Automated Biomass Sampling System – Drax, Liverpool & Immingham Ports, UK .
In 2015, M&W JAWO Sampling delivered two independent automated biomass sampling systems for Drax Power Station’s receiving ports in the United Kingdom. Operating at the Port of Immingham and the Port of Liverpool, these systems extract representative samples of wood pellets directly from the fuel logistics chain. This installation followed our successful delivery of Drax’s first primary sampling system during their initial transition from coal to biomass.
In 2015, M&W JAWO Sampling delivered two independent automated biomass sampling systems for Drax Power Station’s receiving ports in the United Kingdom. Operating at the Port of Immingham and the Port of Liverpool, these systems extract representative samples of wood pellets directly from the fuel logistics chain. This installation followed our successful delivery of Drax’s first primary sampling system during their initial transition from coal to biomass.
The Challenge
Drax Power Station generates six percent of the UK electricity supply with a massive 2.6 GW biomass capacity. Feeding this operation requires up to 20,000 tonnes of wood pellets to arrive every single day. The Immingham and Liverpool facilities process more biomass than any other ports globally. With this immense volume, Drax needed a reliable wood pellet sampling port solution to accurately measure fuel quality, moisture content, and energy value before the material traveled inland to Yorkshire. Manual extraction simply cannot provide representative data at this scale. A fully automated biomass sampling system in the UK became a mandatory requirement for their fuel supply chain.
The Solution
To handle the high-throughput demands of both English ports, M&W JAWO Sampling engineered two complete heavy-duty sampling setups. Each system integrates precision-engineered cross belt samplers that extract the primary increment directly from the main receiving conveyors without disrupting the flow. The extracted material then passes through a series of dosing conveyors to maintain a steady feed rate into the sample dividers. These dividers reduce the bulk volume down to a manageable size. Finally, sample collectors secure the representative samples for laboratory analysis. This setup allows Drax biomass sampling to meet strict international standards for representative sampling biomass in the UK.
In Operation
These sampling systems have continuously supported Drax’s fuel logistics chain since their installation. By capturing accurate data at the port of entry, Drax can verify the quality of its North American wood pellet shipments immediately. The systems operate reliably under the heavy demands of the largest biomass handling facilities. They secure accurate billing and optimal combustion data for the power plant.