Richard EngelThis spring SERC embarked on a major forest biomass energy research project in partnership with Humboldt State University’s forestry department and researchers, entrepreneurs, and natural resource management agencies from a number of western and midwestern states. The “Waste to Wisdom” project will examine the entire supply chain of biomass, including collection, transportation, and pre-treatment of the material in the woods, as well as conversion of the material into energy and other marketable products using a variety of emerging technologies. Experts in economics, life cycle analysis, and environmental impacts will assess and compare the different biomass pathways.
The project officially launched with a kick-off meeting at HSU on May 13 and 14. The project’s thirteen principal investigators as well as several other stakeholders gathered to meet one another and discuss how to coordinate the many components of this complex effort. The meeting included a trip to a nearby timber harvest site on Green Diamond Resource Company land where state-of-the-art technology and logistics are being used to gather, chip, and haul slash for use in Humboldt County’s biomass power plants.
SERC’s role in the project is to oversee the testing and evaluation of three different types of biomass conversion technologies (BCTs): a biochar unit, a torrefier, and a briquetter. Biochar is solid, carbon-rich biomass that has been treated at high temperature, above 500°C, and is used principally as a soil amendment. Torrefaction takes place at a lower temperature, near 300°C, producing a solid fuel that can be directly substituted for coal in existing power plants. Briquettes are made near ambient temperature by compressing finely ground biomass and can be used in place of cordwood in biomass-fired heating and power generation systems. An important goal of Waste to Wisdom is to adapt each of these BCTs for mobile, stand-alone use at remote sites where utility service is not available. Decentralized deployment of these BCTs could be an economically viable alternative to the costly collection and transportation of raw biomass from far-flung timber harvest and wildland fuel reduction sites.
The $7.45 million, three-year project is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) program, jointly supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Each of the collaborating partners is making a cost share contribution to the project’s total budget. SERC’s share of the federal funding is $900,000, to which the lab is adding $185,000 worth of labor, equipment, and facility use.
SERC director Arne Jacobson will act as principal investigator for the BCT evaluation component of Waste to Wisdom. “We are excited to be involved in this project. We have a great set of partners, and we look forward to a successful effort.”
