properties differ significantly from those of conventionally stored chips. Besides evaluating the test results, the final report will discuss the economic consequences of the practical application of this preservation method