What is the Environmental Impact of Burning Wood?

[sweettractors]

To keep it simple, if I burn 100 pounds of wood in my stove, what happens to each of those 100 pounds? Ken Sweet

 

[EarPlug]

Wood-burning stoves: Harmful or safe?

 

[Rock knocker]

Ideally, you'll make CO*2 and H*2O. Because the burning won't be complete and ideal, you also produce some acids like carbonic acid (H*2CO*3) various soots ranging from almost pure carbon to complex hydrocarbons, maybe some NOx and some other stuff.

You'll also aerosolize the metals that have been partitioned into the tree from the soil. Mercury comes to mind, which is why mercury levels are so bad near coal power plants and paper mills. But in those cases you are looking at the products of millions of trees, not you and your firewood

 

[CobyRupert]

So, I believe the answer is : the 100lbs turns into a vapor/ gas (steam and smoke) that goes up the chimney, and some ash that also goes up or sifts down.

 

[sixdogs]

So what happens if it just rots on the woods?

 

[rsallen]

'Conservation of energy' is what happens.

It's one of those geeky things I don't fully understand but can only grasp wisps of.

Check it out, Conservation of energy, maybe you can it explain more thoroughly for me.

The upshot is though, it dunt matter how the wood is consumed.

 

[MossRoad]

Wood-burning stoves: Harmful or safe?

The best conclusion in that article is this, " The only thing we can say with certainty is that emissions are reduced by improved combustion conditions and that we are thus exposed to smaller amounts of particles when new stoves are used.".

Meaning if you have an outdoor wood boiler that sits there damped down most of the day, then belches smoke for 10 minutes each time heat is demanded, your neighbors downwind will complain and lump you in with "those stupid wood burners" and eventually work for a law banning such devices. Whereas if you have a clean burning EPA rated wood stove or boiler that you rarely see smoke coming out of, very few neighbors will ever complain.

 

[jinman]

Without a detailed analysis as Rock Knocker posted, I agree with CobyRupert in general. The amount of ash depends on the wood and how hot the fire is, but I find I have about 4 lb of ash for each 100 lb of oak firewood. Conservation of matter says if you fuel with 100 lb, 100 lb will be given off in waste, but with burning's oxidation, the total waste is going to be heavier than the weight of the fuel alone.

 

[MossRoad]

So what happens if it just rots on the woods?

All of the carbon that was sequestered in the wood will be released slowly over time if left to rot, whereas if you burn it, it gets released now. Its gonna get released sooner or later. Ask the Conservationist-September 2010 | The Nature Conservancy

 

[RoyJackson]

Wood-burning stoves: Harmful or safe?

Interesting article
Thank you for posting!

The catalytic stoves are suppose to burn a lot cleaner. I do expect the EPA to come down hard on wood stoves. I think there's a lot of people who would be very upset if and when this comes to pass...

 

[smstonypoint]

e=mc[SUP]2[/SUP] -- see Einstein's E=mc2: Does it Apply to Burning Wood?.

Steve

 

[bandaidmd]

One volcano trumps everyone's lifetime of wood stove emissions.

 

[houstonscott]

The impact is zero, there is none! HS

 

[RoyJackson]

The impact is zero, there is none! HS

I wouldn't say that, HS...it is a combustion process and no combustion process is 100% efficient.

One thing that keeps the EPA off our backs is the relatively small population that heats by wood. That's my opinion, not fact.
However, as I wrote previously...sooner or later, they will stir the pot!

 

[dave1949]

The conservation of energy, net carbon, etc. is only part of the environmental impact of burning firewood. That part is largely beyond our control I think. It's going to happen no matter what by some process or other.

It's how that process happens that is the real environmental impact on human health. Sitting next to a rotting log all day, compared to breathing smoke all day, are not equal. Burning the wood accelerates the process, which in turn results in more concentrated and different chemical results in a given length of time.

So, now matter how clean a stove burns, saying there is no net change is beside the point of what actually matters for human health.

I think Roy is correct in saying because the number of wood burners is relatively small, the scope of the problem is small too. For example, if the majority of homes in a city or town were heated using poor stoves, poor wood fuels, or poor combustion practices, the result would not be something you would enjoy and it would have an impact on your health.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I wouldn't say that, HS...it is a combustion process and no combustion process is 100% efficient.

One thing that keeps the EPA off our backs is the relatively small population that heats by wood. That's my opinion, not fact.
However, as I wrote previously...sooner or later, they will stir the pot!

The small number of wood burners is indeed important, but even more important to EPA, and your local Air Pollution Control authority, is the status of the air quality in your particular state/region/area. If your area is in attainment, there is much less pressure to reduce emissions, and NSPS (New Source Performance Standards) will require new stoves and furnaces to meet strict standards. In non attainment areas, there is severe pressure to reduce all emissions, not only for new sources but for all existing sources...maybe up to the point of outlawing fireplaces, old stoves, smoke, etc.

 

[Barry 1]

5 million+ acres of forest burn every year,and that's OK,but we just try to keep warm,and get attacked.

 

[sweettractors]

Is it safe to say that in the not so distant future, wood burning in the home and the open air burning of wood will be targeted for EPA review? Ken Sweet

 

[Barry 1]

Google " EPA Chicken Alaska" and see what they did this year because of a possible water quality issue. If something isn't done to stop them,they will be going door to door Killing people for burning wood!

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Is it safe to say that in the not so distant future, wood burning in the home and the open air burning of wood will be targeted for EPA review? Ken Sweet

Open air burning has been regulated very early on by EPA. It was their position that open burning, auto and industrial emissions were the biggest culprits in air pollution, so open burning has been regulated to one extent or another for probably 40 years. There are exceptions, e.g., areas where there is no trash pickup, health emergencies, supervised crop burning and forest management, but by and large it is prohibited. Wood burning in the home is in a sense regulated, in that new wood stoves must meet certain emission requirements known as NSPS (New Source Performance Standards).

Existing homes and stoves are largely unregulated in areas with clean air. New units meeting NSPS standards will keep new emissions down, and hopefully, old stoves will eventually die and be replaced by new cleaner ones. Where existing units come under regulation is where the air quality does not meet current standards, then states must take measures to reduce pollution in an effort to meet the standards. States may be forced to prohibit wood burning, or at least limit it to units with catalytic converters and even regulate any visible smoke from chimneys. Limits and regulations can, and do vary, depending on the authority, the location and the severity of the non attainment.

We do not regulate fireplaces and old wood stoves in this state, at least they didn't when I was in the business; however open burning has always been prohibited here since the early days of regulation. Such things as open burning of trash, metal salvaging, disposal of wastes, etc fell under the regulations. We also had a prohibition on smoke emissions; smoke in excess of 20% opacity was a violation and could result in fines.

To answer your question, then, I think the answer is that they already target these things to one degree or another, depending on where you live and the quality of your air. It may well be that if your air is clean, they may never target existing wood burning stoves, or at least not for a long time. Targeting private individuals and their homes has always been touchy politically, and states shy away from this as much as possible, particularly when there is no apparent problem with it. Now if the air is visibly polluted, folks are complaining and a nuisance is created, there can be a lot of pressure.