颗粒是固体生物质燃料，主要由木材废弃物生产，但也来自农业副产品如稻草。 它们呈圆柱形，直径为6-12毫米。与未加工的生物质相比，颗粒的特定优点包括：标准化的性质、高能量含量、高密度，因此降低了运输、储存和处理的成本。 颗粒用于颗粒炉和颗粒锅炉的住宅供暖，用于服务行业，制造和发电中的热量、蒸汽和电力的产生。生物能源是重要的可再生能源，与其他类型的生物能源相比，颗粒行业是增长快的行业之一。

Bioenergy is the most important renewable energy . When compared to other types of bioenergy, the pellet sector is one of the fastest growing.

制粒技术是在20世纪30年代在美国发明的，用于生产饲料颗粒。在20世纪50年代，在美国树皮被捣碎，作为利用锯木厂废弃物的一种方法。20世纪70年代，美国开始生产用于供暖市场的木屑颗粒。在次石油危机之后，十年后瑞典的初创公司起步。

Pelletizing technology was invented in the USA in the 1930’s for the production of feed pellets. Bark was pelleted in the United States in the 1950‘s as a way to reduce waste volumes in the sawmill industry. Production of wood pellets for the heating market took off in USA in the 1970s by the time of the first oil crisis followed by Swedish start-ups ten years later.

瑞典北部的锯木厂在大约30到40年前向市场推出了颗粒，以降低从瑞典北部到南方主要消费地区的运输成本。从那时起，颗粒的使用不断增长，用于住宅供暖、发电以及制造业和能源部门的供热。

Sawmills in northern Sweden introduced pellets into the market around 30 to 40 years ago in order to reduce the cost of transport from Northern Sweden to the main consumption regions in the South. Since then, the use of pellets grew continuously for residential heating, power generation, and for heat generation in the manufacturing and energy sectors.