Why Wood Pellets?

	Wood pellets	Sunflower pellets	Agro-pellets	Wood chips
Calorific value, kWh/t	5200	4500	2400	2400
Moisture, %	7%	8%	12–15%	45%
Ash content, mineral inclusions, kg/t	4	50	150	4–30
Emissions into the atmosphere	Minimal	Smoke + sulfur	Smoke + sulfur	Minimal + smoke
Required fuel amount, t	100	115	200	200
Burner maintenance (ash amount), kg	400	13225	30000	1000
Conclusion	✔

* Consumption of liquefied gas (propane–butane) is equivalent to diesel consumption.

Conclusions from the fuel comparison

1. Wood pellets are the most energy-dense fuel. Calorific value 5200 kWh/t versus 4500 for sunflower pellets and only 2400 for agro-pellets and wood chips.
2. Lowest moisture — stable combustion. Wood pellets have only 7% moisture (sunflower pellets — 8%, agro-pellets — 12–15%, wood chips — 45%).
3. Minimal ash and mineral inclusions. Only 4 kg/t of ash: 12.5× less than sunflower pellets (50 kg/t) and 37.5× less than agro-pellets (150 kg/t); even compared to wood chips (4–30 kg/t) the advantage is up to 7.5×.
4. Cleanest emissions. For wood pellets — minimal; for alternatives: “smoke + sulfur” (sunflower pellets, agro-pellets) or “minimal + smoke” (wood chips).
5. Less fuel for the same job. You need about 100 t of pellets versus 115 t sunflower, 200 t agro-pellets and 200 t wood chips.
6. Least burner maintenance. Ash to be removed: pellets — only 400 kg, which is ≈33× less than sunflower pellets (13,225 kg), ≈75× less than agro-pellets (30,000 kg) and 2.5× less than wood chips (1,000 kg).
7. Summary: wood pellets provide maximum energy efficiency, stable drying quality, the lowest emissions and ash content, require less fuel and result in the lowest maintenance costs. They are the best choice for grain dryer heat generators.