Journal of Cleaner Production 113 (2016) 400e410

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Journal of Cleaner Production

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

Sustainability analysis of pelletized bio-fuel derived from recycled

wood product wastes in Hong Kong
Md. Uzzal Hossain, Shao-Yuan Leu, Chi Sun Poon*
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The possibility of recovering energy from biomass residues has attracted a lot of research interest due to
Received 24 May 2015 the environmental problems associated with burning coal. Wood wastes generated from construction
Received in revised form and demolition activities and other wood product wastes can be a good potential source of renewable
24 October 2015
energy. The present study was conducted by using Hong Kong as an example to assess the environmental
Accepted 23 November 2015
sustainability of converting recycled wood wastes (from construction and demolition activities and other
Available online 14 December 2015
wood product wastes) to produce wood pellets for direct energy generation. The chemical and physical
characteristics of different types of wood product wastes were tested. An attributional lifecycle assess-
Keywords:
Wood wastes
ment approach was used to assess and compare the environmental impacts and sustainability for heat
Bio-fuel generation from the pelletized bio-fuel and coal. The test results showed that the energy content,
Lifecycle assessment chemical compositions and the trace metal concentrations all met the relevant standards. The results
Energy recovery also showed that significant impacts on health, ecosystem, climate change and resources damage can be
Sustainability potentially avoided by using wood pellets instead of coal for energy generation. The overall findings
demonstrated that the proposed “energy recovery” approach for using wood pellets as a bio-fuel in Hong
Kong is environmentally sustainable, which can provide an alternative route for managing wood product
wastes with the added benefits of energy recovery, and may be more applicable in mega cities especially
when city-based incineration is a concern.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction material. The non-inert materials, such as bamboo, plastics, wood

In recent years, alternative energy production due to the emis-
sion of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and other pollutants from fossil
fuel combustion has been of particular interest. Biomass is a
renewable and cost-effective energy source (Luque et al., 2008). A
significant amount of wood wastes is generated from construction
and demolition activities and the recycling rates of the wastes are
low in comparison to other inorganic compounds (Daian and
Ozarska, 2009). Wood wastes are a low-cost biomass and can also
be considered a renewable fuel, which is an attractive source of
energy for large-scale biomass combustion plants (Gori et al., 2013).
In Hong Kong, a huge quantity of wood product wastes is generated.
In Hong Kong, construction and demolition (C&D) wastes are
categorized into inert and non-inert wastes. The inert C&D wastes
consist mainly of sand, bricks and concrete, and they are normally
deposited at public filling areas for use as a land reclamation
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ852 27666024; fax: þ852 23346389.
E-mail address: cecspoon@polyu.edu.hk (C.S. Poon).
waste, paper, vegetation and other materials are disposed of at
landfills (Poon et al., 2004). According to the Environment Protec-
tion Department of Hong Kong (HKEPD), about 394 tpd (tonnes per
day) of wood wastes were disposed of at landfills in 2013 as
municipal solid waste. In addition, about 10% of the 3591 tpd of
C&D wastes landfilled in 2013 was wood waste. Therefore, the total
amount of wood waste disposed of at landfills in 2013 was about
700 tpd (HKEPD, 2015). Due to the lack of a viable recycling market,
wood product wastes are normally disposed of at landfills. This has
created tremendous environmental problems as Hong Kong will
soon be running out of landfill space to manage the city's waste.
According to the Hong Kong Environment Bureau (HKEB), the three
currently operated strategic landfills will be full by 2018 ((HKEB,
2011).
The three major wood wastes management options are land-
filling, recycling and energy from wastes (Ruisheng et al., 2014).
Among them, landfilling is mostly applied but is not a sustainable
option in Hong Kong due to the land scarcity for disposal and the
environmental consequences of landfilling (HKEB, 2011).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.11.069
0959-6526/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Md.U. Hossain et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 113 (2016) 400e410
Composting and particle board production are commonly used
approaches in some countries (SQ Consult, 2013) but are also not
applicable in Hong Kong due to the lack of industry and down-
stream consumers. Incineration is currently not available in Hong
Kong due to public opposition and health concerns.
Wood pellets combustion is a burgeoning technology due to fuel
scarcity and environmental concerns over burning fossil fuels
(Zhang et al., 2010). Wood pellets are considered one of the largest
type of internationally traded solid biomass that is normally used
for energy production purposes (Sikkema, 2011). It is also an
established fuel in the EU and USA because of rising conventional
fuel prices and increasing demand for greener fuels (Reed et al.,
2012). Wood residue produces a more suitable fuel pellet that can
be burned directly as a heating fuel, and used as co-fuel with coal
and other fuels (Magelli et al., 2009). It also emits less air pollutants
than conventional fossil fuels (Cambero and Sowlati, 2014).
Biomass firing is more stable, because it does not require the spe-
cific types of environmental conditions like other renewable energy
sources such as wind, solar and hydropower. In addition, biomass is
almost applicable to all types of utility boilers (Zhang et al., 2010).
Wood pellets have good potential to provide thermal energy in the
cement industry, electricity generation and other relevant
industries.
Despite the advantages of using wood wastes for biomass
combustion, there are some technical and economic challenges
such as difficulties in wastes collection, handling, and processing
which hinder a more extensive use of the products. Contamination
in wood wastes is also another limiting factor as during combus-
tion, it may pose potential air pollution and ash disposal problems
(Chandrasekaran et al., 2012; Tissari et al., 2008).
To lessen the dependence on non-renewable energy resources,
there is increasing interest in sustainable and long-term alternative
energy supplies. Hong Kong has also set a target to reduce carbon
intensity by 50e60% by 2020 with 2005 as the baseline (HKEB,
2010). To achieve the reduction target will be challenging without
reducing the use of coal and increasing the use of renewable energy
sources. Hence, significant reduction of carbon emissions is
possible by the increasing use of renewable resources as fuel, such
as wood pellets in the local industry.
Lifecycle assessment (LCA) techniques quantitatively assess
environmental performance and associated impacts which can
help decision makers to understand the impact mitigation and
increase the scope of use of renewable energy sources, such as
wood wastes (Cambero and Sowlati, 2014). A few LCA studies have
been conducted on wood pellets production to assess their ap-
plications for energy generation in North America (Pa et al., 2011;
Katers et al., 2012; Zhang et al., 2010) and in Europe (Chen, 2009;
Giuntoli et al., 2015). But the previous studies did not assess the
physical and chemical compositions of the wood wastes. This
aspect is very important, because the composition helps to un-
derstand the suitability of the wood wastes for fuel combustion.
Proximate and elemental analysis is particularly important for the
evaluation of the fuels in terms of heating value and potential
technical problems (e.g. slagging) and pollution problems (e.g. ash
content, trace metals and emissions) (Gehrmann et al., 2004).
Moreover, the previous studies did not assess the avoided impacts
due to wood wastes landfilling. This is also important because the
assessment of the avoided impacts helps one to understand the
benefits of recycling and reuse of the waste materials. Physical and
chemical analysis was conducted to characterize the most repre-
sentative wood product wastes that are generated in Hong Kong,
which included sources from the logistic and packaging industry
(i.e. wooden pallet), and construction and demolition activities
(i.e. formwork, bamboo, etc.). These two types of wood wastes
have not been considered in the previous LCA studies. Therefore,
401
the information and methods conducted in this study aimed to
create new references for future development of the energy
industry.
Hong Kong has started commercial wood pellets production by
using recycled wood wastes, but the pellets are not used locally at
present due to the lack of understanding of their potential benefits,
lack of environmental awareness and also the difficulty of obtaining
permission for wood pellets to be utilized as a fuel source from the
authority. Therefore, a comprehensive study is necessary to assess
the suitability of using the wood wastes for bio-fuel production and
its sustainability for use as an alternative fuel to substitute coal in
an industrial setting.
The main objective of this study was to assess the suitability
and sustainability of bio-fuel production from recycled wood
wastes and its potential application in Hong Kong. The first part of
the methods was materials characterization; (i) chemical analysis
of different types of wood wastes was conducted to assess their
chemical compositions (proximate analysis), and (ii) the energy,
moisture and trace metal contents were assessed and compared
with that of a reference material (e.g. coal). In the second part, the
environmental impact of using recycled wood wastes for wood
pellets production and using the latter as a fuel for energy re-
covery in Hong Kong was assessed by conducting an attributional
LCA. A detailed LCA for wood pellets production and the eco-
efficiency for using the pellets as a fuel are presented along with
the explanations of the key steps and pertinent aspects of the
assessment. Therefore, the present study will help to maximize
the recycling of wood wastes, and bio-fuel production for energy
recovery.
2. Materials and methods
The first part of the ‘Materials and methods’ section is focused
on the characterization of the studied samples, and the second part
describes the procedure used for the lifecycle assessment.
2.1. Physical and chemical analysis
The wood waste samples were collected from typical sources
such as formwork used for concrete casting and bamboo used for
scaffolding in the construction industry, wooden pallet used for
shipping and packaging goods, cut tree branches, and ‘mixed’ (a
mixture of the above). Furniture plywood (old or new) was not used
for wood pellet production in Hong Kong (based on the field sur-
vey), as it contains hazardous chemicals such as phthalates, volatile
organic compounds, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, per-
fluorinated compounds, perchloroethylene, formaldehyde, heavy
metals and others (FBPR, 2008). However, a furniture sample was
also collected for the analysis to compare the physical and chemical
composition with other wood wastes and coal. In addition, chem-
ically treated wood wastes were not used to produce wood pellets
in Hong Kong.
2.1.1. Heat value and moisture content
The physical and chemical characterizations of the wood wastes
were tested by using the American Society for Testing and Materials
(ASTM) standards described by NYSERDA (2013). The collected
wood samples were ground using a SPEX c 6770 Freezer/Mill® to
produce a fine powder and screened to pass through a No. 40 (425-
mm) sieve. The grounded materials were then pelletized for analysis
in a Bomb Calorimeter as per the ASTM method (ASTM E711-87) for
the determination of energy content (gross calorific value). The
moisture content was assessed by using the standard procedure of
ASTM E871-82.
402 Md.U. Hossain et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 113 (2016) 400e410
2.1.2. Proximate and trace metal analysis
The analysis procedure of the fuel wood is described in ASTM
E870-82. The elemental characterization was assessed by using the
standard procedure of ASTM E870-82 (proximate analysis) using
an Elmentar vario EL III analyser (CHN-OS, German). The wood
samples were ground using a Freezer Mill (described above) to
produce a fine powder. At least 2 g of the ground sample was ashed
in a porcelain crucible for 2 h at 580  C using a muffle furnace
according to ASTM D1102-84. The trace metals were quantified
after an acid digestion e sample analysis approach as summarized
as follows. The samples were placed in a desiccator one night
before the analysis. A small dose of samples with a specific weight
of 0.25 g (±0.001 g) was placed into pre-washed Pyrex test tubes
for acid digestion. A fixed amount (i.e. 4.0 ml HNO3, 70%, AR) and
1.0 ml HClO4 (60%, AR) was mixed into the sampling tubes, shaken
gently using a vortex (scale < 4), and then placed in an aluminium
heating block. The heating block was programmed as follows:
50  C 3 h, 75  C ½ h, 100  C ½ h, 125  C ½ h, 150  C 3 h, 175  C 2 h and
190  C until dry. The conditions of the samples were checked every
15e20 min once the temperature reached 150  C. The dry samples
were allowed to cool to room temperature, and then 10 ml of 5%
HNO3 was mixed into the test tubes. The samples were placed in a
vortex and heated to 60  C for 1 h, and then centrifuged at
3500 rpm for 10 min. The solutions were analysed by using an
inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) to
quantify the mass contents of six trace metals, i.e. Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pd
and Zn.
2.2. Environmental impacts assessment by LCA
LCA is considered an internationally accepted way to quantify
the associated environmental consequences and outputs of a
product (Hunt et al., 1992). This LCA was conducted by following
the methods of the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO), such as ISO 14040 (2006a) and ISO 14044 (2006b) which
included (i) defining goal and scope, (ii) creating lifecycle inventory,
(iii) assessing the impacts, and (iv) interpreting and analysing the
results.
2.2.1. Goal and scope definition
The goal and scope definition phase defines the objective, sys-
tem boundaries, sources of data and the functional unit of the study
(ISO 14044, 2006b). The aim of the study was to assess the suit-
ability of bio-fuel production from recycled wood wastes, and
sustainability of heat generation and its potential application in
Hong Kong. The system boundary for the assessment was ‘cradle-
to-grave’ which included wood wastes collection, transport to the
recycling plant, processing, pelletizing, transport to user sites and
then combustion. Fig. 1 illustrates the overall flow chart of the heat
generation from both wood pellets and coal. Wood pellets are one
type of bio-fuel and are normally used to produce energy, either as
heat or electricity. Therefore, the functional unit in the LCA is 1 kWh
of heat generated from the wood pellets. Although kWh is normally
used as a unit for electricity, many studies also used it as a func-
tional unit for heat (e.g. Greening and Azapagic, 2014). According to
the IMPACT 2002 þ method, one impact indicator is ‘non-renew-
able energy consumption’ (as primary energy resource) which is
expressed as MJ primary. It would be confusing if the study had
used the same unit (e.g. MJ) to express heat. Therefore, to differ-
entiate the primary energy resources from heat, the study used
kWh as the functional unit of heat generated.
After defining goal and scope, it is important to distinguish and
define the LCA approach used in the study because different ap-
proaches, such as attributional LCA and consequential LCA, use
different methods and system boundaries in order to answer the
distinct questions. Attributional LCA provides information about the
impacts of the processes used to produce a product, but does not
consider indirect effects arising from changes in the output of a
product. It generally provides information on the average unit of
products and is useful for consumption-based impact accounting.
Mass allocation is frequently used in attributional LCA system
boundaries, whereas avoiding allocation by system expansion is
normally used in the consequential LCA system boundaries, as it
reflects the consequences of a change in production. In addition, the
environmental load of the avoided burden is subtracted in conse-
quential LCA, when system expansion is performed (Thomassen
et al., 2008). However, attributional LCA has low uncertainty
because the relationships between inputs and outputs are generally
stoichiometric (Brander et al., 2009; Thomassen et al., 2008). This
study was conducted to assess the sustainability of pelletized bio-fuel
production from wood wastes and then energy recovery through
heat generation by following the attributional LCA approach.
Nevertheless the indirect impact savings due to wood wastes
landfilling was also assessed. However, the recycling credits due to
the wood wastes landfilling were not given to wood pellet pro-
duction and also not included in the final assessment as the study
followed the attributional approach.
2.2.2. Lifecycle inventory analysis
According to the ISO 14040-44 (2006a,b) series, the aims of
lifecycle inventory (LCI) analysis are to quantify the environmental
significant inputs and outputs of the systems by means of mass and
energy balances. The required data to conduct this LCA were
collected from the respective recycler and wood pellet manufac-
turers in Hong Kong as the first-hand data. The functional unit data
were calculated based on the company's six-month total produc-
tion of wood pellets and total energy (e.g. electricity) and fuel (e.g.
diesel) consumption. Therefore, the LCI data were not collected for
separate unit processes (e.g. for specific motors, conveyers,
hammer mills and dryers). However, this would not affect the final
results of the study. The China Light and Power (CLP) and the
Chinese Life Cycle Database (CLCD) were used as the upstream data
sources (e.g. electricity generation, fuel consumption and trans-
portation) for this LCA. The CLCD is a national LCI database for key
materials and chemicals, energy and energy carriers, transport, and
waste management in the Chinese market. Because Hong Kong is a
Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China, the use of CLCD
database was more appropriate rather than other databases. In
addition, CLCD is also a professional database (applicable for China
and its territories), and can be accessed via http://www.ike-global.
com/. As some of the materials and processes were not available in
the CLCD database, the Ecoinvent 3.0 database and literature were
used to fill this gap. For example, the environmental impacts for
landfilling of wood wastes were assessed based on the Ecoinvent
database 3.0 (Table 1).
2.2.3. Lifecycle impact assessment and results interpretation
All the steps related to the collection and transportation of wood
wastes and pellets production were modelled and assessed by us-
ing SimaPro 8.0.1 software (PRe
Consultants, 2014), and the asso-
ciated impacts were assessed by using the IMPACT 2002 þ Impact
Method. There are essentially two methods employed for lifecycle
impact assessment, such as problem-oriented mid-points method
and damage-oriented end-points method. The mid-points
approach translates the environmental impacts into the real phe-
nomena, such as global warming, acidification, ozone depletion,
eutrophication, and human toxicity which can be evaluated using
the CML, EDIP, ReCiPe, and IMPACT 2002 þ Impact Method. The end
points approach translates the mid-point impacts by modelling the
damage to human beings, environment, climate change, resources
 Md.U. Hossain et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 113 (2016) 400e410 403

T
Landfill System boundary: Cradle-to-grave
Formwork

Collection & transport

Bamboo
E E E E E
On-site Milling Sorting Screening Pelleting
Trees &
handling
branches T
E
Wooden
Pallet Transport to T T Storage &
Transport to Transport to
T ship loading Hong Kong combustion plant baggage
Furniture &
Plywood T E
Coal
Combustion for 1 kWh
production
heat generation heat
Physical & chemical
analysis
T, Transport; E, Energy (electricity, diesel) Emissions

[Note: Raw materials; Characterization; Transport and processing;

Combustion; Emissions; Landfill; Output]

Fig. 1. System boundary and processes of the study.

(e.g. Ecoindicator 99, ReCiPe and IMPACT 2002 þ methods) (Ortiz
et al., 2009). In addition, the IMPACT 2002 þ Impact Method
combines the advantages of another three methods including Eco-
indicator 99, IPCC and CML. Hence, the study selected the Impact
2002 þ Impact method for comprehensive assessment. The IMPACT
2002 þ Impact Method contains 15 mid-point indicators for
assessing the environmental impacts, and 4 end-points (such as
human health, ecosystem quality, climate change, and resources)
for assessing the damage (Jolliet et al., 2003). The method and in-
dicators were selected based on the particular concern of energy
consumption, GHGs, particulates, SO2, and other emissions in Hong
Kong.
3. Description of the processes
This section describes the production of (i) wood pellets from
wood wastes systemically, (ii) coal in Indonesia and importation to
Hong Kong, and (iii) heat based on the defined functional unit.
3.1. Impacts assessment of wood pellets
The first step of the pellet manufacturing process is wood
wastes collection. Wood wastes are collected from various
locations, such as designated storage areas, landfill sites, con-
struction sites and other locations. After transporting to the pellet
manufacturing plant, the collected wastes are then stored in an
open place and allowed to dry (although most of the wood wastes
are already dry). Based on the geographic location of the plant in
Hong Kong, 10 locations were identified as the sources of wood
wastes and the average transport distance to the plant by 30 t
trucks was calculated. The study assumed that the measured
average distance would not change too much, as Hong Kong is a
small city.
The collected wood wastes are then transferred to the hammer
mill by mechanical feeding controls and the waste is broken down
into small and uniform particles (wood chips, ~2 mm). The wood
chips are then transferred to the pelleting mill by a screw feeder.
Pelletizers use large electric motors to extrude the pellets through
steel dies. High pressure and temperatures soften lignin and binds
the wood particles together to make uniform sized pellets (>10 mm
in length and ~ 6 mm in diameter). Sometimes small amounts of
additive and water are added to improve the processing. After-
wards, the hot finished pellets enter a counter-flow cooler to
expedite cooling and evaporation. Cooling is necessary since it
enhances pellet durability and storage stability. Designated tem-
porary storage areas are available in the plant to keep the pellets

Table 1
Key inputs for this study.

Materials/Processes Unit Sources of upstream data

Energy
Electricity (for pellet production) 140 kWh/tonne of wood pellets,a CLP (2014) and CLCD (2010a)
Diesel (for pellet production) 3.0 L/tonne of wood pellets,a CLCD (2010b)
Transports
Wood waste transport (to pellet manufacturing plant) 43 km by 30 t trucks,b CLCD (2010c)
Wood pellet transport (to cement manufacturing plant) <1 km by 30 t trucks,a CLCD (2010c)
Wood waste transport (to landfill sites) 53 km by 18 t trucks,a CLCD (2010c)
Coal transport to ship loading 80 km by inland barge,b CLCD (2010d)
Coal transport to Hong Kong Port 4072 km by ocean ship,b Ecoinvent 3.0 (2013b)
Coal transport to cement manufacturing plant <2 km by 30 t truck,b CLCD (2010c)
Processes
c
Wood wastes landfill disposal Ecoinvent 3.0 (2013c)
Pellet combustion 1 kWh heat generation Chen (2009)
Coal production (Indonesia) 1 tonne Ecoinvent 3.0 (2013a)
Coal combustion 1 kWh heat generation Babbitt and Lindner (2005)
a
First-hand data.
b
Measured.
c
Equivalent amount of wood pellets production.
404 Md.U. Hossain et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 113 (2016) 400e410
dry. However, no long-term storage is required as the company is
producing on a limited scale currently. The finished pellets are then
packaged and ready for shipment to users. The plant operates 5
days per week, 9 h per day.
In LCA studies, some logical assumptions are coherently needed
as it is almost impossible to model a product by strictly following
the real process step by step (Blengini et al., 2012). However, it is
important to define the most important steps in the manufacturing
process of a product. The main steps of producing wood pellets
involve the following steps:
Step 1: Wood wastes are collected and transported from various
locations to the pellet manufacturing plant (average 43 km by 30 t
trucks was measured in this study)
Step 2: The collected wood wastes are stored in a dry facility on
site (no material and energy consumption is required)
Step 3: Most of the wood wastes used to produce wood pellets in
this plant are already dry (e.g. formwork, bamboo and wooden
pallet). Additional drying is not performed in this plant currently.
Step 4: On-site handling (by forklift trucks)
Step 5: Transfer to the hammer mill (by conveyor)
Step 6: Broken down into small and uniform particles (using the
hammer mill)
Step 7: Sorting and screening.
Step 8: Pelletization by applying high pressure and temperature.
Step 9: Cooling and evaporation for hot finished pellets.
Step 10: Screening for recycling the fine fractions back to the
pelleting process.
Step 11: Bagging and storage (from steps 4e11, average 140 kWh
electricity and 3 L diesel is needed to produce 1 tonne of pellets)
Step 12: Transport to cement manufacturing plant (<1 km by
30 t trucks).
The necessary processing data were collected from the wood
pellets producer. Currently, the annual production rate of the
company is about 15,000 t. The plant processes over 16,500 t of
locally generated wood wastes (wood wastes to pellets ratio, 1: 0.9).
According to the pelleting ratio, there is 1.11 tonnes of wood wastes
that would need to be disposed of at landfills per tonne of wood
pellets produced. The average distance from the 10 selected waste
wood generation locations to the landfills is about 53 km using 18 t
trucks. All the steps related to the collection and transportation of
wood wastes and pellets production are modelled into the soft-
ware. To unify the functional unit, the amount of wood pellets
required to generate 1 kWh of heat was taken as a functional unit in
this part of the study.
3.2. Impacts assessment of reference coal
According to the Hong Kong Energy Statistics annual report
(HKES), about 95% of coal used in Hong Kong was imported from
Indonesia in 2013 (HKES, 2013). Hence, the environmental impacts
of coal production in Indonesia and transport to Hong Kong were
modelled in this study. The system boundary was ‘cradle-to-site’
which includes the coal mining in Indonesia and the transport of
coal to Hong Kong. There are three main coal mine areas in
Indonesia: South Sumatra Island, South Kalimantan and East Kali-
mantan. The study assumed that the coal was imported from
Banjarmasin Terminal in the Port of Banjarmasin, Kalimantan to
Hong Kong. The transport distance by bulk oceanic carrier was then
calculated. The Ecoinvent 3.0 database was used as a source of LCI
data for hard coal production in Indonesia, and the transport of coal
to Hong Kong (by ocean carrier, Global average). Finally, all the
steps were incorporated into the model using software and the
associated impacts were assessed. To unify the functional unit, the
amount of coal required to generate 1 kWh of heat was taken as the
functional unit for this part of the study.
3.3. Comparative impacts assessment of heat generation from wood
pellets and coal
To compare the impacts of using wood pellets and coal as a fuel
source for the combustion process in a real industrial setting
(cement kiln), the system boundary of the LCA was extended from
‘cradle-to-gate’ to ‘cradle-to-grave’ (for combustion). The LCI data
for wood pellets combustion for energy generation were collected
from Chen (2009), and that for coal combustion from Babbitt and
Lindner (2005). The LCI data were adjusted and updated based on
the energy content and efficiency of the fuels, as well as the mea-
surement results (e.g. chemical analysis) in this study. Although
material characterization and LCA were two separate parts of the
study, there is a clear linkage between them. For example, (1) based
on the energy content (characterization), lifecycle inventory (LCI)
was adjusted and the values were used for LCA of the combustion,
(2) similarly, the energy content, trace metal and ash contents were
determined (characterization) which were used to update the LCI
for this particular study to assess the impacts more accurately. A
schematic of the system boundary and processes is given in Fig. 1.
The environmental impacts were assessed using the IMPACT
2002 þ Impact Method with the functional unit of 1 kWh of heat
generation.
4. Results and discussion
The first part of the results will focus on the physical and
chemical characterization of the studied samples, and the second
part will be related to the sustainability assessment using LCA
techniques.
4.1. Materials characterization
The quality of wood pellets was determined by several key pa-
rameters including moisture content, calorific value, ash content,
elemental composition and other chemical contents (Tarasov et al.,
2013). According to the proximate and ultimate analysis, the results
of the physical and chemical characteristics of different wood waste
samples and the reference coal are summarized in Table 2.
4.1.1. Energy and moisture content
The energy values of the tested samples ranged between 18.70
and 25.00 MJ/kg and were all very close to the value measured from
the coal sample (sub-bituminous coal, i.e., 22.00 MJ/kg). Among the
five wood waste samples, furniture had the highest energy value
due to its high polymer content contributed by the paints and resin
binders. On the contrary, bamboo had the lowest energy value
mostly due to its lower lignin content in its structure. However, the
energy content of bamboo could still meet the requirement of the
standards. The energy content of the mixed wastes was about
19.87 MJ/kg, which is very close to the energy content of the
reference coal (21.76 MJ/kg).
Furthermore, the moisture content of the mixed wood waste
sample was 8.86% which is acceptable for use in pellet production
(acceptable values are about 9e11% on an oven dry basis according
to Reed et al. (2012)). Therefore, no additional drying is necessary at
the plant. However, a significantly higher moisture content was
observed in the coal sample (about 13.34%).
4.1.2. Ash content
The ash content was low in the analysed wood samples
(0.4e3.7%) except for the furniture plywood indicating that they
can be used as clean sources of fuel. High ash content indicates high
content of contaminants or additives used during the
manufacturing processes (such as coating, adhesives, dirt and other
 Md.U. Hossain et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 113 (2016) 400e410 405

Table 2
Physical and chemical compositions of the wood wastes samples.

Parameters Unit Sample

Coal Furniture plywood Formwork Bamboo Wooden Pallet Mixed

Energy Value MJ/kg 21.76 24.98 21.13 18.79 18.95 19.87

Moisture content % 13.34 8.07 10.78 9.62 10.20 8.86
Cd mg/kg 0.009 0.014 <0.005 0.007 <0.005 0.006
Cr 0.318 0.896 0.375 0.261 0.112 0.348
Cu 0.309 0.709 0.624 0.342 0.464 0.411
Fe 3.511 415.150 16.114 3.107 2.075 15.737
Pb 3.692 1.252 0.129 0.025 0.067 0.199
Zn 0.890 3.539 1.389 0.965 0.890 1.193
N % 0.72a 1.90 0.10 0.10 0.20 0.80
C 73.32a 29.10 44.60 42.90 46.40 45.40
H 4.56a 4.00 6.20 6.00 6.50 6.10
O 20.12a 29.30 46.80 47.30 46.50 45.80
S 0.11a 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Ash 1.17a 35.80 2.30 3.70 0.40 1.90
a
Indonesian sub-bituminous coal [(Silaen and Wang, 2010)].

waste materials), and it induces a high risk of fouling and slagging,
and also induces corrosion due to the presence of Cl, S, K and Na in
the boiler which can create operational and maintenance problems,
and as well as reduce the operating life of the heating equipment
(Ferreira et al., 2014; Biedermann and Obernberger, 2005;
Gehrmann et al., 2004). The ash content in the mixed wastes was
1.9%, which is slightly higher than in the sub-bituminous coal of
Indonesia (1.17%) as reported by Silaen and Wang (2010), and also
higher than wood pellets (1.2%) reported by Ferreira et al. (2014)
(wood pellets produced from sawdust). However, the ash content
of the mixed wastes met the standard of PFI for standard pellets
(<2%) (PFI, 2010).
4.1.3. Elemental analysis
The variation of elemental composition in the different wood
residues was very small. For example, carbon content was
42.9e46.4%, hydrogen content was 6.0e6.5% and oxygen content
was 45.8e47.3%. No sulphur was detected in all the wood samples.
The sulphur content in the sub-bituminous Indonesian coal is
approximately 0.07e0.90% as reported by Ewart and Vaughn
(2009) and 0.11% by Silaen and Wang (2010).
4.1.4. Trace metal analysis
The results of the trace metals of different wood waste samples
and the reference coal are summarized in Table 2. The concentra-
tions of many metals, such as Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe and Zn were higher in
the wood samples but Pb was higher in the coal samples than in the
wood products wastes.
A comparison of the physical and chemical characteristics of
wood waste samples with the reference standards of a few
different countries are given in Table 3. The standards in some
European countries are discussed because currently there is no
related standard for wood pellets in Hong Kong. Among all the
standards, Germany provides the most detailed guidelines and
standards for using wood pellets as a fuel. In Table 3, two reported
cases (e.g. Ferreira et al., 2014; Obernberger and Thek, 2004) on
the chemical compositions of wood pellets characteristics showed
that wood pellets can meet the requirements of all countries.
Ferreira et al. (2014) conducted a comparative study on the wood
pellets produced from a mix of sawdust and six different residues,
including plastics, polymeric mould wastes, tyre fluff, polishing
dust, textile, and shoemaking residues (5e10% by weight). The
study showed that the pure sawdust pellets had better quality
compared to the others. In addition, Obernberger and Thek (2004)
studied the physical and chemical compositions of various types
of wood pellets from Austria, Spain, Italy, and Sweden. The
collected wood pellets were produced from hardwood, straw,
softwood, logging residues, wood chips, compressed wood, un-
treated wood, sawdust and bark. However, the study did not
include the characterization of the raw materials used for pellet
production.
The caloric value of wood pellets is higher, while the ash content
and trace elements are lower than the standards, which indicates
the suitability of wood pellets as an alternative fuel source. The
results from this study are shown in Fig. 2 which provides similar
conclusions that the wood pellets produced from Hong Kong can
meet all the requirements of the German standard. The concen-
trations of all the measured metals were approximately ten times
lower than the German standard. It can be seen from Fig. 2 that
slightly higher contents of some trace metals were associated with
the mixed wastes than that in the coal (e.g. Cr, Cu and Zn). The Pb
content of the coal used was found to be 3.69 mg/kg in this study
which was also consistent with other studies (average 3.00 mg/kg
of the analysed eight Indonesian hard coal samples) reported by
Belkin and Tewalt (2007). Besides, the Pb content for the mixed
wastes was 0.199 mg/kg which is also consistent and even lower
than the other studies (such as 0.38 mg/kg was reported by
Chandrasekaran et al., 2012).
In addition, the ash content (1.9%) and energy content (19.87 MJ/
kg) of the mixed wood wastes sample (typically used to produce
wood pellets) are almost similar to the wood pellets reported by
Ferreira et al. (2014) and Obernberger and Thek (2004). The
elemental compositions are also consistent with the previously
reported cases. There was no sulphur content detected in this
sample, whereas about <0.01% sulphur content was found in the
pellets (Ferreira et al., 2014). Since no sulphur was detected in any
of the collected wastes, the risk of sulphate production using these
wastes is negligible.
Besides the tests conducted in this study, some additional tests
may be useful for volatile compounds such as sulphate, chloride,
and mercury because chloride and sulphate are harmful to the
combustion appliances (can cause fouling, slagging and corrosion)
(Sippula et al., 2007). NYSERDA's test on wood pellets (2013) found
wide variations (21e525 ppm) of sulphate content, whereas the
chloride content was 16e95 ppm and the mercury content was
0.0012e0.0022 mg/kg. The standard for sulphate in wood pellets is
not included in the German, Austrian, UK, Swedish, Italian and PFI
standards. However, the chlorine and mercury contents found in
the wood pellets by NYSERDA (2013) were much lower than the
German (for chlorine <300 ppm and for mercury <0.05 mg/kg) and
PFI (for chlorine <300 ppm) standards. In contrast, the average
chlorine content of hard coal is about 340 ± 40 ppm (Yudovich and
406 Md.U. Hossain et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 113 (2016) 400e410

Table 3
Characteristics and standards for wood pellets.

Parameters Wood pelleta Wood pelletb Austriac Swedenc Germanyc Italyc UKc PFI (USA)d

Moisture content (%) 5.10 7.70 12 10e12 12 10e15 10 <8
Bulk density (kg/m3) 624 591 500e600 550e720 500
Ash content (%) 1.20 0.51 0.50 0.7e1.5 1.5 0.7e1.5 1e6 1
Calorific value (kJ/kg) 17.10 19e20.3 18 16.9 17.5e19.5 16.2e16.9 15.12e16.9 18.61
C (%) 50 50.30
N (%) 0.10 0.22 0.30 <0.30 0.30
H (%) 6.20 5.70
S (%) <0.01 0.04 0.08 <0.08 0.05
Cl (ppm) <200 300 <300 300 800 <300
As (mg/kg) <0.80
Cd (mg/kg) 0.14 <0.50
Cr (mg/kg) 0.6 <8
Cu (mg/kg) 1.10 <5
Hg (mg/kg) <0.05
Pb (mg/kg) 0.43 <10
Zn (mg/kg) 13.20 <100
K (mg/kg) 493
a
Ferreira et al., 2014.
b
Obernberger and Thek, 2004.
c
Hahn, 2004.
d
PFI (Pellet Fuel Institute), 2010.

Ketris, 2006), and the average mercury content in coal is about
0.2 mg/kg (Toole-O’Neil et al., 1999), which is much higher than in
any types of wood pellets. In addition, no sulphur was detected in
all the wood samples tested in this study, whereas 0.07e0.90%
sulphur content was found in the sub-bituminous Indonesian coal
(Ewart and Vaughn, 2009), and 0.10 sulphate (wt%) was reported in
the Indonesian coal by Ishak et al. (2003). Therefore, comparatively,
the burning of wood pellets emits less volatile compounds than
burning coal.
Based on the specification given by ISO 17225-1 (ISO, 2014),
post-consumer used wood can be burned in boilers equipped with
good combustion technologies. However, the standard also rec-
ommends analysis to detect heavy metals, and burning is only
allowed if the used wood does not contain heavy metals or

0.6 Cd (mg/kg) 9 Cr (mg/kg) 8

0.5 8
0.5
7
0.4 6
5
0.3
4
0.2 3
2 0.896
0.1 0.014 0.318 0.375 0.261 0.348
0.009 0.005 0.007 0.005 0.006 1 0.112
0 0

6 Cu (mg/kg) 12 Pb (mg/kg)
5 10
5 10
4 8
3 6
3.692
2 4
1 0.709 0.624 0.464 0.411 2 1.252
0.309 0.342 0.129 0.067 0.199
0.025
0 0

120 Zn (mg/kg) 100

100
80
60
40
20 3.539
0.89 1.389 0.965 0.89 1.193
0

Fig. 2. Comparisons of trace metal contents with German standards.

 Md.U. Hossain et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 113 (2016) 400e410
halogenated organic compounds at levels more than that of virgin
wood. Therefore, the wood pellets in Hong Kong are suitable for use
as a fuel, based on the mentioned ISO specifications and standards
set up by different countries.
4.2. Lifecycle impacts assessment
This part reports the results of the sustainability assessment of
fuel production and energy generation by wood wastes using a
comparative LCA.
4.2.1. Comparative impacts assessment of wood pellets and coal
production
Within the LCA system boundary and methods used in the
study, it is estimated that about 0.45 MJ of non-renewable energy is
needed to produce 0.226 kg of wood pellets from the locally
generated wood wastes in Hong Kong (the amount of fuel needed
to generate 1 kWh of heat, the functional unit of this study). Also,
about 0.02 kg of CO2 eq GHGs are emitted. The pelletizing process
requires the highest energy input (about 84%), followed by 8.23%
for transport of the waste wood to the plant site and pellet trans-
port to the cement production plant, and 7.77% for on-site transport
and handling. Similarly, about 81.4%, 9.36%, and 9.22% of GHGs
emissions are generated by the production process (only emissions
associated with electricity and fuel used have been considered),
wood waste transport to the plant site and pellet transport to
cement production plant, and on-site transport and handling,
respectively.
According to the LCA results of using coal from Indonesia as a
fuel source, it is estimated that about 4.16 MJ of non-renewable
energy is required to extract/process and transport 0.184 kg of
coal to Hong Kong, and this emits 0.02 kg of CO2 eq GHGs (the
amount of fuel needed to generate 1 kWh of heat). For this amount
of energy used, about 96.7% is required for mining and processing,
and the rest of the energy is needed for handling and transporting
to Hong Kong. Similarly, mining and processing is responsible for
the higher GHGs emission (62.4%), and then transporting to Hong
Kong (35.3%), and others (2.3%). A summary of the LCA results on
GHGs emissions and energy consumption for producing the
amount of wood pellets and coal required to generate 1 kWh of
heat is given in Table 4.
4.2.2. Comparative environmental impacts assessment of heat
generation
A ‘cradle-to-grave’ system boundary was considered in this part
of the LCA, which included wood wastes collection and transport to
the pellet manufacturing plant, on-site transport and handling,
pellet manufacturing, storage, bagging, and then transport to the
sites of use of the pellets, and finally combustion.
According to the analysis of the study, the average heating value
of the coal is about 21.76 MJ/kg, and 19.87 MJ/kg for wood pellets.
The efficiency of thermal conversion for coal is about 90%, whereas
Table 4
Summary of environmental impacts of producing wood pellets and coal as fuel sources.
Fuel Processes
Wood pellet Wood waste collection and transport to processing plant
On-site transport and handling
Wood waste processing and pelletizing
Pellets transport to cement plant
Total
Coal Coal extraction and processing
Transport to Hong Kong, and then to cement plant
Total
[Note: Functional unit: fuel needed to generate 1 kWh heat].
407
for wood pellets it is about 80%~90% (Qian and McDow, 2013). As
the studied bio-fuel is not used in Hong Kong currently, the study
used the efficiency of thermal conversion from Qian and McDow
(2013), and assumed that a similar combustion technology will be
used when the considered fuel is used for energy generation. With
the mentioned efficiency, about 183.86 g of coal is required to
produce 1 kWh of heat. By assuming 80% efficiency, about 226.42 g
of wood pellets is required to produce 1 kWh of heat.
Based on the energy content and fuel efficiency, the study
assessed the lifecycle environmental impacts of generating 1 kWh
of heat from burning coal or wood pellets and the results are given
in Table 5 and Fig. 3 (assessed 15 mid-point impacts indicators
based on the IMPACT 2002 þ Impact method). According to the LCA
results given in Table 5, it is estimated that about 4.53 MJ of total
energy is required to generate 1 kWh of heat from coal, whereas
only 1.17 MJ energy is required from wood pellets. In addition, for
the same heat output, about 0.33 kg of CO2 eq GHGs are emitted as
global warming potential from coal, while only 0.06 kg of CO2 eq
GHGs are emitted from wood pellets. The values show that about
74.17% lower energy is required with a saving of 80.91% of GHGs
emission for heat generation from wood pellets instead of the
reference coal. Furthermore, the LCA results show that a 44.94%
reduction in SO2 emission is possible for heat generation from
wood pellets instead of coal, because about 4.24 g of SO2 is emitted
to the air to generate 1 kWh of heat from wood pellets, whereas
7.70 g of SO2 is emitted from coal (based on both acidification po-
tentials mentioned in Table 5).
According to the Impact 2002 þ Method, respiratory inorganics
including particulate matter (e.g. sulphate and nitrate aerosols,
dust particles, etc.) are expressed as PM 2.5 equivalent. All sources
of dust emissions were considered in this assessment. However, the
direct emission of dust particles and other emissions during pellet
manufacturing were not accounted for in this study (although in-
direct emissions from upstream processes due to electricity and
fuel consumption were included), because the contribution of
emissions by the pelletization process is insignificant when
compared to the upstream processes (corresponding to materials
transport, electricity and fuel combustion) and the downstream
processes (e.g. burning fuel for energy generation) (Reed et al.,
2012).
A comparison of characterized mid-point impact indicators for
heat generation is shown in Fig. 3. The figure shows that heat
generation from wood pellets induces much lower impacts for 14 of
the 15 indicators, with the impact of only one indicator (IR) higher
than that of coal. It has already been mentioned that significantly
lower impact on global warming, non-renewable energy, terrestrial
and aquatic acidification are associated with heat generation from
wood pellets compared to coal. In addition, the values of other
indicators are much lower for heat generation from pellets than the
coal, such as carcinogens (98%), non-carcinogens (99%), mineral
extraction (87%), respiratory organics (88%), aquatic ecotoxicity
(87%), land occupation (99%), aquatic eutrophication (99%), ozone
GHGs emission, kg CO2 eq Energy consumption, MJ
0.00225 0.03654
0.00227 0.03527
0.02001 0.38094
5.23E-05 0.00085
0.02458 0.45360
0.01509 4.02354
0.00905 0.14007
0.02414 4.16361
408 Md.U. Hossain et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 113 (2016) 400e410

Table 5
Summarized LCA results for 1 kWh heat generation.

Impact category Unit Heat generation from coal Heat generation from wood pellets

Carcinogens (CG) kg C2H3Cl eq 0.00247 3.55E-05

Non-carcinogens (N-CG) kg C2H3Cl eq 0.02344 0.000241
Respiratory inorganics (RIn) kg PM2.5 eq 0.00059 0.00017
Ionizing radiation (IR) Bq C-14 eq 0.15034 0.62147
Ozone layer depletion (OL) kg CFC-11 eq 8.66E-10 4.13E-10
Respiratory organics (ROg) kg C2H4 eq 6.61E-05 7.87E-06
Aquatic ecotoxicity (AEco) kg TEG water 41.73321 5.47975
Terrestrial ecotoxicity (TEco) kg TEG soil 14.07308 2.00774
Terrestrial acid/nutria (TAci) kg SO2 eq 0.00514 0.00354
Land occupation (LOc) m2org.arable 0.00378 2.45E-05
Aquatic acidification (AAci) kg SO2 eq 0.00256 0.00070
Aquatic eutrophication (AEu) kg PO4 P-lim 7.57E-05 4.20E-07
Global warming (GW) kg CO2 eq 0.33053 0.06308
Non-renewable energy (NeRe) MJ primary 4.53134 1.17455
Mineral extraction (MEx) MJ surplus 0.00054 7.06E-05

[TEG, Tri-ethylene glycol].

100
layer depletion (52%), Terrestrial ecotoxicity (86%) and respiratory 95
in-organics (71%). 90
85
In addition, the major concern associated with burning wood 80
75
residues is the emission of several pollutants at higher concentra- 70
65
tions than conventional fuels (e.g. natural gas), especially for par- 60
ticulate matter and photochemical ozone forming chemicals 55
% 50
(Giuntoli et al., 2015). Giuntoli et al. (2015) compared these emis- 45
40
sions from burning wood pellets, wood residues and natural gas, 35
and concluded that the mentioned emissions were higher from 30
25
wood pellets and wood residues than from natural gas. Nonethe- 20
15
less, the findings from this study show that the mentioned pol- 10
5
lutants' emissions from burning wood pellets is much lower than 0
from burning coal. Human health Ecosystem quality Climate change Resources
According to the IMPACT 2002 þ method, there are four end- Heat generation from coal Heat generation from wood pellet
point indicators for damage assessment including human health,
Fig. 4. Comparative damage assessment for heat generation by wood pellets and coal.
ecosystem quality, climate change and resources. The respective
damage units are DALY (Disability-adjusted Life Year) for human
health, PDF.m2.yr (Potentially Disappear Fraction of Species) for landfilling of the equivalent amount of wood wastes to produce the
ecosystem quality, kg eq CO2 into air for climate change and MJ wood pellets (to generate 1 kWh of heat) by the IMPACT
primary non-renewable for resources. A comparative damage 2002 þ Impact Method. The adopted approach in this study in-
assessment for heat generation from wood pellets and coal is given cludes the avoided impacts as indirect benefits if the wood wastes
in Fig. 4. The figure indicates that compared with coal, the use of are not recycled but disposed of at landfills. The avoided impacts of
wood pellets for heat generation induces minor ecosystem damage not needing to dispose of 0.251 kg of wood wastes (for producing
(~15%), 76% lower damage to human health, 81% lower damage to 0.226 kg of wood pellets) at landfills saves a total 0.15 MJ of non-
climate change and 74% lower resources damage. This is due to the renewable energy and 10.88 g of CO2 eq GHGs, 0.43 g of SO2 eq
generation of energy from biomass emitting a much lower amount acidification, 0.011 g of PM2.5 eq respiratory inorganics emissions,
of pollutants, saving ecosystem degradation and consuming much and other potential impacts, whereas about 0.45 MJ of energy
lower resources than coal. consumption, 24.52 g of CO2eq GHGs, 0.83 g of SO2 eq acidification,
0.045 g of PM2.5 eq respiratory inorganics emissions was induced
4.2.3. Wood wastes landfill to produce 0.226 kg of wood pellets (Table 6). It is already
Based on the assumptions and input data for wood wastes mentioned that this LCA was conducted based on the attributional
landfilling, the study also assessed the associated impacts for LCA. Hence, the impacts due to the wood wastes landfilling were
not included in the pellet production and heat generation as
100 recycling credits. However, the results of landfilling of wood
95
90
85
wastes indicates that a significant environmental impact including
80 GHGs emission, energy consumption, particulates emission and
75
70
65
60
55 Table 6
% 50
45 Comparison of LCA results for wood wastes management options (landfill vs.
40
35 wood pellets).
30
25
20 Impact category Unit Wood pellet Wood wastes
15 production landfill
10
5
0 Respiratory inorganics g PM2.5 eq 0.045 0.011
CG N-CG RIn IR OL ROg AEco TEco TAci LOc AAci AEu GW N-Re MEx
Acidification potential g SO2 eq 0.830 0.430
Heat generation from coal Heat generation from wood pellet
Global warming g CO2 eq 24.520 10.880
Non-renewable energy MJ primary 0.450 0.150
Fig. 3. Comparison of characterized mid-point impacts for heat generation.
 Md.U. Hossain et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 113 (2016) 400e410
acidification pollutants can be saved by producing wood pellets
instead of wood wastes landfilling. In addition, based on the find-
ings of this study, it is observed that remarkable environmental
impacts can further be reduced when wood pellets are used as fuel
compared to coal.
5. Conclusion
Energy recovery from biomass residues is a mature technology
in many countries in the world. However, energy recovery from
recycled wood wastes is limited. The recycled wood wastes are
allowed to be used as fuel when they meet the standards desired
by different countries and organizations. Hong Kong generates a
huge amount of wood wastes, which is normally disposed of at
landfills. But wood pellets derived from wood wastes can be
considered a good potential for energy recovery. In particular, the
study was the first study carried out to assess wood pellets
derived from construction and demolition waste streams (wooden
formwork and bamboo). The present study assessed the sustain-
ability of bio-fuel production from recycled wood wastes, and
then energy recovery from heat generation and its potential
application in Hong Kong by an attributional LCA approach. Based
on the chemical and physical analysis, the study demonstrated
that the caloric values of the wood wastes samples were only
slightly lower than the reference coal. The overall concentrations
of heavy metals in the wood samples were acceptable, meeting
the standards set by different countries. The adopted approach in
this study demonstrated that wood pellets are suitable for energy
recovery and can be used as an alternative fuel to coal. The LCA
results demonstrated that the use of wood pellets to substitute
coal can significantly reduce environmental impacts including
74% of the total non-renewable energy consumption, 81% of GHGs
emission and 45% of SO2 emission for heat generation when
compared with using coal. Furthermore, considerable indirect
environmental impacts including GHGs emission, energy con-
sumption, particulate emissions and acidification impacts can be
avoided by not needing to dispose of the wood wastes in landfills.
Evidently, this would also save a huge amount of landfilling re-
sources for Hong Kong. Therefore, it can be concluded that sig-
nificant environmental benefits can be realized by using recycled
wood wastes as a bio-fuel for energy recovery. The results will
promote wood waste recycling by using it as an industrial fuel to
substitute the more polluting coal. The findings of the study will
also provide guidelines for the industrial applications of using bio-
fuel derived from wood wastes.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Hung Wai Wooden Board Company
Ltd. for providing the wood waste samples and wood pellets pro-
duction data. The authors are also grateful to Greenway Building
Materials Ltd. and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University for
funding support.
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