Growth in the use of biomass for heating in urban areas could pose a threat to meeting air quality targets for particulates, according to reports commissioned from consultants AEA Technology. However, regulators are sceptical about some of its assumptions. Increasing numbers of small-scale biomass boilers in urban areas could pose a threat to meeting air quality targets, a report for the Scottish Government has concluded. Biomass heating in urban areas is thought to have grown over the past few years, driven by policies to reduce greenhouse emissions. The report by AEA Technology released in November reflects significant concern among air quality experts about the impact on air quality. The report considers the likely impact of greater biomass combustion in Dundee and Edinburgh in 2010 and 2020. The authors tested levels of particulate emissions from a representative sample of boilers available in Scotland. Their heat output ranged from 70 to 600 kilowatts, which would be suitable for heating most non-domestic buildings. In comparison, the capacity of a typical domestic boiler is 20k W.
展开▼
