Why Wood Pellets Burn so Clean?

Wood Pellet Stove History

Wood Pellet stoves have been around since the 1980s but first saw massive popularity in the early 21st century. Because they are so new in the eyes of the public, many people still think of them as a kind of wood stove that burns little pellets instead of pieces of cord wood, but in reality the differences far outweigh the similarities.

Green Clean Wood Pellet Advantage

One of the major advantages of pellet stoves is how clean they burn. While wood pellets can be made from any type of unused wood or even some grasses, they are mostly made from sawdust – a waste substance and industrial byproduct.

The sheen on the edges of a wood pellet lead many people to assume there is some kind of glue that holds them together. That’s not true. Instead, heat is used when wood pellets are made to turn the natural lignin in wood into a firm material that holds the pellets together.

Wood pellets can not contain used wood, such as parts from an old deck or furniture. That’s because used wood is often pressure-treated and may be coated with varnish or paint. These chemicals would become vaporous if burned and get into the air.

The purity of the wood and the efficiency of pellet stoves means very little smoke is produced from burnt wood pellets. Smoke is essentially a mist of gases and unburnt pieces of the burnt substance, but almost all of the pellet is combusted so there is little material left to become smoke. especially when compared to a traditional wood stove.

Pellet stoves also create less creosote, which is the black substance that builds up inside chimneys and the inside of a fireplace. A pellet stove will have creosote buildup over time, but it’s a very slow process.

Unfortunately, even a piece of pure virgin wood contains some components that will not burn, such as minerals like calcium and potassium that occur naturally in trees. These minerals are destined to become ash when burned, but there will be far less ash then you will get from a wood stove. We sell a wide variety of wood pellets containing many different kinds of wood, from pure hardwood to soft fir pellets.