What Are Wood Pellets Made Of? A Buyer's Guide to Raw Materials
Wood pellets are compressed from clean sawdust and wood shavings. Learn which species, binders, and residues make a premium ENplus A1 pellet.
Wood pellets are small cylindrical fuel granules pressed from clean, dry wood fibre under high pressure. No chemical binders are added to certified pellets — lignin, the natural polymer inside the wood cell wall, softens under heat and glues the pellet together.
Accepted raw materials
Premium residential-grade pellets (ENplus A1) are made from virgin wood only: sawmill by-products, planer shavings, and clean roundwood. Industrial-grade pellets may use bark, forest residues, and short-rotation coppice.
- Softwood species: pine, spruce, fir — high calorific value, low ash
- Hardwood species: beech, oak, birch — denser pellets, longer burn
- Sawdust and shavings from FSC/PEFC certified mills
What is never in a certified pellet
Painted wood, treated lumber, MDF, plywood, glues, or municipal waste are banned in ENplus and ISO 17225-2 pellets. Contaminated feedstock produces toxic emissions and destroys pellet stove components.
Why the raw material matters for buyers
Ash content, calorific value, and durability are all decided at the raw material stage — long before the pellet mill. When you buy wholesale, ask the supplier for feedstock origin and species mix, not just the finished specification sheet.
Pellet Industries ships ENplus A1 and industrial biomass pellets worldwide in 15 kg bags, big-bags, and bulk vessel loads.
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