Trebio receives pellet certification
Renewable biomass company Trebio has received ENPlus certification for its new wood pellet mill, which opened this year.
It is the first company outside of the Europe to receive the certification, which is listed as number CAN001, and says it is an ‘accolade from the European Pellet Council’.
The certification will give the company third party verification on the quality and consistency of Trebio wood pellets. Although not recognised in North America, the certification will still be beneficial for Trebio’s activity in Europe, Trebio’s UK and Ireland Sales Manager, Peter Bonsall, told Biofuels International.
Bonsall says: ‘Already we are seeing an uplift in enquiries following this certification. The fact that we manufacture our pellets directly from chosen wood fibre taken from the forestmeans we can get better consistency in the factors of heat content ash, moisture and mechanical durability. Our competitors that use sawmill residue have to take whatever mix of fibre the mill is producing at the time.’
In Europe pellets are used in ‘highly sophisticated and automated pellet boilers and stoves’, meaning the need for consistency of performance and quality is paramount, Bonsall explains.
The certification will last until 2014 and Bonsall explains that the verification process was conducted through a certifying body which had to be convinced that the pellet fibre was sourced sustainably, which it is under Canadian law.
‘We then had full traceability of the product through the processing of the pellets. Each stage of the chipping, drying and pelleting process was scrutinised to make sure the product was manufactured correctly and consistently. The performance of the pellets for heat value and chemical content was checked and verified to make sure that it exceed ENPlus A1 standards,’ Bonsall says.
The certification also covers the delivery process to the client's hopper to ensure that samples are taken at the handover point for checking and traceability.
Bonsall adds that it is already common practice in eastern Canada to have third parties randomly checking the pellet milling process.
‘Our access to the forest is subject to constant verification to ensure that we replant and adhere to all the processes associated with the good management of the forest,’ Bonsall explains. ‘Previous ventures of the management team in the Timber Industry have given us the experience that we have.’
Louis Campeau, Trebio’s CEO, says the demand for ENPlus pellets in Europe is growing and companies are relying on pellet manufacturers to supply them with pellets that are of good condition.
He adds: ‘Our wood pellets are manufactured from fibre straight out of the forest, using sources strictly regulated by the tough Canadian Forest Management Systems. In this way, we make wood pellets from the right mix of species.’
