Risk of carbon monoxide release during the storage of wood pellets
Background
Wood pellets are made from dried and milled sawdust and wood shavings that have been compressed into pellets, typically 10-20mm long and 3-12mm in diameter. They do not typically contain any additives or binders.
They are classed as a biofuel, a non-fossil heating fuel. The main countries of manufacture are Canada, North America and the Scandinavian countries within Europe.
In 2000, the annual production of wood pellets in Europe and North America was about 1.5 million tons. This was expected to increase to around 16 million tons by 2011. Some wood pellet manufacture is now taking place in the UK.