10
votes
Accepted
Is burning wood the same as letting it biodegrade from a CO2 emissions perspective?
Conservation
It is a fundamental law of physics that matter/mass/energy (all being, ultimately, the same thing) cannot be created or destroyed — they just change form.
Under 'normal' conditions on ...
- 2,804
7
votes
Accepted
Size of wood lot required for cooking/heating (US west coast)?
OK, one possible setup (and assuming both my math and memory are right, neither of which is certain):
Planting Douglas Fir, which is fairly fast growing (one to two feet a year) and a good wood for ...
- 186
7
votes
Accepted
Woodburning stoves: what wood and why?
https://chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm lists the energy content of a wide range of wood types.
Some examples that are perhaps relevant to you:
Beech, Blue (Carpinus caroliniana): 23.7 MBTU/cord
...
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5
votes
Accepted
CO2 emissions from outdoor fire pit
The Short Answer
Burning 1 kg of wood releases 1.6 kg of CO2. (source: EPA)
I'm not sure how big your 2-3 logs are, so I'll just say that 5 kg wood is probably enough to make a reasonable outdoor fire ...
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4
votes
Woodburning stoves: what wood and why?
I don't have enough reputation yet to write a comment, so don't see this as an answer, more like a recommendation. I grew up with a wood stove, so maybe I can help.
This may be one of the causes of ...
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4
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Size of wood lot required for cooking/heating (US west coast)?
I've done this calc for my farm here in Alberta.
I know that it takes 5 cords a year to heat my house.
The average lifespan of trembling aspen is about 40 years. At that point it's about 40 feet ...
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3
votes
Ecological wood-burning fireplace
Masonry heaters are stoves with a masonry component ("stones") of 800kg or more. They are installed into a home and are sized after the room size and insulation. (The sizing is quite important as you ...
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3
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How is amount of wood measured?
Typically, where I live, forestry professionals use solid cubic meter of wood as the primary measurement. But, let's define all of the measurements. In this answer, I use the metric ton (1000 kg) as ...
- 4,776
2
votes
Is burning wood the same as letting it biodegrade from a CO2 emissions perspective?
Yes and no.
The answer to the question you asked is yes. Biodegradation produces carbon dioxide and heat. The heat of biodegradation will be wasted. It makes much more sense to usefully harvest the ...
- 4,776
2
votes
Is burning wood the same as letting it biodegrade from a CO2 emissions perspective?
The simple answer is that burning it would be roughly carbon neutral (it releases what it absorbed during growth) versus letting it decompose where it would be a carbon sink. Fossil fuels in the ...
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2
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Is burning wood the same as letting it biodegrade from a CO2 emissions perspective?
I think a review of photosynthesis is in order. The CO2 plants take in are actually stored as sugars. Burning this will release it, but wood that decomposes naturally would have those sugars broken ...
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2
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Woodburning stoves: what wood and why?
Native timber species (that just might be offered to you) as fuel (all 5% moisture):
Beech 17Mj/kg
Oak 16MJ/kg
Pine 17MJ/kg
(BTU/cord would be little understood in these islands)
Remember that pine ...
- 281
2
votes
How much wood can I burn sustainably, carbon neutral and in an ecologically responsible way from a forest?
To be ecologically truly sustainable, no live trees should be cut. That will most closely mimic a natural ecosystem instead of turning them into managed tree plantations (which ain't properly forests)....
- 449
2
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How much wood can I burn sustainably, carbon neutral and in an ecologically responsible way from a forest?
How much energy could we actually gain from biomass from a given forest size if it was actually green?
Primary productivity is the term used to describe the rate at which energy is converted into ...
- 2,804
2
votes
How much firewood does it take to produce the equivalent of 1kWh of electrical heating?
Efficiency numbers are, unfortunately, misused/abused by companies that manufacture and sell wood heaters.
"Combustion Efficiency" is not actually a direct measure of how much heat is produced by ...
- 2,804
2
votes
How much firewood does it take to produce the equivalent of 1kWh of electrical heating?
I would present a different analysis to jamesqf, because his does not take into consideration the latent heat of evaporation, or at least does not mention it.
If we're assuming a regular hardwood ...
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1
vote
Is there an efficient method to generate electric power from wood on a residential scale?
NO, not when you add "efficient" to the question. Certainly it is possible ,however efficient is the catch and everyone will not have the same definition. I suggest look up wood gasification ...
- 550
1
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How much wood can I burn sustainably, carbon neutral and in an ecologically responsible way from a forest?
Zero.
And by that, I don't mean I'm against the economical sustainable use of forest -- forest should be used as much possible as is sustainable to limit carbon dioxide emissions. The problem is, ...
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