UPM is to invest in a biorefinery producing biofuels from crude tall oil in Lappeenranta, Finland. The industrial scale investment is the first of its kind globally. The biorefinery will produce annually approximately 100,000 tonnes of advanced second generation biodiesel for transport. Construction of the biorefinery will begin in the summer of 2012 at UPM’s Kaukas mill site and be completed in 2014. UPM’s total investment will amount to approximately EUR 150 million.
Wood is the first source of energy for human. It is used as the means of heating, lighting and cooking until the industrial age. With the discovery of petroleum and coal; and then utilizing the natural gas, the sources that nourishes peoples source of energy have developed and changed.
During the last two years, global wood pellet production increased from about nine million tonnes to some 15-16 million tonnes, while apparent consumption expanded from about nine million to 13 million tonnes.
In 2010, estimated global wood pellet production exceeded estimated consumption by about two to three million tonnes, while global pellet production capacity exceeded consumption by around seven to eight million tonnes (including new production facilities under construction but not operating).
The U.S. EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) has issued a draft report response to the EPA’s Accounting Framework for Biogenic CO2 Emissions from Stationary Sources. The framework was first issued by the EPA in September.
As a result of global wood pellet supply significantly exceeding demand during the last two to three years, industrial wood pellet prices in Europe have been flat to decreasing slightly on a euro basis. Prices increased from €115/tonne in July 2007 to €140/tonne at the beginning of 2009. Since then, they have declined to a low of €125/tonne at the end of 2010, and have increased slightly to €133/tonne at the end of 2011.
With temperatures dropping below zero, Colby’s new biomass plant goes into normal operations this week. The plant—a key part of the college’s plan to be carbon neutral by 2015—burns forestry byproducts, including wood chips, bark and treetops, which would otherwise have been left on the forest floor. During this period of peak usage, the College is expected to save $250,000 monthly at current market prices.
Biomass, which is an especially logical choice for Maine due to the existing forestry operations, offers a number of benefits.
How do you get more wood out of a tree and fewer emissions from the firewood? The answer lies in the type of trees you choose to plant, the layout that you plant them in and the size you let them grow to. New research shows that by optimizing forestry plantations, trees can be made to produce more logs and less bark.
Viridis Energy Inc. of Vancouver has purchased Enligna Canada Inc. wood pellet plant in Musquodoboit Valley, Nova Scotia.
The purchase is subject to court approval because Enlinga Canada is in receivership. The plant has been closed since August, 2011.
The assets to be acquired include 20 buildings on four properties with a total of 157 acres and a separate 22 acre wood lot. The facilities houses five pellet presses with the capacity to produce 110,000 tonnes of wood pellets annually.
Bamboo charcoal is a viable, clean and sustainable alternative to fuelwood and may be the key to combating soil degradation and massive deforestation in Africa while still meeting domestic energy needs, say experts.
“Bamboo charcoal could provide an excellent alternative to hardwood charcoal production as bamboo biomass production is much greater and considerably more sustainable,” said Terry Sunderland, scientist with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).
A surging population in Africa seeking to provide energy for cooking needs has led to massive environmental damage, including soil degradation.
Worldwide deforestation accounts for 25-30 percent of annual CO2 global emissions, the result of the burning of brushland for subsistence agriculture and wood fires used for cooking.
