South Korea Sawdust Pellet Specifications and Quality Standards

Test Item	Unit	1 Class	2 Class	3 Class	4 Class
Diameter	mm	6-8	6-8	6-8	6-25
Length	mm	≤32	≤32	≤32	≤32
Density	kg/m3	≥640	≥600	≥550	≥500
moisture	%	≤10	≤10	≤15	≤15
Ash	%	≤0.7	≤1.5	≤3.0	≤6.0
Crashed Rte	%	<1.0	<1.0	<2.0	<2.0
Durability	%	≥97.5	≥97.5	≥95	≥95
Calorific Value	Kcal/kg (MJ/kg)	≥4,300 (≥18.0)	≥4,300 (≥18.0)	≥4,090 (≥16.9)	≥4,090 (≥16.9)
Sulphur	%	<0.05	<0.05	<0.05	<0.05
Chlorine	%	<0.05	<0.05	<0.05	<0.05
Nitrogen	%	<0.3	<0.5	<0.7	<1.0
Arsenic	Mg/kg	≤1.0	≤1.0	≤1.0	≤1.0
Cadmium	Mg/kg	≤0.5	≤0.5	≤0.5	≤0.5
Chromium	Mg/kg	≤10	≤10	≤10	≤10
Copper	Mg/kg	≤10	≤10	≤10	≤10
Lead	Mg/kg	≤10	≤10	≤10	≤10
Mercury	Mg/kg	≤0.05	≤0.05	≤0.05	≤0.05
Nickel	Mg/kg	≤10	≤10	≤10	≤10
Zinc	Mg/kg	≤100	≤100	≤100	≤100
Ash melting temperature	℃	Reference the above indicated temperature
Additive	%	<2.0	<2.0	<2.0	<2.0

      As we know, EU as one of the traditional wood pellet target market has their own import standard, and the import price stabilized above USD 180/ton, FOB price. The normal performed wood pellet import standards are the EN Plus and Din Plus. By comparison, they are higher than South Korean’s. The goal of ENplus certification system for wood pellets is to secure the supply of wood pellets for heating and CHP up to 1MW output power in residential, commercial and public buildings with a clearly defined and constant quality.

Parameters of the EN Plus Pellets

Property	Unit	ENplus-A1	ENplus-A2	EN-B	Testing standard
Diameter	mm	6 or 8			EN 16127
Length	mm	3.15≤ L≤403)			EN16127
Moisture Content	w-%1)	≤10			EN14774-1
Ash Content	w-%2)	≤0.7	≤1.5	≤3.0	EN14775(550℃)
Mechanical Durability	w-%1)	≥97.54)		≥96.54)	EN 15210-1
Fines(<3.15 mm)	w-%1)	<1			EN 15210-1
Net Calorific Value	MJ/kg1)	16.5 ≤Q ≤19	16.3≤Q ≤19	16.0 ≤Q≤ 9	EN 14918
Bulk Density	Kg/m3	≥600			EN 15103
Nitrogen Content	w-%2)	≤0.3	≤0.5	≤1.0	EN 15104
Sulfur Content	w-%2)	≤0.03		≤0.04	EN 15289
Chlorine Content	w-%2)	≤0.02		≤0.03	EN 15289
Ash Melting Mehaviour4)	℃	≥1200		≥1100	EN 15370

      The DINplus standard is performed by Germany is the certification of wood pellets for burning in pellet boilers. The certification scheme is called “Wood pellets used in small heating systems” and combines the requirements of the German standard DIN 51731 and the Austrian standard ŐNORM M 7135.

Parameters of the DIN Plus Pellets

 

      If the wood pellets manufacturers located in SE Asian can supply ENplus or DINplus wood pellet to Europe, they would sell the wood pellets at a good price and reduce the risk of supplying wood pellets to South Korea.
 
      One of our clients in Indonesia are producing ENplus wood pellets, which are exported to the Europe at higher price than exporting to South Korea. With high calorific value and low emission, the owner export much more wood pellets to Europe currently. Here is the wood pellet testing report for reference.

      The price of wood pellets can be affected by the market discipline. If the manufacturers can supply variant quality of wood pellets to different target markets, the risk of lower profit caused by unexpected reasons, can be reduced greatly.