September 2014 Biomass Magazine by BBI International

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SEPTEMBER 2014 | VOLUME 8 | ISSUE 9

Feeding the Beast

06 EDITOR’S NOTE Hard to Handle

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ON THE COVER A ProcessBarron-supplied belt conveyor distributes fuel to a biomass boiler woodyard.

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PHOTO: PROCESSBARRON

07 INDUSTRY EVENTS 08 BUSINESS BRIEFS 56 MARKETPLACE

16 POWER 14 NEWS 15 COLUMN Biomass Coﬁring: Opportunities to Expand the Industry By Bob Cleaves

16 FEATURE Surveying Storage Solutions Storing fuel according to project parameters and fuel characteristics and speciﬁcations is essential in keeping a biomass energy operation running smoothly. By Keith Loria

PELLETS Subscriptions Biomass Magazine is free of charge to everyone with the exception of a shipping and handling charge of $49.95 for anyone outside the United States. To subscribe, visit www.BiomassMagazine.com or you can send your mailing address and payment (checks made out to BBI International) to Biomass Magazine Subscriptions, 308 Second Ave. N., Suite 304, Grand Forks, ND 58203. You can also fax a subscription form to 701-746-5367. Back Issues & Reprints Select back issues are available for $3.95 each, plus shipping. Article reprints are also available for a fee. For more information, contact us at 701-746-8385 or service@bbiinternational. com. Advertising Biomass Magazine provides a speciﬁc topic delivered to a highly targeted audience. We are committed to editorial excellence and high-quality print production. To ﬁnd out more about Biomass Magazine advertising opportunities, please contact us at 701-746-8385 or service@ bbiinternational.com. Letters to the Editor We welcome letters to the editor. Send to Biomass Magazine Letters to the Managing Editor, 308 2nd Ave. N., Suite 304, Grand Forks, ND 58203 or email to asimet@bbiinternational. com. Please include your name, address and phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity and/or space.

22 NEWS 23 COLUMN Good Things in Store for Pellets By Bill Bell

24 FEATURE Drax’s Mississippi Queen Efﬁcient operation of the Baton Rouge Transit Facility is vital to Drax’s North American pellet supply chain success. By Tim Portz

SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 3

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INSIDE ¦

ADVERTISER INDEX¦

SEPTEMBER 2014 | VOLUME 8 | ISSUE 9 2014 National Advanced Biofuels Conference & Expo

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THERMAL 30 NEWS 31 COLUMN Can the U.S. EPA Do Its Job? By John Ackerly

32 FEATURE All the Right Moves There is much more to consider than cost when selecting the right conveying conﬁguration, and today’s manufacturers are up to meet any challenges. By Anna Simet

BIOGAS 40 NEWS 41 COLUMN Organic Material Recycling Momentum Builds By Stephanie Thorson

42 FEATURE Balancing Digester Diets While digesters commonly consume a hodgepodge of substrates, that stream must be carefully monitored to ﬁlter undesirables. By Katie Fletcher

Biomass Magazine: (USPS No. 5336) September 2014, Vol. 8, Issue 9. Biomass Magazine is published monthly by BBI International. Principal Office: 308 Second Ave. N., Suite 304, Grand Forks, ND 58203. Periodicals Postage Paid at Grand Forks, North Dakota and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Biomass Magazine/Subscriptions, 308 Second Ave. N., Suite 304, Grand Forks, North Dakota 58203.

49 COLUMN A Long, Tough Year for Advanced Biofuels By Michael McAdams

50 DEPARTMENT Algae’s New Standard-Bearer Matt Carr has taken on the role of the Algae Biomass Organization’s new executive director. By Tim Portz

52 FEATURE Pepped to Fuel Prep

Please recycle this magazine and remove inserts or samples before recycling

Before the waste Enerkem transforms into liquid fuel reaches its gasiﬁer, it has already undergone quite a metamorphosis. By Anna Simet

SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 5

¦EDITOR’S NOTE

Hard to Handle If someone were to design an energy input with the sole aim of creating the most difficult material handling challenge imaginable, they would likely end up with something that looks very much like biomass. Often the byproduct of other industrial processes, biomass arrives at conversion facilities as whole logs, chips, grass clippings, unsorted municipal solid waste, packaged produce and liquid manure. Add to that the propensity biomass has for atTIM PORTZ VICE PRESIDENT OF CONTENT tracting moisture, producing dust, freezing, & EXECUTIVE EDITOR bridging and deteriorating, and if you don’t tportz@bbiinternational.com have the most challenging energy input to handle, then you’ve certainly got a front-runner. Fortunately, the biomass conversion industry is supported by a comprehensive material handling sector dedicated to making the handling and eventual conversion of even the peskiest feedstocks practical. This issue of Biomass Magazine takes a comprehensive look at the array of screens, sifters, air knifes, Eddy current machines, shredders, reshredders, conveyors, hoppers, day bins, and storage domes that project engineers piece together to make a multitude of biomass streams viable as energy inputs. The enormity of this ongoing challenge is well articulated in Katie Fletcher’s page 42-feature “Balancing Digester Diets.” In the story, Bryan Heiss, plant manager at Novi Energy’s Fremont Community Digester, reports that the facility is capable of receiving nearly 100 different types of feedstock including brewing waste, spoiled baby food, fast food waste and manure streams. This feedstock flexibility is central to the value the facility brings to the surrounding community, but this increase in value correlates with an increase in the complexity of the material handling solution. Another challenge that emerges within this month’s stories is the variety of conditions in which biomass to energy facilities are deployed. Large biomass power facilities require vast quantities of biomass to operate, but typically have the luxury of adequate space to site the requisite woodyard and material handling infrastructure. But what about smaller facilities like hospitals, colleges and county courthouses that are increasingly turning to biomass to deliver facility heat loads? For a transition to biomass to be approved and funded, project engineers must figure out how to store, handle and move biomass without creating dust, while often working with less than a thousand square feet. So far, at every turn and with every new feedstock challenge, this industry’s material handling experts have delivered cost-effective solutions that have kept biomass deployment moving steadily forward.

6 BIOMASS MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2014

EDITORIAL PRESIDENT & EDITOR IN CHIEF Tom Bryan tbryan@bbiinternational.com VICE PRESIDENT OF CONTENT & EXECUTIVE EDITOR Tim Portz tportz@bbiinternational.com MANAGING EDITOR Anna Simet asimet@bbiinternational.com NEWS EDITOR Erin Voegele evoegele@bbiinternational.com STAFF WRITER Katie Fletcher kﬂetcher@bbiinternational.com COPY EDITOR Jan Tellmann jtellmann@bbiinternational.com

ART ART DIRECTOR Jaci Satterlund jsatterlund@bbiinternational.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Elizabeth Burslie bburslie@bbiinternational.com

PUBLISHING & SALES CHAIRMAN Mike Bryan mbryan@bbiinternational.com CEO Joe Bryan jbryan@bbiinternational.com VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS Matthew Spoor mspoor@bbiinternational.com MARKETING DIRECTOR John Nelson jnelson@bbiinternational.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Howard Brockhouse hbrockhouse@bbiinternational.com SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER Chip Shereck cshereck@bbiinternational.com CIRCULATION MANAGER Jessica Beaudry jbeaudry@bbiinternational.com TRAFFIC & MARKETING COORDINATOR Marla DeFoe mdefoe@bbiinternational.com

INDUSTRY EVENTS¦

USIPA’s 4th Annual Exporting Pellets Conference OCTOBER 1-3, 2014

Fontainbleau Miami Beach Hotel Miami Beach, Florida Join us in Miami for USIPA’s 4th Annual Exporting Pellets Conference. This is the only US conference sponsored by the industrial wood pellet industry for the industrial wood pellet industry. Our Exporting Pellets Conference provides the opportunity to network with executives and professionals from across the industry. Our speakers and panelists this year will include all major European utilities, major U.S. producers, and experts in all areas of the supply chain. 804-775-5894 | www.theusipa.org/conference

National Advanced Biofuels Conference & Expo OCTOBER 13-14, 2014

Hyatt Minneapolis Minneapolis, Minnesota Produced by BBI International, this national event will feature the world of advanced biofuels and biobased chemicals—technology scale-up, project ﬁnance, policy, national markets and more—with a core focus on the industrial, petroleum and agribusiness alliances deﬁning the national advanced biofuels industry. With a vertically integrated program and audience, the National Advanced Biofuels Conference & Expo is tailored for industry professionals engaged in producing, developing and deploying advanced biofuels, biobased platform chemicals, polymers and other renewable molecules that have the potential to meet or exceed the performance of petroleum-derived products. 866-746-8385 | www.advancedbiofuelsconference.com

International Biomass Conference & Expo APRIL 20-22, 2015

Minneapolis Convention Center Minneapolis, Minnesota Organized by BBI International and produced by Biomass Magazine, this event brings current and future producers of bioenergy and biobased products together with waste generators, energy crop growers, municipal leaders, utility executives, technology providers, equipment manufacturers, project developers, investors and policy makers. It’s a true one-stop shop—the world’s premier educational and networking junction for all biomass industries. 866-746-8385 | www.biomassconference.com

International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo JUNE 1-4, 2015

Minneapolis Convention Center Minneapolis, Minnesota The FEW provides the global ethanol industry with cutting-edge content and unparalleled networking opportunities in a dynamic business-tobusiness environment. The FEW is the largest, longest running ethanol conference in the world—and the only event powered by Ethanol Producer Magazine. 866-746-8385 | www.fuelethanolworkshop.com

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Business Briefs PEOPLE, PRODUCTS & PARTNERSHIPS

German Pellets announces certification German Pellets has announced its factory in Woodville, Texas, is now certified under the standards of SFI Fiber Sourcing and PEFC Chain of Custody, guaranteeing that it processes biomass sourced from sustainable forestry and wood management. Forest2Market expands executive sales team Forest2Market has promoted Gordon Culbertson to director of international business, where he will work to establish relationships and identify new business partners across the globe. He previously served as manager Culbertson of the Pacific Northwest region. Peter Coutu has been appointed sales director of North America. In his new role, Coutu is responsible for customer account management and sales of all subscription

services in the U.S. and Canada. He previously nounced that Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce Kim Glas will join the organizaserved as sales manager. tion as executive director. In addition, the Swaan recognized with award BlueGreen Alliance welcomed Susan Green In recognition of as legislative and policy director. his contributions to the Genera adds feedstock production BioEnergy Industry, and supply manager John Swaan received the Genera Energy Inc. has hired Lucas GraFounders Award in Bioham as its feedstock production and supply Energy Excellence at the manager. He will be responsible for providing International BioEnergy agricultural and managerial leadership for the Conference & Exhibicompanyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s feedstock supply, including busition 2014. Swaan is a key Swaan ness strategies to optimize feedstock supply, member of the Futureplanning and developing biomass feedstock Metrics team. He has more than 25 years of supply projects and programs, and manageexperience in the pellet industry. ment of feedstock supply execution. GraFormer BlueGreen Alliance hamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s responsibilities also include developing, executive director joins DOE implementing, and managing feedstock best David Foster, executive director of practices for commercial energy crop and BlueGreen Alliance, recently announced he feedstock production, including land acquisiwill join the U.S. Department of Energy as tion, establishment, management, harvesting, senior advisor to Energy Secretary Ernest and site storage of biomass feedstocks. Prior Moniz focusing on industrial and economic to joining Genera, Graham worked as an policy. The BlueGreen Alliance also anagronomist and precision agriculture man-

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vecoplanllc.com 10 BIOMASS MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2014

BUSINESS BRIEFS¦

ager, and a seed treatment facility manager for Christopher Standlee, Helena Chemical Co. executive president of institutional relationBIO elects directors for board ships and government executive committee affairs at Abengoa The Biotechnology Bioenergy, will serve Industry Organization as BIO’s industrial and has elected 19 of its environmental section directors to serve on its governing board vice Standlee board executive comchair. mittee for the 2014-‘15 Arlington Plastics Machinery term, including Jerry enters the biomass sector Flint, vice, president Arlington Plastics Machinery has anof biotech affairs and Flint nounced the Crushmaster line of equipment regulatory at DuPont. for the size reduction and processing of Flint will serve as BIO’s biomass. The Crushmaster features a German food and agriculture engineered line of granulators, shredders and section governing briquetting presses designed for biomass. board chair. Adam Monroe, president of Methane-based plastic Novozymes North research announced America, will serve as The Water Environment Research BIO’s industrial and Foundation plans to begin research to advance environmental section Monroe bioplastics generation from methane gas at governing board chair.

water resource recovery facilities. The project, Producing Value-Added Bioplastic from Methane Generated by Water Resource Recovery Facilities (NTRY5R14), will be led by a team of researchers from Mango Materials Inc. WERF also recently selected Kennedy/Jenks Consultants to perform research as part of a series of new projects on furthering codigestion. CEFC funds waste-to-gas project The Clean Energy Finance Corp. has agreed it will provide up to $50 million in senior debt finance for development of Western Australian waste-to-gas facilities by New Energy Corp. using Australian-designed technology.

SHARE YOUR INDUSTRY NEWS: To be included in the Business Briefs, send information (including photos and logos, if available) to Business Briefs, Biomass Magazine, 308 Second Ave. N., Suite 304, Grand Forks, ND 58203. You may also email information to evoegele@bbiinternational. com. Please include your name and telephone number in all correspondence.

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SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 11

Setting the Record Straight on Algae Separation 3. G-forces over 10,000 allow for production of pastes that are 11.5% drier. 40 38 36 34 32 30 10 8 6 4 2 0

11.5% Difference 34 31.5

Spiral plate

Disc stack

4. Processing parameters such as speed and ejection time are adjustable on disc stack equipment. This allows production of solids with varying dry matter levels for diﬀerent customer requirements.

Design elements in disc stack machines allow production of a superior product at a lower cost. Here are the facts: 1. Continuous machine operation allows for maximum up-time during processing. Solids are ejected at regular intervals with absolutely no interruption. There is no need to slow down the equipment and then bring it up to operating speed with a disc stack separator. 2. Automatic cleaning-in-place (CIP) is programmed in the machine, saving time and labor costs.

5. Thirty (30) models are available with capacities ranging from less than 1 m3/hr to over 150 m3/hr. We work with you to ﬁnd the machine that maximizes production for your current operation. Most machines can be scaled up as needs change.

With six service offices throughout North America and professionals that are experts in algae separation, GEA Westfalia Separator offers the centrifugal separation equipment that can cost-effectively meet your needs. We welcome the comparison between the two separation technologies. To learn more and find out about testing one of our machines, contact Keith Funsch at 201-784-4322 or Keith.Funsch@gea.com or visit us online at www.wsus.com.

6. Energy consumption, given the complete range of disc stack machines we oﬀer, is equal to or less than what spiral plate technology oﬀers. Disc stack machines use up to 20% less power. GEA Mechanical Equipment US, Inc.

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hen diﬀerent technology enters a market, there is always some question about how it compares to what’s been available. That’s the case with spiral plate versus disc stack separating equipment. Disc stack separation has a proven 50-year record in algae dewatering and concentration. With over 300 installations worldwide, the process has been perfected and a signiﬁcant amount of data collected.

% Dry Solids

SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 13

PowerNews 2011-2012 solid biomass feedstocks consumed in the UK (in million oven-dry metric tons per year) Imported wood pellets

1.2

Domestic wood

1.15

Residues

0.5

Energy crops

0.06

Wood waste

0.02

SOURCE: U.K. DECC, LIFE CYCLE IMPACTS OF BIOMASS ELECTRICITY IN 2020

DECC announces biomass sustainability calculator On July 24, the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change reported that scientific analysis has proven that biomass from North America can help decarbonize U.K. electricity supplies. The analysis is the result of a scientific calculator that investigates the impact on carbon emissions of biomass sourced from North America to produce electricity. That calculator finds that responsibly sourced biomass can be used in a low carbon and sustainable way. The calculator, also known as the Bioenergy Emissions and Counterfactual Model, was developed by the DECC and

can be used by developers to ensure biomass is sourced responsibly. “In the short term, biomass can help us decarbonize our electricity supplies, and we are committed to supporting cost-effective, sustainably produced biomass,” said Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey. “This calculator shows that, done well, biomass can offer real carbon savings, which is why we are tightening our rules for sustainable biomass. Any producer who doesn’t meet those standards will lose financial support from next year.”

14 BIOMASS MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2014

Supreme Court rules on EPA Tailoring Rule In June, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision on the U.S. EPA’s Tailoring Rule. While the court invalidated a portion of the rule, it essentially held up EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for certain facilities, specifically those required to obtain a Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit due to the emission of other regulated pollutants. The court’s ruling, however, did nothing to address uncertainty regarding the EPA’s treatment of biogenic emissions. As it stands now, the EPA will regulate GHG emissions from facilities that are required to obtain PSD permits for any other regulated pollutant. As such, it is possible that biomass power plants, ethanol plants, advanced biofuel plants, and others in the bioenergy sector will be subject to EPA’s GHG regulations, assuming they are already required to obtain a PSD permit. How biogenic emissions generated at these facilities will be treated under the regulations is currently unclear, and will remain unclear until the EPA completes its framework for biogenic carbon emissions.

POWER¦

Biomass Cofiring: Opportunities to Expand the Industry BY BOB CLEAVES

Last month, a nonprofit, environmental educational group held a lively roundtable discussion with an innovative, large-scale land restoration company to discuss a white paper on biomass cofiring that the two groups recently collaborated on. (The paper is still in revision, so the groups have asked us not to disclose their names.) The group assembled at the roundtable, which represented government, industry and NGOs, agreed that cofiring could be an important mitigation option to make available to power plants under Section 111(d). The paper explored opportunities for cofiring biomass and coal at power plants in both the U.S. and China, saying in the introduction, “…there appears to be scope to bridge the gap between economic and environmental concerns when applying rigorous, wellenforced, yet feasible sustainability requirements to bioenergy programs, particularly when biomass is used to directly offset coal use in a cofiring scenario.” The U.S. and China were chosen for the study because of the increased focus here on reducing power plant emissions, and because China is the world’s largest coal emitter, burning half the world’s total coal consumption. It found that “…sustainable biomass, as assessed through a rigorous sustainability framework, has the technical potential to offset 25 and 33 percent of current coal use from the power sector in China and the U.S., respectively.” While cofiring on a large scale has a long way to go before it becomes commonplace in the U.S., the paper and the roundtable made some insightful points about the biomass industry. It’s worth considering cofiring as a potential growth avenue for the industry,

particularly if the U.S. government identifies these technologies as a solution for cutting emissions from power plants. The paper looked at several methods of cofiring, as well as many factors that would affect the emissions profile of a cofiring scenario. The authors also looked at the possibilities for dedicated energy crops, and emphasized the need to be rigorous about following sustainability practices when sourcing fuel, including replanting trees and maintaining land use. The paper cites a number of factors that explain the barriers to increased deployment of cofiring. Cost is a major concern, compounded by the lack of national policy to reduce carbon emissions. On the other hand, the U.S. coal fleet is aging, and, if the Clean Power Plan moves forward, there might be significant opportunities in the coming years to retrofit or rebuild these facilities with potential for cofiring. Regardless of any of the practical limitations that exist for large-scale biomass cofiring to become a reality in the near future, it is certainly encouraging for the industry to know that biomass is being considered as a crucial carbon mitigation strategy. Even if cofiring is not universally used, it may still represent one of the most cost-effective mitigation options for many plants. Cofiring could eventually become a growth area for the biomass industry, with the right policies supporting it where it makes sense. Author: Bob Cleaves President and CEO, Biomass Power Association www.biomasspowerassociation.com bob@biomasspowerassociation.com

SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 15

¦POWER

CHIP SLIP: Clear, dry wood chips are dumped into storage at a wood-ﬁred power plant. PHOTO: NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY

16 BIOMASS MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2014

POWER¦

Surveying Storage Solutions Appropriate fuel storage systems for biomass energy operations vary by facility. BY KEITH LORIA

electing the best system for storing woody biomass for power or heat generation is not a new challenge, but as renewable energy installations increase, so is interest in weighing different options. The effects wood material characteristics have on a pile in storage include absorption, heat buildup, dissipation and more. The number of fines in a respective fuel pile influences how much water is absorbed, how the pile heats up and how air flows through a pile. Isaac Slaven, applied engineering technology faculty in the School of Technology at Eastern Illinois University, says the easiest and best method to iden-

tify best storage practices is first-in, first-out (FIFO) inventory management for the same particle size and shape, material, and moisture content. “This way, the material loss from fungal and bacterial infestation is reduced by not allowing as much time for these infestations to occur,” he says. “Additionally, any effect from contaminates is reduced. For a company that has a variety of materials, moisture contents, and particle sizes and shapes, known (or tested) rates of degradation based upon these factors may require a combined schedule to reduce overall material and financial loss can be optimally reduced. Furthermore, the seasonality of some materials (such as corn stover or switchgrass) may complicate this management.”

SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 17

¦POWER Since there are so many identifiable variables that can cause chip pile fire, it is difficult to single out only a few things, but Slaven says it is safe to say: Keep it as dry as feasible, keep it as free of contaminates as possible, and move it though inventory as quickly as possible. In a paper he wrote at Purdue University, “Properties of Wood Waste Stored for Energy Production,” Slaven notes that how chips deteriorate in wood chip piles is not completely understood, but the observed changes in the chips and chip piles are dry matter weight loss, temperature changes, moisture content, heat of combustion, and pH. There is no single, easy formula for designing an appropriate storage solution. While most fuel yards share many common elements, some tailoring is almost always required because of differences in fuel type, fuel quality, energy plant operating requirements and local harvesting methods/practices. “Although most larger plants in North America rely on wood chips for fuel, smaller heat or CHP projects in the U.S. and a variety of plants in Europe rely on wood pellets,” says Chris Lindsey, associate principal at the Antares Group, headquartered in Lanham, Maryland. “Fuel yard considerations are very different between these fuels. Some plants rely on very custom yards because of specialty fuels, such as industrial processing residues, material recovered from construction and demolition streams, that they may be using in conjunction with clean wood chips.”

A Sound Strategy STORAGE SAVVY: At Fallmouth Middle School in Falmouth, Maine, wood chips are conveyed from an enclosed fuel storage bunker to a metering bin. PHOTO: ANNA SIMET, BIOMASS MAGAZINE

Industry insiders note that having a fuel storage and inventory management strategy can be a prerequisite to project financing, and therefore must be carefully considered even prior to final design. “Deciding how large the storage should be is primarily, but not necessarily entirely, a factor of the size of the energy project being

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POWER¦ supplied and local climate conditions,” Lindsey says. “Plants usually shoot to have two to four weeks of fuel on hand to help get through periods when suppliers may have trouble delivering fuel in harsh or muddy weather. Smaller heating plants or smaller pellet fuelled facilities may play their supplies tighter, it just depends on how sensitive they are to interruptions due to temporary supply shortages.” It is typical for larger plants to rely on piles that are actively managed with loaders, dozers to minimize fire hazards and maintain fuel quality. According to Lindsey, FIFO approaches are normal. Pile reclaim may be done automatically, (under pad reclaim) or manually using loaders and reclaim chutes and hoppers. “It is common for storage to include day silos or bins (live storage) in conjunction with piles,” he says. “The silos or bins allow for one to two days of live storage that can be used to reliably feed the energy conversion unit regardless of upstream issues and allows for yard operations to be shut down for maintenance or operating personnel days off. At smaller, institutional heating plants, conveyance may be simpler and include at-grade or below-grade fuel bunkers, which may be primarily indoors.” Typical elements to be designed into the system are yard truck traffic control—sufficient area for truck delivery and turnaround, truck receiving and unloading, either by tippers or walking floor truck, and incorporating scales, initial conveyance to classification stand—sorting for size and debris, resizing via milling, rejection— and conveyance to pile storage or live storage. Systems will also include tramp metal removal and real-time weighing at various points to determine flows to storage or, at a minimum, the amount of material leaving live storage to the energy conversion system, usually a boiler. Fuel sampling stations may also be included.

LONG LOAD: Truck unloads wood chips for use as fuel for the Tracy Biomass Plant in Tracy, California. Large wood-ﬁred power plants typically rely on piles that are actively managed with large loaders and dozers to minimize ﬁre hazards and maintain fuel quality. PHOTO: NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY

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411 McKinney Parkway McKinney, Texas 75071-1825 Office: 214-544-9500 Fax: 214-544-9532 www.VectorSystems-USA.com SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 19

¦POWER The View From Alaska Amanda Byrd, biomass specialist for the Alaska Center for Energy and Power at the University of Alaska, says the best storage systems have to be covered out of the rain and snow, and have good ventilation for drying, or a drying bin. Keeping the wood off the ground is also important for air circulation and reducing rocks and other unwanted debris. “Having a day bin is common practice, and in some places it is a ‘week bin’ holding enough fuel for a week. Sometimes the wood is chipped at the plant site, and other times it is chipped where felled and the chips transported,” she says. “We have had some of our biggest wood storage issues happen in winter. For instance, a school in Southeast Alaska received wood chips from a local mill, but the chips were wet and when stored turned to blocks of ice. They since installed a drying bunker for the chips to dry out before being augured into the boiler.” In Alaska, projects are often very diverse, and one solution is not going to be the best fit for everyone, she adds. “We are still in our development stages in Alaska. Often times to keep the costs down, we must use what is available and affordable. So, using a rarely used ice-hockey rink to store wood chips can be the easiest solution at the time,” Byrd says. “We have economies of scale issue in Alaska—our needs are quite small, and building large amounts of infrastructure often is not economically feasible.”

Smaller Solutions For smaller systems and institutional settings, where the owner or the person who’s operating the system wants to spend as little time as possible messing with the fuel storage, Timothy Maker, president and CEO of Community Biomass Systems Inc. in Montpelier, Vermont, says “unquestionably, a below-grade bin is the way to go. A concrete bin that can hold at least one-and-athird tractor-trailer loads of fuel. The bigger the facility, the more storage you want to have,” he says. “The person who is in charge of the system doesn’t want to be worrying about running out of fuel when it’s cold. They want to know they’ve got a full bin and they’ve got a few days of elbow room.” He adds for indoor storage, the storage facility should not be heated and it should have plenty of ventilation. “The reason why you don’t want it heated is that in cold weather you don’t want to make it more likely that you’re going to have moisture leaving the fuel and filling up the air,” Maker says. “So if the space is well-ventilated when the moisture goes off from the fuel, when it evaporates into the air from the fuel, then it gets out instead of being stuck inside this bin building.”

Challenges Abound When dealing with storage solutions, climate is a very important consideration, especially places prone to severe icing or snow. “Snow removal must be a factor in the yard traffic design and icing must be considered on any inclines. This includes truck ramps and

20 BIOMASS MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2014

POWER¦ even conveyor angles,” Lindsey says. “In the case of the latter, even relatively modest slopes can be problematic at times as conveyor belts will harden up and material may slide back into unwanted places. Lower conveyor angles mean more linear length and higher cost, so there is a balance to be struck. Covered conveyors are also a good idea in places with lots of annual precipitation.” The polar vortex this past year wreaked havoc at many plants simply because the cold weather pushed conditions beyond design and made it a real challenge for some operations to maintain output. This was not only true of the equipment design, but of maintenance. For most biomass fuels, fuel dust is a nuisance factor that can be mitigated, but usually not completely eliminated. Provisions in the design for dealing with dust removal and cleanup of fines throughout the fuel handling and processing system should be considered. This includes clean-out ports in strategic locations and enclosures to protect systems that are sensitive to dust. Fuel consistency and quality is always a critical factor in operating a plant. Pelletized fuels have an advantage in this regard. Some plants put in multiple bins or silos to allow fuel blending to maintain desired characteristics.

Final Thoughts Plan on the system requiring fairly regular maintenance and be sure that multiple redundancies are built into the system to deal with unexpected failures in the reclaim/conveyor systems. “From my experience, the best systems are the ones where a lot of care was taken during the design process to involve the operator of the system,” Maker says, “so the operator knows what they’re getting. They not only get a chance to talk to the system supplier, but they’re actually working with the system supplier during the installation of that equipment, so that they know how to operate it, they know how to troubleshoot it. If all of that is done carefully during the design and the early stages of implementation, when it’s actually being constructed, then you get a smooth project.” Lindsey adds that fuel moisture in most large plants in North America is managed by fuel spec and pile management. Volatile organic compounds do evolve from piles and can change fuel quality over time. “Preferably, wood residues stored outside and destined for sustainable energy production should have adequate airflow and should be protected from the rain and snow; however, the costs of protection may be prohibitive,” he says. “In a world of increasing energy demands, proper management and rapid inventory turnover can help make wood a part of a renewable and sustainable energy portfolio.” Author: Keith Loria Freelance writer, Biomass Magazine freelancekeith@gmail.com

SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 21

PelletNews EU pellet statistics (in million metric tons) 2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

11.5

12.5

13.0

7.5

8.5

Production

9.47

10.652

Imports

3.115

4.267

6.045

0.09

0.132

Exports Consumption

0.068 12.5

15.0

7.5

0.15 20.0

0.15 21.0

SOURCE: EU BIOFUELS ANNUAL 2014, USDA FAS GAIN

EU pellet demand to continue increase The European Union has filed its annual biofuels report with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Global Agricultural Information Network, reporting that heat and power production from biomass could account for about 45 percent of renewables in 2020. This includes 37 percent of renewables use in the heating and cooling sector, and 8 percent of renewables use in electricity production. Wood pellet demand is expected to grow from 17.5 million metric tons last year to 21 million metric tons in 2015.

Pellet imports are also expected to grow, from 6.05 million metric tons in 2013 to 8.5 million metric tons in 2015. According to the report, if trade flows remain consistent with current patterns, the U.S. could supply half of that import volume. Germany is currently the EU’s top pellet producer, with 2.35 million metric tons expected to be manufactured this year. The U.K., however, is Europe’s top pellet consumer, with an estimated 5 million metric tons expected to be consumed this year.

22 BIOMASS MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2014

E-Pellets to expand operations in Georgia E-Pellets Group LLC recently acquired the Louisiana Pacific OSB mill in Athens, Georgia, and plans to convert it into a 450,000-metricton-per-year wood pellet production facility. Pellets produced at the plant will be exported to the European Union for use in power plants. The closed mill was purchased for $13 million and is expected to cost $107 million to convert. The project is expected to be operational by August 2015. The closed mill in Athens is not the only underperforming production facility E-Pellets has purchased in Georgia. Sega Biofuels LLC in Nahunta was purchased by the company to expand production volume to 150,000 metric tons. E-Pellets plans to continue this activity in the pellet industry. “We see an opportunity to be the largest Georgia-based producer of pellets, taking advantage of the state resources,” said Ben Easterlin, developer with the EPellets Group.

PELLET¦

Good Things in Store for Pellets BY BILL BELL

“Future’s So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades…” (Timbuk 3, 1986) When asked this winter about ongoing incentive funding for pellet boiler installations, Efficiency Maine CEO Mike Stoddard challenged, “If the program is a success, ongoing funding will be there.” When asked to define success, Stoddard replied, “If by the end of June you guys have done 50 installations, we’ll be disappointed. If you’ve done 100 installs with us, we’ll consider that a real success.” Efficiency Maine recently announced that as of June 30, it had completed financing for 214 pellet boiler installations. Stoddard also announced that his agency’s budget for the program that finances these rebates will continue at the present level. While the more than $1 million spent to date on Maine’s pellet boiler incentives (at $5,000 per unit) pale in comparison with the $27 million for biomass thermal funding just announced by New York State, these incentives are clearly working. Classic stimulus effects are becoming manifest. Iceland’s Eimskip shipping container firm, which moved from Virginia to Maine last year, has a new customer as Portland’s Interphase Energy LLC brings in Kedel pellet boilers from Denmark. The Heating the Northeast Conference in Portland this spring brought hundreds of visitors to the newly remodeled Westin Hotel. Maine’s pellet manufacturers are now running multiple shifts. Incentives work, along with the inherent logic of heating Maine homes with a Maine-grown fuel at half the price of oil. The directors of the Finance Authority of Maine recently voted to certify Athens Energy LLC, a sister company of Maine Woods Pellet Co., to receive $12 million in state tax credits. These credits are encouragement for Athens to proceed with a $30 million investment to construct and equip a biomass electricity generator and to expand the pellet manu-

facturing facility, bringing 200 jobs here. The pellet industry is becoming a substantial Maine employer. As this proceeds, consumers are finally recognizing the viability of pellet heat. “Especially in areas which are not going to get natural gas, our new customers are telling us ‘we wish we had done this earlier,’” says an executive of one of the two pellet boiler firms located in Maine. Major pellet retailers are also getting it. “Until last winter, the big box stores weren’t sure we were for real,” states one pellet manufacturing firm owner. “Now we’re getting orders we never had before.” The Biomass Thermal Energy Council’s “Heating the Northeast” Conference and Expo, held for five years in Manchester, N.H., and then in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., has found a level of public interest in Maine not previously experienced. In Portland, a steady stream of consumers coming in off the street augmented the show’s traditional appeal to biomass industry audiences and vendors. This event will return to Portland in April 2015 and will add Friday evening and Saturday morning in order to accommodate the interested public. Obstacles to full-blown expansion remain, of course. The Maine Fuel Board regulations for installing pellet boilers are mired in requirements written prior to the appearance of our “disruptive technology.” To the board’s great credit, it created a task force that has initiated reforms. A particularly uncooperative assistant attorney general recently sent this effort back to square one. But the installers will press forward, knowing that we are here to stay. And wearing shades. Author: Bill Bell Executive Director, Maine Pellet Fuels Association feedalliance@gwi.net www.mainepelletheat.com

SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 23

¦PELLET

Drax’s Mississippi Queen

With two production facilities nearing completion in Mississippi and Louisiana, the Baton Rouge Transit Facility is a vital link between the fiber resources of the lower Mississippi and a power station in North Yorkshire, England. STORY AND PHOTOS TIM PORTZ

map of Loblolly Pine range in the southeastern U.S. illustrates that the western fifth of the resource is neatly cleaved from the rest by the Mississippi River. The area without Loblolly Pines forms an isthmus that narrows near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Drax Biomass, the U.S.-based pellet production subsidiary of the U.K.’s Drax Group LLC, has positioned its production and distribution assets. The Mississippi River links all of it to the Atlantic trade routes, and ultimately, the boilers at Drax’s power station. For now, Drax is building two pellet production facilities, one on each side of the river. The pellet facility east of the Mississippi is located near Gloster,

24 BIOMASS MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2014

straight north of Baton Rouge. West of the Mississippi, near the northern border of Louisiana and the town of Bastrop, is Drax’s Morehouse production facility. Together, the two plants are expected to produce nearly 1 million metric tons of wood pellets annually. Recognizing that this volume will need a hub to flow through, Drax began to develop a storage and loading terminal in concert with the production facilities. That terminal is the Baton Rouge Transit Facility, located just across the river from downtown Baton Rouge in Port Allen. The facility is being built on property leased from the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, situated at the head of the deep water navigation channel

PELLET¦

LINKING RAIL, ROAD AND SEA: Drax’s Port Allen pellet handling facility strategically links the western reaches of the massive loblolly pine inventory in the Southeast with Atlantic sea routes using a complex web of road, rail and barge assets.

SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 25

¦PELLET

WATCHFUL EYES: Drax’s Graham Akrill and Gray Construction’s Daniel Pittman watch as workers ﬁnish up the ﬁnal steps in the construction of the facilities easy to identify storage domes.

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maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The 45-foot deep channel can accommodate Panamax-sized vessels, and is connected to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, a 1000-mile barge corridor reaching from Texas to Florida. Construction of the facility began in 2013 by Lexington, Kentucky-based design and build firm Gray Construction, and is expected to begin commercial operations in the first quarter of 2015. “We haven’t disclosed the capital cost of the port facility, just our U.S. investment as a whole, which is around £225 million ($375 million) for two pellet plants and a port facility,” says Ken Budreau, Drax senior vice president of development. “The port investment is the smallest component of Drax’s overall U.S. production and distribution effort,” he continues.

Connected to Rail and Road While construction expenses of the port facility may not rival the expenses of the production facilities that will very soon be producing the pellets that flow through

it, its efficient operation is vital to Drax’s North American pellet supply chain success. Drax’s Amite Bioenergy facility in Gloster is within practical truck range and expects to move its production to the Port Allen facility over the road. The Morehouse Bioenergy facility is nearly 200 miles away, and Drax intends to utilize an existing Union Pacific rail line to move finished product to the facility. Trucks typically move 25 tons of pellets per load; rail cars move 100 tons per car. The expected production volume from Amite Bioenergy will require 20,000 truck deliveries in a year, or nearly 80 trucks per day, under a Monday through Friday delivery schedule. The facility has been designed to handle and unload at a rate of 10 trucks per hour, with an expected truck-to-truck time of just over four minutes. In order to leverage the transportation advantage offered by the rail line that connects the facility with the Morehouse plant, the terminal was built with a rail unloader, which has been designed to unload four rail cars per hour. Working with Llloyd’s

PELLET¦

What gets measured

gets done.

COLOSSAL CONVEYANCE: The Port Allen facility ties three major means of pellet transportation together in one facility with its unique capability to receive pellets by rail, truck and barge, and then load them onto some of the largest ocean going vessels in the bulk handling ﬂeet. The truck and rail unloading facility is visible on the photographs left side. Powered by MHG Systems

Register Rail, Drax has designed and patented a rail car specifically engineered for pellet transport, but for now, the plan is to use converted grain wagons to move Morehouse’s output.

A Familiar Skyline Once delivered, inbound pellets must immediately be moved to covered storage. Like the power station in Drax, the Baton Rouge Transit Facility skyline is defined by the two storage domes that were built in the spring and summer of this year. Acknowledging that the storage domes link the two facilities visually, Budrea notes, “The most obvious similarity between the two locations is the storage domes. We have four slightly larger storage domes at the Drax Power Station site in the U.K., compared to the two at the port, although the actual detail of the technology does differ.” Capable of holding 40,000 tons each, storage capacity at the facility can accommodate roughly one month of production from the two facilities coming on line. Conveyors capable of moving 1,800 tons of

pellets per hour will connect the rail and truck unloading buildings with the domes. The conveyors move pellets to the top of the domes and onto the waiting piles. When it’s time to move pellets out of the storage dome and onto a waiting vessel, the pellets will gravity-feed to conveyors situated underneath the domes for final movement to the ship loader. If the pellets stop free flowing for any reason, each dome is equipped with a massive screw reclaimer, capable of moving the remaining pellets along at a rate of 400 tons per hour. Once inside the storage domes, careful attention must be paid to the pellets and the pile. “The facility will use spark and heat detection together while employing strict operational procedures,” Budreau says of the terminal’s fire and explosion protection strategy. Fire and explosions are a constant concern for anyone producing or handling wood pellets, and fires have already occurred along the emerging pellet supply chain. As a result, Drax is utilizing multiple technologies to identify sparks and hot spots before they can become a real problem.

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¦PELLET WHEN GRAVITY FAILS: At the bottom of each of the storage domes is a massive screw reclaimer that will be brought into action once the pellets stop free ﬂowing. This beefy piece of equipment can move 400 metric tons of pellets per hour and efﬁciently clear out the last bits of a dome’s inventory.

The Final Leg The Port of Greater Baton Rouge boasts an impressive 400-acre deepwater complex capable of berthing five different vessels at once. Consequently, the port’s robust existing business required Drax’s pellet handling facility to be neatly tucked into existing bulk dry storage and liquid fuel infrastructure. The facility has been placed in the third of the deepwater complex that lies north of the Horace Wilkinson Bridge, which carries Interstate 10, towering over 175 feet above the river below. The storage domes are tucked between a sugar cane products warehouse and a fuel terminal tank farm. To load ships, pellets must travel along covered conveyors east toward the river, and finally, over two warehouses that sit alongside Cargo Dock No. 2, where the facility’s mobile ship loader is being constructed. The loader, a hulking grey structure built upon rails, will traverse north and south along the quay and the vessels docked alongside it. Once complete, the last sequence of conveyors and the mobile shiploader will be capable of moving 1,200 metric tons of pellets per hour, loading a Panamax carrier in three days without ever having to reposition the vessel. Logistically, time is money, and the mobile shiploader introduced vital efficiencies into the facility’s overall plan. One million tons of pellets is a significant volume to move. To date, only a small handful of ports have experienced moving that kind of pellet volume, and no ports can rightly claim to have prolonged experience in pellet handling and transport. 28 BIOMASS MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2014

PELLET¦

TRAVELING SHIP LOADER: With an eye on maximizing efﬁciency, the design team for the facility decided upon a traversing mobile ship loader that can fully load a 55,000 Panamax vessel in three days without requiring the vessel to reposition.

Drax’s entire conversion, however, hinges upon this and other Atlantic and Gulf Coast facilities seamlessly integrating pellet volumes into their operations. While clearly built to enable Drax to effectively move the volumes produced at its own facilities, the terminal has additional capacity. “The facility is designed to handle volumes in excess of the output of our two pellets plants under construction,” Budreau says. While the Drax team may have had an idea that transitioning away from coal inputs to biomass would have widespread impacts, the enormity of the logistical challenge could not have been fully understood. Yorkshire is a long way from the loblolly pine forests of the American South. Fiber harvested from this incredible resource will travel by truck, rail and ship, and efficiency all along this supply chain is paramount to the economic and environmental success of Drax’s efforts. Once complete, the Baton Rouge Transit Facility will knit the entire system together, thus playing a vital role in Drax’s bid to become the world’s largest single-site producer of renewable, baseload power. Author: Tim Portz Executive Editor, Biomass Magazine tportz@bbiinternational.com 701-738-4969

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ThermalNews Payback period in years (assuming diesel at $3.63 per gallon; 75% capacity factor) Pellet cost (per ton)

$400

$350

$300

$250

$200

500,000

30.7

10.7

6.5

4.7

3.6

1 million

20.9

8.4

5.1

3.6

2.8

1.5 million

20.9

7.3

4.4

3.2

2.5

System size (in Btu/hr)

2 million

18.9

6.6

2.9

2.2

2.5 million

17.5

6.1

3.7

2.6

2.1

3 million

16.4

4.7

3.5

2.5

1.9

3.5 million

15.6

5.4

3.3

2.4

1.8

4 million

14.8

2.5

3.1

2.2

1.8

SOURCE: GSA

GSA report finds potential for pellet boilers in federal buildings A new report published by the U.S. General Services Administration finds wood pellet boilers should be considered at all hot-water heated federal facilities where natural gas is unavailable, particularly in northern regions. The GSAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Green Proving Ground just released a study of the retrofit done at the Ketchikan Federal Building in Ketchikan, Alaska, that installed a state-of-the-art, pellet-fired biomass boiler. GPG commissioned researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to evaluate the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and operational functionality of the 1-million Btu boiler.

Minnesota Casino to install biomass boiler The White Earth Nation of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe was recently issued a minor new source review (NSR) construction permit by the U.S. EPA to install a biomass power system for its Shooting Star Casino and Event Center in Mahnomen, Minnesota. The casino is located on the reservation of the White Earth Nation, which owns and operates the facility. Currently on site are two fuel oil-fired boilers and two propane-fired boilers that are used for space heating. The final minor NSR construction permit authorizes the construction of a new, 5 MMBtu/hr Solagen biomass-fired boiler, and establishes annual operating hour limitations on the new and existing boilers at the casino. The new biomass boiler will be used to provide heat to the hotel, casino and event center, while the existing four boilers will serve as a backup to the new biomass-fired boiler. Fuel for the facility must be wood chips from conifer or deciduous trees, according to permit data. Mike Triplett, economic development department planner for the White Earth Reservation Tribal Council, said it would likely come from the greater Bemidji, Park Rapids area, but no contracts have been made yet.

THERMAL¦

Can the EPA Do Its Job? BY JOHN ACKERLY

As the wood and pellet stove and boiler industry gets closer to facing new EPA regulations, there is a striking disconnect between industry expectations and the EPA’s mandate. For industry, the concept of “technology-forcing” regulations is anathema, a clear example of a government agency running amok. For many air quality agencies, technology-forcing regulations are the only way to move forward. This won’t be a technology-forcing rule, even though most stoves will likely be forced to change by 2020. For it to be technology-forcing, the technology needed to achieve the mandated emission standard would not yet exist on a commercial scale. However, some catalytic stoves on the market show that it’s already possible to meet the strictest standard proposed by the EPA. The wood stove industry has issued hundreds of pages of detailed analysis showing more than 90 percent of stove models would not survive the regulations. However, forcing 90 percent of stoves to change is precisely the goal, not an unintended side effect. They want our country to move to a new generation of cleaner stoves. The Alliance for Green Heat agrees that 90 percent of stoves need redesigning. But unlike many air quality agencies and environmental groups, we are a pro-wood heating organization. We believe that the biomass stove and boiler industry can do this and still be profitable, while ensuring its own long-term survival and growth. Many stoves may only need minor redesigns. There are plenty of R&D consultants who can help manufacturers if they don’t have the internal capacity. Some models may have to be scrapped and redesigned entirely, a pretty expensive process for what are mostly small businesses that don’t deal in large quantities. This is why the EPA proposed staggering the implementation of the new rules—so that companies have time to get cleaner models ready. Some manufacturers may go out of business, especially ones that only make traditional outdoor wood boilers and do not have the capacity to make cleaner units. Other manufacturers will benefit and profit from the rules. We agree with the industry that it’s too soon to require all stoves to be certified with cordwood, and that such a change could probably not happen for three to five years. We also agree that regulations forcing industry to put catalysts on all stoves are not the answer. This worked for automobiles, but the technology is not yet ready for stoves.

There is one fundamental question both industry and air quality agencies share: “Is the EPA up to the task of regulating wood and pellet heaters?” Northeastern air agencies have said that the compliance and enforcement office of the EPA is “ineffective,” and questioned the agency’s ability to manage existing stove regulations, much less any new ones. They also cite the private, EPA-certified test labs as having a “lack of capacity to independently conduct and certify results” of emission tests, the linchpin of ascertaining whether a stove meets EPA requirements. The industry questions the fundamental capacity of the EPA to sufficiently understand and address a broad array of very technical issues. We share concerns of both air agencies and industry, but are aware that government agencies are often in this bind. In this case, they appear to be working toward a compromise of stakeholder interests. Their proposal is extremely lenient with cleaner appliances like pellet stoves, and pretty tough for unregulated wood stove and outdoor wood boiler manufacturers. We expect all major players will criticize the regulations for going too far, or not far enough. It’s too early to tell if they will strike the right balance. The best context to understand this rulemaking comes from the 1990 regulations when EPA first regulated wood heaters. Yes, prices rose modestly. Yes, some manufacturers went out of business and the number of companies shrunk. Yes, millions of old, polluting stoves were grandfathered and are still there. But we ended up with a vibrant industry that makes some of the best and cleanest wood stoves in the world and helps millions of Americans affordably heat their homes using a renewable resource. Those regulations were a lifeline to an industry that was making many very polluting appliances and would have otherwise faced a more complex regulatory landscape at the state level. The 1990 regulations may have required a more drastic overhaul of stove designs than this one. Back then, the solution was secondary combustion technology. This time, there will likely be a variety of ways to meet stricter emissions standards, and some automation of air control may be one of the solutions. Ultimately, to get a new fleet of cleaner stoves deployed, we need an EPA that can put in the resources to adequately oversee the process. Author: John Ackerly President, Alliance for Green Heat jackerly@forgreeheat.org 301-841-7755

SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 31

¦THERMAL

TUBULAR SOLUTION: The majority of conveyors installed at Green Circle Bio Energy’s pellet manufacturing plant in Cottondale, Florida, are Bruks-supplied tubulator conveyors. Tubulator conveyors are air-supported and built as a closed system of steel tubes. Inside the conveyor tube, a rubber belt runs at high speed on top of an air cushion provided by fans. PHOTO: BRUKS

32 BIOMASS MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2014

THERMAL¦

All the Right Moves The best fuel-conveying configuration varies by operation, and today’s innovative manufacturers are ready to customize to optimize performance and meet challenges. BY ANNA SIMET

SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 33

¦THERMAL

iomass energy encompasses a wide range of installations, from universities to saw mills to large-scale power plants. Unfortunately, with countless varying site specifics and fuel characteristics, there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to moving and delivering fuel into a boiler. Screw, drag and belt conveyors are well-known designs and commonly applied throughout the industry. Costeffective and ideal for handling a wide range of materials from wood chips to sludge, screw conveyors provide enclosed transfers while moving materials horizontally, vertically or at an incline, and can deliver materials from one or more inlet points to one or more discharge points. Most economical for transferring fuel short distances and typically requiring more power than other conveyor types, a screw conveyor operates with rotating shafts attached to a longitudinal axis. “As the shafts turn, the spiral flight is positioned at an angle such that material is forced down the length of the conveyor,” explains Cliff Moss, vice president and director of material handling at ProcessBarron. NO SCREWING AROUND: Choosing the A good choice for transporting un- appropriate screw size and motor ensures that a screened or dusty biomass, or where space screw conveyor system produces an even fuel ﬂow. PHOTO: PROCESSBARRON is limited, drag chain conveyors consist of chains that pull along the length of the And nearly as simple as its title, belt conconveyor by sprockets. “Attached to the chain or chains are drag flights, that push, or veyors are economical and reliable when needin some cases enhance or support, the material ing to transfer biomass over long distances to carry it along,” Moss says, adding that there at high capacities. Today’s designs vary from are some different conveying principles with simple, open solutions that are recognized as drag conveyors, one of which uses flights to the conventional belt design, to closed systems push wood along. Besides “bulldozing,” drag that use pressurized air to move fuel. For Bruks, its nontraditional belt conconveyors can be designed such that flights are placed every five or six feet to push mate- veyor, the tubulator, has been a great fit at biorial along, or possess many smaller flights that mass operations requiring long-distance conare placed closer together. “The material sits veying. Pellet plant Green Circle Bio Energy atop them [flights], and because of the cohe- in Florida, Ameresco’s biomass cogeneration sion between them, you can pile the material plant in South Carolina, We Energies’ biomass really high—a foot—and it is carried along at power facility in Wisconsin and Mt. Poso Cothe same speed as the chain. That’s called en generation in California are all utilizing the technology. “Conventional belt conveyors run masse conveying.”

34 BIOMASS MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2014

THERMAL¦

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atop idlers or rollers, but in this case, the belt is actually supported by air,” says Daniel Pace, sales engineer at Bruks. “The air is blown by fans that are located roughly every 250 feet, and they elevate the belt. It’s still driven by a head and tail pulley like a conventional conveyor, but it’s a lower-horsepower way of doing it.” A benefit of this design is that it is fully enclosed, alleviating dusting issues. “These are really great when you need to span long

distances,” Pace adds. “We’ve had installations go over buildings, roads and bodies of water, and we have cable towers that support these conveyors and can reach as far as 250 feet per cable tower. This is great, opposed to having to have bents every 40 feet with standard conveyors.” Pace says that the tubulator design is competitive to traditional belt designs, but better priced if dealing with longer distances.

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www.javo.eu SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 35

¦THERMAL

SMOOTH MOVE: Belt conveyors are economical and reliable when needing to transfer biomass over long distances at high capacities and work well at locations that aren’t sensitive to dusting concerns. PHOTO: PROCESSBARRON

And yet another conveying innovation is being brought to the industry by Mayfran International, manufacturer of a shuffle drive conveyor that was originally designed for the metals industry. Paul Tamlin says he developed the design in 1988 for stamping plants that were all facing similar problems moving scrap metal, and began with a small system that moved a tray back and forth. “This eliminated a lot of parts that existing systems had, so it increased reliability to customers,” he says. The shuffle drive may be mounted on or located away from the system. Via a connecting rod, it moves the torsion elementsupported trays, allowing for a gentle rocking motion that moves material forward. Though the scrap metal industry has kept the company busy, it’s making a push into the biomass industry. “For example, in Canada, a customer with a pelletizing plant—one that takes garbage from Toronto suburbs, sorts out recyclables and puts everything left into a pellet—was considering a system to convey pellets throughout the plant because of the gentle motion of our system. It doesn’t cause the pellets to break down—there’s no degradation, and there’s no exposure to a belt.” A fit for pellet plants, what about a biomass heating facilities? “We feel it is [a good fit], in a feeder-type situation,” Tamlin says. “It

36 BIOMASS MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2014

can handle extremely high loads, where a belt conveyor cannot. We have advantages that way, and there is no place for raw material to get within the conveying mechanism itself, depending on the product type. With straw or cane fiber, those all have the opportunities to get caught within belts and pulleys and cause bearing problems and shut down. We describe it as a beltless conveying system.” The largest unit size Mayfran offers today is 350 feet long—the largest installation has been over 1,000 feet—and maximum system speed is 40 feet per minute. “For biomass that might be lower than what they’re used to, but we can increase the tray size to increase the flow rate,” he says. Mayfran has also designed a vertical conveyor to move product straight up or down in a spiral motion. “Sometimes in biomass or pellet handling, they want to dry the product,” Tamlin says, “so it can also be used as a vertical cooling tower.” The downside of such a system is that the upfront cost is more than other conveyor designs, he notes. “It might be tougher getting into this industry because of that, but in the long run, there’s no maintenance.” Besides up-front cost, with the Mayfran shuffle conveyor and so many other options on the market, much has to be taken into

THERMAL¦

TUBULAR SOLUTION: Bruks’s tubulator conveyors are most economical when moving biomass long distances and can easily extend over barriers in the conveying path. PHOTO: BRUKS

consideration when determining the best set up for a respective operation.

Considerations The material being handled is an obvious and essential project specific. “The size, type, volumes, and distance fuel will be traveling should be evaluated,” Moss says, as well as the importance of protection of the environment. “Lots of plants don’t like anything exposed to the atmosphere—say, dust, for plants near neighborhoods. When it’s windy, dust can blow off the bark, and belt conveyors are dusty by nature anyway, so one might want

to use a fully enclosed system in that case, which may be a drag conveyor. It’s a lot more money, but you’ll have a dust-free environment.” That applies largely to universities, which are more sensitive to environmental causes. “They won’t want to use any conveyors that aren’t completely enclosed, so traditional, standard belt conveyors don’t work very well because dust can build up and cause a fire. There, using drag chain, enclosed conveyors or screw conveyors would work best; you’ll want to keep any transport ports exposed under a vacuum-type atmosphere where dust is collected at exposure points and run into a bag house or filter.”

SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 37

¦THERMAL MOVE OVER METAL: Based on the premise of shaking a tray, Mayfran’s shufﬂe conveyor was originally designed to move scrap metal, but the company believes It’s an excellent ﬁt for the biomass industry. PHOTO: MAYFRAN INTERNATIONAL

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University and similar-sized systems are also very compact, so certain conveyors will not work at the high inclines required. “It’s difficult to go from the ground to 60 feet up in the air, 10 feet away, so you get into issues with selecting a system based on elevation,” Moss says. Pace reiterates that notion. “You definitely need to consider elevations you have to achieve,” he says. “If you’re talking belt vs. chain, you can achieve elevations a lot easier with chain conveyors. When dealing with just biomass, if you have the real estate for a belt conveyor, you might want to go with that. A tubulator would work well there, but it likely comes down to pricing, as it’s more competitive over longer distances.” On the other hand, power plants require higher fuel volumes and woodyards are far away from the power house. “Boilers are also bigger, so conveyors are longer by consequence of that,” Moss says. “They are less sensitive to environmental issues as well. Long conveyors are much more expensive, and you won’t have the dust-tight, sexy drag conveyors that can be done at a university. Rather, they’ll have belt conveyors that run great distances.” If a facility is converting to a different fuel—from coal to biomass—there will be big differences with volumetric feed rates. “It takes a lot more wood than coal,” Moss says. “Many times these conveyors can be reused, but overhauled to run at faster speeds to handle more volume.”

THERMAL¦ Coal is much denser than biomass, so belt width may need to be increased, Pace offers. “You’re definitely going to need more volume.” While there’s a good possibility a facility can use some of the same equipment, some will need modifications or replacement. “Coal flows out of hoppers and silos very easily, whereas you can’t just pile biomass in a coal bunker—it would not flow out the bottom,” Moss says. “That’s where the size and type of material come into play. You might be able to cut the bottom off of the bunker and put in a drag or screw reclaimer to force the material out, and place the conveyor below the bunker. A belt conveyor or drag could be reused, but overhauled and sped up. You can definitely reuse or retrofit existing equipment without using a whole new system, and we’ve done that over and over with a lot of coal to biomass conversions.” For other potential scenarios, fuel size is yet another element of the conveyor puzzle—large pieces of fuel coming into an operation prior to being processed, or construction and demolition waste, won’t work on a belt conveyor or standard screw. “If it is big biomass that hasn’t been ground up yet, you can’t just plop it on a belt or screw conveyor, it’ll jam it up,” Moss says. “If it’s really fine, you can’t use a belt conveyor because it’ll blow everywhere. If it’s hog fuel, your options are wide open.” Finally, climate can play a surprisingly influential role in moving material. “If you’re burning wood pellets, you can’t have those rained on, so the environment can play a big factor,” Moss says. Intertwine moisture with harsh temperatures, and some conveyors may not be adequate for the job. “Certain [conveyors] have limits of their degree of incline. If you get a frozen belt, it becomes like an ice hockey table, especially when conveying biomass into the boiler. If you’re getting that material from a woodyard, you’ll have frozen material and need conveyors that can handle it. It does change your conveying design criteria if it’s in a frozen climate.”

In such a climate, with a belt design, an appropriate incline would max out at 15 degrees. On a drag, freezing isn’t a problem, so 18 degrees would work, according to Moss. And inclines affect cost. “If we have to get to 80 feet, we can get there a lot quicker on a belt of an incline on 18 degrees and save a lot of money,” he says. “For 14 degrees, a conveyor reaches further back, so that might increase the cost by 20 or 25 percent.” No matter the project scenario, today’s modern conveying technology suppliers are

ready and eager to develop custom, innovative systems based on facility needs. “Give us your worst case conveying situation in your plant,” Tamlin adds. “We’ll focus on that to solve it.” Author: Anna Simet Managing Editor, Biomass Magazine 701-738-4961 asimet@bbiinternational.com

SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 39

BiogasNews Himark to build food waste digesters

EPA releases landfill methane reduction proposal The U.S. EPA is taking action to reduce methane emissions from landfills. In late June, the agency published a proposed rule to update its air standards for new municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. The same day, the EPA also published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) seeking public input on whether and how to update current emissions guidelines for existing landfills to further reduce their emissions, including methane. According to the EPA, the proposed rule would require certain landfills to capture additional landfill gas, which would reduce

methane emissions and help reduce pollution that harms public health. The proposal is part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan—Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions, which was released in March. Under the propped rule, certain new landfills would be required to capture two-thirds of their methane and air toxics emissions by 2023. That is a capture level 13 percent higher than that required by current rules. A 60-day comment period on both the proposed rule and ANPR opened July 17.

40 BIOMASS MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2014

Himark BioGas International is expanding its presence in the U.S. through a signed agreement with NEO Energy LLC for the design, construction and start-up of three integrated anaerobic digestion (AD) and fertilizer facilities to convert food waste into fertilizer and renewable energy. Two of the plants will be built in Massachusetts and one in Rhode Island. “The new environmental laws require businesses to transfer their food waste to energy generating and composting facilities instead of sending them to landfills, so it provided a great economic opportunity for our client to set up the AD facilities,” said Ali Aziz, marketing manager with Himark BioGas. Under the agreement, Himark BioGas will act as a technology licensor and owner’s representative on behalf of NEO Energy during the design, construction and operation stages of the plants. The agreement also covers numerous other potential plants that NEO Energy could develop at a later time.

BIOGAS¦

Organic Material Recycling Momentum Builds BY STEPHANIE THORSON

As the biogas sector grows, it is faced with a new challenge. Biogas systems convert decaying organic material into useable energy and a soil amendment. As more systems come on line in jurisdictions where there are financial incentives for biogas, competition is increasing for organic material, the feedstock that provides these systems with their source of energy and provides a critical revenue stream. Securing a steady supply of organic material can be a challenge in jurisdictions where there is a thriving biogas sector, such as Ontario. Ontario’s waste diversion policy does not address organic material other than leaf and yard waste, and since organic material can be sent to landfill at very low cost, less of this material is available as feedstock for anaerobic digestion (AD). In some landfills, methane from decaying organic material is captured and flared. A small percentage convert methane into useable energy. The greenhouse gas emissions impact of methane released from landfills is significant. Furthermore, organic material sent to landfill cannot be used to enhance agricultural soils, create green jobs or decrease our reliance on conventional fuels. Fortunately, policymakers are starting to understand the value of organic material, and are watching what’s happening in the U.S. and some Canadian provinces. Momentum is building for restricting the movement of waste organic material. Biogas production provides multiple environmental and economic benefits, and helps enable policymakers to consider organic material as a resource instead of a waste material. Several organizations such as the American Biogas Council and the U.S. Composting Council have worked together to influence state decisionmaking. Progress in the U.S. includes: • Connecticut was the first state to ban commercial food waste from landfills. In 2011, it passed a state law requiring generators of two or more tons of food waste per week to recycle the materials rather than sending them to a landfill if located within 20 miles of a suitable recycling facility. In 2013, the state passed a law following in Vermont’s footsteps that expanded coverage of its landfill food waste ban to facilities generating a ton of food waste per week, starting in 2020. • In Vermont, a 2012 law banned food waste from landfills. Like Connecticut, the law limited the ban to large generators located within 20 miles of a recycling facility. The Vermont law gradually expanded coverage in a series of steps. Only commercial generators of two tons of food

waste per week or more were required to comply at first. By 2020, however, all food waste will be banned from Vermont landfills. • Massachusetts moved to ban commercial food from landfills by July 2013. At that time, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection proposed requiring commercial food waste generators, defined as those producing a ton or more per week, to donate or repurpose food instead of sending it to the landfill. Any waste that could not be donated would have to be used for composting, anaerobic digesting or animal feed. That ban took effect July 1. • Rhode Island is the latest state to restrict the movement of organic material. In June, the government passed a law requiring large producers of food scrap to send it and other organic material to composting facilities and anaerobic digesters instead of to landfill. However, there will be a phase-in period while infrastructure that can process the waste is built. No food waste producer has to comply with the law until there is a composter or anaerobic digester within 15 miles able to accept that producer’s material. In Canada, progress is more mixed. • Nova Scotia banned compostable waste from landfill in 1998. It currently has the highest diversion rate in Canada, at 68 percent, and the lowest per-person waste disposal rate. Most municipalities have curbside organics collection, which is coupled with policies that include mandatory use of clear bags for garbage. • While the British Columbia government has not placed restrictions on organic material disposal, some progressive municipalities have moved ahead with policies of their own. For example, Metro Vancouver will have a landfill ban on organics in place by 2015. • In Quebec, a graduated waste diversion plan is in place, and organic material will be banned from landfills by 2020. Organizations that value organic material should speak up and voice their support for policies such as those listed here, or levies on landfilling organic material. Until progressive policies are in place, these valuable resources will end up in a place where their value can’t be accessed, and the organic material won’t contribute to lower GHG emissions, green jobs, improved soil and greater energy security and sustainability. Author: Stephanie Thorson Associate, Biogas Association 416-489-9388 sthorson@biogasassociation.com

SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 41

ÂŚBIOGAS

FRONT-END TRANSPORTATION: After food scraps are dropped into a receiving pit, a clamshell bucket scoops and transports batches of food waste into the preprocessing equipment. PHOTO: HARVEST POWER

42 BIOMASS MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2014

BIOGASÂŚ

Balancing Digester Diets While energy-rich and an ideal substrate for digesters, organic waste can be loaded with contaminants. BY KATIE FLETCHER

ommunity digesters are built with the intention of creating sustainability within surrounding communities by diverting food scraps and other green waste from landfills and converting it into biogas to create useful commodities like heat, electricity, fertilizers and transportation fuel. Much like humans, community digesters require a balanced diet to maintain health and maximize biogas production. AD is commonly used at wastewater treatment plants and dairy and swine farms across the nation. While these facilities use wastewater or manure as a feedstock, adding food and organic green waste to the substrate menu is trending. New digesters are taking in a whole new, eclectic assortment of feedstocks that necessitate a balance of nutrients for optimal biogas production.

SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 43

¦BIOGAS “Essentially we are feeding a stomach, a very large one, but we are feeding a stomach nonetheless,” says Dean Foor, owner of JC-Biomethane, a biogas plant in Junction City, Oregon. “In very simple terms, we are just trying to feed it a balanced diet.” A digester’s balanced diet is not so different than a human’s. Community digesters take source-separated organics. Like humans, digesters don’t want contaminants in their sustenance, which can and does happen in food waste streams due to human error in the source separation process. Common contaminants include plastic cutlery from cafeterias, glass, hard plastics and other nonbiodegradable components. Certain practices, policies and regulations are in place to guide suppliers in making the source-separated organic material as devoid of contaminants as possible, but capacity for them to enter the feedstock stream remains. Hardware and other preprocessing techniques provide the solution, and these tactics are used at some facilities to depackage consumer products. CleanWorld Partners, Harvest Power,

Novi Energy and JC-Biomethane are just a few U.S. companies that are strategically located in areas that produce large quantities of organic waste.

On the Menu “We can take almost 100 different types of feedstocks,” Bryan Heiss, plant manager of Novi Energy’s Fremont Community Digester in Fremont, Michigan. FCD is a 100,000-ton-per-year, complete mix digester that sends 3 MW of electricity to the grid. A few of its suppliers include rejected batches of baby food from Gerber, high-strength effluent from Short’s Brewing Company, McDonalds’ apple dippers from Peterson Farms, and about 5 percent of the waste comes from manure. The digester can receive whole skids of packaged products. CleanWorld’s Sacramento BioDigester can also accept fully packaged consumer products. The facility, which is scaling up from 25 to 100 tons per day by the end of the year, is located near the South Area Transfer Station, which Atlas Disposal, a Sacramentobased waste hauler, utilizes as a fueling station

of renewable compressed natural gas (CNG) to deliver waste to CleanWorld’s facility. Campbell’s soup, Hyatt Hotel and HP Hood, the maker of products like Muscle Milk, have been assisted by the facility. While the Sacramento digester may be getting its calcium from varying levels of muscle milk, JC-Biomethane, a 1.5 MW, 25,000-ton-per-year community digester feeds on fractions of ice cream from a local manufacturer. Sugar water from gummy bear production and waste from a biodiesel production facility are amongst other suppliers. The facility’s largest supplier, however, is the Portland City Metro, bringing in 450 tons per week of commercial food waste. About twice the size of JC-Biomethane is Harvest Power’s 50,000-ton food waste community digester near Orlando, Florida. Some waste from Disney World is brought to the facility, including the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels at Grande Lakes Orlando. Although it appears these digesters can consume anything, there are limits. “We take what we can get within guidelines,” says Steve Tourigny, senior vice president at

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BIOGAS¦ CleanWorld. “We have a feedstock contract where we explicitly tell customers these are the types of things we absolutely want, these are the things we can tolerate and these are the things we prefer not to have in our feedstock—we work with them to improve the quality.” State and federal policies can also impact what ends up at the facilities. One such example is the Metro Central Transfer Station, JC-Biomethane’s largest supplier, which is shifting to only accepting food waste. This policy eliminates loads containing regular and waxed cardboard by November. “We’re not designed to take those kind of materials and do anything with them,” Foor says. “Making amendments to their acceptability standard is changing things for the market over the next year.”

Bringing in the Trash Wastes are transported through trucking companies, and many try to

SUBSTRATE GROOMING: Food waste is dropped onto a pad at CleanWorld’s Sacramento Biodigester and the Gradall pushes it into the conveyor belt to ready it for the Doda that separates the food waste from the contaminants and plastics. PHOTO: CLEANWORLD

W E

C O N V E Y

Q U A L I T Y

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¦BIOGAS look at ecological ways to truck in the waste. JC-Biomethane shares trucks with Lane Forest Products, a compost facility located adjacent to the digester. Trucks transport Lane products north and are filled with food waste on the return trip south. CleanWorld’s Sacramento Biodigester is an example of a facility that converts biogas into RNG and CNG. This effort is part of CleanWorld’s closed-loop strategy fueling 10 trucks in Atlas’ fleet with CNG engines, about 500 diesel gallon equivalents per day. When the facility is 100 tons per day, the biogas produced can fuel up to 40 trucks. Getting customers to seamlessly separate the waste picked up from these trucks is a challenge. “With source-separated organics, the intent is for them to be all organics, maybe a little bit of paper, cardboard, napkins, some disposable knives and forks, however, the reality is it’s only as good as the sorting that’s done,” says Tourigny. “Whenever we have a load, we actually dump it onto a pad and do a visual inspection, because it is not unusual to have a car battery or a bicycle that’s been thrown in the wrong bin.”

Preparing the Meal The inevitability of imperfect waste streams has been addressed by development of preprocessing hardware and mechanisms. Although facilities can use a different piece of hardware to clean the waste streams, they all work in relatively the same way. JC-Biomethane was the first to employ the Swiss-made Hybag Bioseperator in the U.S. The bioseparator is a horizontally orien-

46 BIOMASS MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2014

tated cylinder that consists of 26 blades attached down a shaft in the middle, spinning at around 1,500 revolutions per minute. “Essentially what they do is pulverize the food waste, so anything that can lose its shape or reduce its size will do so,” Foor says. The pulverized material then gets pushed through a series of 5-milimeter screens. “Anything that won’t reduce its shape, like a stick or a fork or a piece of plastic, gets rejected,” Foor says. “It’s blown out by high-volume air that is blowing through the unit, pushing the light out and the heavy like a fork or knife that don’t get chopped up settle to the bottom and get carried out by a conveyor.” Doda USA Inc., a subsidiary of Doda Snc in Italy, manufacturers another kind of bioseparator employed at CleanWorld Sacramento that depackages and removes contaminants. Trucks carrying the raw or packaged food waste and organic material dump it into a pit, and the fully automated system augurs it right into the bioseparator. “Anything that isn’t going into our tanks is taken to the local municipal urban recycling facility,” Saville says. Scotts Equipment Turbo Separator at Harvest Power’s facility in Florida works in a similar way as the Doda. The waste is dumped into a receiving pit, where a piece of equipment called a clamshell scoops up batches of the food waste and deposits them into the Turbo Separator, which smashes the material with rotating paddles. The organics fall through an underlying screen, and the contaminants are pushed to a chute with a screw auger that transfers them to a receiving bin to be cleaned.

BIOGAS¦ The Secret Recipe Once the feedstock is contaminant free, the ingredients are ready to create the digester’s meal. Often, the material is pumped into a separate mix tank where material is mixed and held before being fed to the digester. Sometimes, material enters a hydrolysis tank where the waste slurry is not only mixed, but brought up to the required temperature, either mesophilic (95 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit) or thermophilic (131 to 140 degrees F), to begin the digestion process. Each facility has a mix of feedstocks based on the ingredients at its disposal, and, in a sense, develops its own secret recipe to keep the AD process running smoothly. Monitoring of the process over multiple weeks can spur biogas producers to change the recipe of the blends, increasing fractions of various high-strength materials or lowering where needed. After contaminant removal in Harvest Power Florida’s low solids AD process, “the mix tank is used to mix some of the fat, oils and grease, food waste and the other types of materials and blend them together so you don’t send slugs of one heavy material over another into the digesters,” says Brandon Moffatt, senior vice president of energy for Harvest Power. “It’s trying to have the right mix and always trying to keep that in balance, so we’re continuing to optimize our recipe and make sure we have balanced feeding to make sure the system is stable.” JC-Biomethane’s waste is pumped into a homogenization tank. Foor says changes to the digester’s diet need to be made carefully.

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“When we are adding high-strength waste water, such as fats, oils and greases, we do it in a very calculated manner,” Foor says. “We are keeping a very small percent of our overall feed coming from those very energy-dense fractions, because they have lots of energy they can produce lots of gas, but they can also change up our biology quite simply.” Foor compares the balance to a human’s diet. “It’s a little bit like eating too many potato chips. Eventually, your stomach starts telling you it’s a bad idea.” CleanWorld collects and analyzes feedstock data to understand the nutrients it contains to give feedback to the monitoring software. “Every waste stream is analyzed and given an average profile of what it contains,” Tourigny says. Novi Energy has a lab in-house. “We test everything daily as far as the digester, the health of the digester, the product we have coming in,” Heiss says. “There is some type of recipe that we try to keep it at—we have a mix of 30 different types of feed that we are given on a daily basis to try to get the maximum amount of gas out of the digester.” Author: Katie Fletcher Staff writer, Biomass Magazine kfletcher@bbiinternational.com 701-738-4920

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AdvancedBiofuelNews April 2009: California Air Resource Board votes to adopt the LCFS

December 2011: Federal District Court in Fresno, California, rules the LCFS is unconstitutional

December 2009: Growth Energy and the RFA filed a complaint against the RFS in Federal District Court

March 2014: RFA and Growth Energy filed a petition with the Supreme Court to review the LCFS

September 2013: U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturns the lower court’s decision, ruling that the LCFS is constitutional

June 2014: The Supreme Court declines to review the LCFS

April 2014: 21 states file a brief with the Supreme Court asking for a review of the LCFS

Supreme Court declines review of California’s LCFS In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up a challenge to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal’s September 2013 ruling on California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. That ruling found that the LCFS program is constitutional, overturning a prior ruling that it violates interstate commerce laws. A legal battle over the program has been ongoing for several years. The Renewable Fuels Association and Growth Energy were among the groups that petitioned the Supreme Court to review the lower court’s decision. “We are extremely disappointed that the Supreme Court has declined to review the Ninth Circuit’s decision, despite the broad support for the petition—including 21 states. We will continue our efforts to protect the American biofuel industry and the national interest and will continue to ensure that all consumers have access to low-priced, American-made biofuels,” said the RFA and Growth Energy in a joint statement.

Sapphire Energy, Sinopec project selected for EcoPartnerships program Sapphire Energy Inc. has announced that its algae-derived renewable crude project with Sinopec, China’s state-owned oil and gas conglomerate, was selected for the U.S.-China EcoPartnerships Program. The project is one of six new U.S.-China partners welcomed into the flagship EcoPartnerships Program during a signing ceremony in Beijing on July 10. According to the U.S. Department of State, the EcoPartnerships Program promotes cooperation between U.S. and Chinese sub-national actors who work on clean energy, climate change, and environmental protection, to help address some of the biggest challenges facing our two countries. “This collaboration between our two companies exemplifies the mutual goal of producing cleaner energy solutions for the U.S. and China,” said Synthia Warner, CEO of Sapphire Energy. “Together, we will demonstrate that crude oil from algae can be produced with favorable economics; that it can be integrated into existing fuels distribution networks; and that it will deliver substantial advantages for the reduction of CO2 emissions in both nations.”

ADVANCED BIOFUELS AND CHEMICALS¦

A Long, Tough Year for Advanced Biofuels BY MICHAEL MCADAMS

As Congress begins August recess, we can look back through the first eight months of the year and observe that not much at all got done in Washington, D.C., this year, let alone anything helpful to the advanced and cellulosic biofuels industry. In fact, it is easy to argue that this year has essentially been lost to our industry, on several levels. First, let's look at the tax code. Similar to 2012, we are now most of the way through the year and companies are functioning without the support of an operating tax credit. The alternative fuels mixture credit, or fuels credit, the biodiesel credit, the renewable diesel credit, and the second generation cellulosic credit all expired Dec. 31. Given production to date in the biomass-based diesel pool, which is more than a billion gallons in six months, clearly some think that the Congress will retroactively enact the biodiesel and renewable diesel credits. Remember, the last time these credits got renewed was in early January 2013. This time, the political stakes are higher and more confusing. We could possibly have a new party in control of both chambers of Congress and a resulting change in priorities in the Senate. Even if the Democrats hold the Senate, the new chairman of the Finance Committee, Sen. Ron Wyden, DOre., warned that this is the last time he would be extending these credits. At the same time, the outgoing chairman of the House Tax Committee has threatened not to extend any of the biofuels credits. These assertions beg the question of whether Congress, after the midterm elections, will choose to compromise and extend these credits that are so essential to our industry at this time. One theory is that if the Republicans win the Senate, they will want to clear the slate prior to taking over in 2015. Passing the extenders for a couple of years would allow them to move to a more comprehensive tax reform discussion. To the contrary, some argue that they will wait until they control both chambers so that they will not have to compromise on many of the provisions they find distasteful. Time will tell which theory holds true, but the industry’s trade organizations are united in seeking to extend the current provisions this year. As for the renewable fuel standard (RFS), we are still waiting for the renewable volume obligation (RVO) mandates for 2014. Meanwhile, the U.S. EPA has extended the compliance period for the 2013 mandated number three times, in the latest instance indefinitely, so that the 2014 numbers can be finalized. At this time, it is unclear what the EPA's game plan is for the 2015 RVO numbers, which are due on Nov. 30. By carrying over the mandated numbers from 2013, which were under 900,000 gallons for the cellulosic sector and left the 2013 cellulosic renewable identification number (RIN) credit value unchanged, the cellulosic sector has had no support in

terms of driving the market or sending a signal of success to the financial community. As for the approval of additional advanced and cellulosic pathways, once again it has not been a good year. While we did see the Pathways II rule finalized, 38 pending pathways still are outstanding. With many of these pending pathways waiting more than two years, it is difficult for those seeking financing to build commercial plants using their first-of-a-kind, innovative technologies. Currently, EPA is reviewing the pathways process, but it’s likely this will not be completed until well after we finally fulfill the RVO mandates. In regard to specifics of the Pathways II rule, we had a major gain for renewable biogas, and, potentially, the ability to move to liquid transportation fuels in addition to liquid natural gas and compressed natural gas, if EPA is able to move forward on several pending pathways. However, there are still many feedstocks that need determinations to allow a full ramp-up of advanced and cellulosic biofuels production and a significant increase in the gallons, which would go toward meeting any RVO mandates. Furthermore, issues such as colocation must be resolved in order to realize the full potential of renewable crude as a feedstock, which already impacts several companies with operational facilities. In addition, the Quality Assurance Program was announced, but many of the day-to-day approval decisions are still awaiting someone to make a final decision on their outcome. In the Quality Assurance Program, we still have a “buyer beware” approach. However, the final program will still provide smaller companies the opportunity to engage a third party to review their processes and afford the potential purchasers of their RINs with more confidence and an affirmative defense should something go wrong. It is still in its early days, but the reduction in the complexity and the announcement should be extremely helpful to many smaller and midsized companies. Last but not least, the year has been full of efforts to open and repeal the RFS. Next year may well be the year Congress takes up consideration of the RFS legislatively. My guess is that should the Republicans take the Senate, it will be one of the first priorities of the new Congress. We can’t afford another year like this one in 2015. Win, lose or draw, the advanced and cellulosic industries need the federal government to reaffirm its support for this sector and its importance to delivering environmentally sustainable fuels of the future and a balanced energy portfolio for America. Author: Michael McAdams President, Advanced Biofuels Association michael.mcadams@hklaw.com www.advancedbiofuelsassiciation.com

SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 49

Q&A Algae’s New Standard-Bearer Matt Carr discusses his first 100 days as the Algae Biomass Organization executive director, experiences on the Hill, and introducing carbon capture and utilization to policymakers. In June, the Algae Biomass Organization announced that after an extensive search, it had a new executive director. Matt Carr, formerly a managing director at the Biotechnology Industry Organization, is armed with a doctorate in atmospheric sciences from the University of Washington, a year of experience working as a congressional fellow for Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and nine years experience with BIO. Carr offers the ABO the experienced voice in Washington they were hoping to find. While a longer breakin period may have been wished for, Carr went to work on important policy work the day he took the role, while trying to find time to call member companies, schedule appointments with legislators and get up to speed on the association’s fast-approaching annual summit. What was the most valuable thing you learned from your nine years at BIO? Well, it was a learning process the entire time. I started at BIO after two years on the Hill, so I had some exposure to the political process. What I really learned at BIO was that Washington is a place where democracy is at work. And if you do the work, and you rally the voices of support behind your cause, you can bring about change. What we were able to do with the advanced biofuels community was bring national security and environmental interests together to create policy that helped launch the advanced biofuels industry. We established the renewable fuels standard, tax incentives and other programs that really helped launch an industry, despite the fact that there really wasn't a large direct constituency out there to advocate for those policies. We didn’t yet have an industry or an army of people ready to march on Washington, but we brought together a coalition and made some pretty good things happen.

50 BIOMASS MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2014

What intrigued you about the opportunity with the Algae Biomass Organization? During my nine years at BIO, I managed to learn about a wide variety of technologies and a diverse set of business models for producing biofuels, biobased products and renewable chemicals. During that time, I really found the algae story to be a compelling one. Here is a technology that takes some of the most serious criticisms of current biofuels production, whether the food vs. fuel controversy or questions about fresh water use and land use, and turned those challenges on their heads. Algae has a great story to tell, and working on sustainability issues was what brought me to Washington. So when I saw the opportunity to represent the algae industry, I jumped at it. What have you spent your first hundred days as the ABO executive director doing? The first thing out of the gate is getting to know our member companies. For any trade associations, strength comes from members. I think we've got a really strong team here at the Algae Biomass Organization. It's been a great opportunity for me to get to know the technologies and how far our member companies have advanced toward commercialization. At the same time, I've been working hard to get out to Capitol Hill and federal agencies to reintroduce them to the ABO and to tell the algae story. How has that reintroduction gone? There's a solid core of congressional offices that know and appreciate what algae biomass can do. There's really still a vast universe out there that may have heard of algae, but really don't have a sense of how far algae biomass technology has come over the last decade. We think that there are wide interests that once they hear the algae story, they will become strong champions. For example, there are coal state members who are looking for ways to ensure that traditional fossil energy production PHOTO: ISTRICO PRODUCTIONS, ISTRICO.COM

Matt Carr

Q&A ¦

INTERVIEW BY TIM PORTZ

can continue under a carbon regulation scheme, under the Clean Power Plan that the Obama administration has proposed. Algae is a solution for that. There are other members who are looking to move beyond the first generation of biofuels into a more sustainable model. Algae is a solution for that. There are members who are looking to supplement existing supplies of animal feed and human nutrition at a time when feed prices are going up. Algae is the solution for that. So, what we found in these meetings as we reach beyond the community of offices who are familiar with the technology, we have found tremendous enthusiasm. What are your goals as you look into the remainder of your first year in the role? Right at the top of my list is, having brought the organization headquarters here to Washington, we have a pressing policy issue that I met with pretty much on day one in the form of the Clean Power Plan rules proposed by the Obama administration. This rule making has the potential to really propel investments in algae projects if done right. Unfortunately, the initial proposed rules for both new and existing power plants really don't include algae technologies as compliance opportunities for power generators. The rule doesn’t really talk about carbon capture and utilization, which is really what algae enables. It is the ability to take CO2 emissions that are pollutants today, capture them, feed the CO2 to algae and produce valuable products such as biofuels and other materials. Job number one on the policy front is for us to ensure that the U.S. EPA, which has proposed the rule, understands the opportunity from carbon capture and utilization and includes that as a compliance opportunity in the final rule. In addition to that policy goal, I'm looking forward to a strong Algae Biomass Summit in San Diego in September. We're looking forward to hosting some of the top officials from federal agencies with jurisdiction over the technology, as well as meeting researchers and algae biomass developers.

Finally, I'm hoping to grow the membership of ABO. We've got a great team, but there is a whole universe of new and emerging technology developers out there, as well as partners throughout the value chain. This includes customers, engineering firms and brand owners, all of whom have an interest in seeing algae succeed and who I would like to help bring in to the organization to strengthen our voice in Washington. When you speak with policymakers, what is the first value of the algae industry you ask them to consider? I think of algae as a whole new generation of agriculture. I believe when we look back a generation from now we'll say, “Thank goodness algae came along when it did.” We were increasingly challenged in finding sources of energy and transportation fuel, the demand for food and feed was ever increasing while the population was growing, and fresh water resources were dwindling, which was making both food and energy production increasingly challenging. Algae addressed all of those challenges in a way that brought new economic opportunity to the country. It created jobs, cleaned our air and improved our national security.

What is the most important policy objective for the ABO right now? Like any emerging technology, what algae biomass developers need is stable and supportive policy to drive private investment in the technology. From my perspective, the most important thing that we can do is send the signal to investors that algae has a role to play in reducing greenhouse gases and addressing the climate change challenge. The EPA Clean Power rules are front and center on that question, and so we have to get those rules right. There is a number of other policies including the renewable fuel standard, tax policies, and support from the defense department that can complement that policy, but unless we get that right, our job in competing for scarce, private capital becomes so much more challenging. Does advocating for emerging industries present unique challenges in Washington, D.C., that well-established industries don’t confront?

How do you distill the complexities of the algae industry into more palatable thinking and talking points for policymakers and their general public constituents? In its simplest form, the algae story is sort of the story of life on earth. When we are looking for solutions to global sustainability challenges, it makes sense to go back to our origins. In its simplest form, algae is also very much like the simplest and earliest forms of agriculture. It's allowing nature’s source of fuel for human and animal consumption, or for vehicles, to thrive in controlled environments, and continually designing better ways of doing that. That might be in open ponds, raceways or complex photobioreactors, or simply just trying to maximize algae's natural abilities to convert carbon dioxide and sunlight into energy.

We do have a unique challenge as an emerging industry, and that is for us to harness the community of voices with an interest in algae’s success, in a way that allows our story to be heard. That includes environmental NGOs, for example, who can appreciate the many sustainability benefits that come from algae. That includes utilities that could use algae carbon capture and utilization as part of their compliance with the federal carbon regulations. It also includes state governments that will see the economic opportunity that comes from developing the algae industry, as well as customers such as commercial airlines and others rallying their voices behind our small but important voice here in Washington. A longer version of this interview is available online at www.BiomassMagazine.com

SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 51

¦ADVANCED BIOFUELS AND CHEMICALS DEPARTMENT

PHOTO: CITY OF EDMONTON

Pepped to Fuel Prep Municipal solid waste that undergoes Enerkem’s thermochemical gasification process at its Edmonton, Alberta, plant has made a long and complicated journey before it is converted into liquid fuel. BY ANNA SIMET

nything from car batteries to tires to toys shows up in residential waste that arrives at the city of Edmonton’s waste transfer station. The 25 full-time employees who work on site go to great lengths to make sure all compostable, recyclable and hazardous materials are removed from the waste stream before it reaches its final destination—Enerkem’s cellulosic ethanol production facility, which is located right on site. Not only must all nonsuitable materials be separated and repurposed, but fuel arriving via conveyor in Enerkem’s 14,000-squarefoot storage facility must be appropriately sized and dried, according to contract specifications. “When it arrives at our facility, it is already prepared and ready to use,” explains Marie-Helene Labrie, senior vice president of government affairs and communications. 52 BIOMASS MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2014

“Under contract, they provide us with 100,000 dry tons per year of nonrecyclable and noncompostable fuel, and we’ll convert that into 38 million liters of ethanol per year annually, though methanol is our first product.” From the storage facility, Enerkem’s feeder system sends MSW into its gasifier, Labrie says. Seems simple enough, but the MSW has been rigorously combed through, separated, screened and shredded numerous times before it reaches that point. It all starts with the collection trucks, according to Gordon Derick, general supervisor of engineering and technical services. “We have a recycle program for which we ask residents to put recyclables in a separate bag,” he says. “That doesn’t always happen, but we do have a sort room.”

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¦ADVANCED BIOFUELS AND CHEMICALS

GOOD NEIGHBORS: Residential MSW is sorted, shredded and separated numerous times at Edmonton’s Integrated Processing and Transfer Facility before it is conveyed to Enerkem for liquid fuel production.

There, employees pull out any obvious recyclables or hazardous materials in the waste, such as dry acid batteries and oil filters. “They pull out anything that might cause a problem with the rest of the processing equipment—long, stringy items and bulky items like tires on rims and engine parts,” Derick says. Waste then continues onto two lines, which begin with 80-foot long, 12-foot diameter trommels, or rotating screens, which host spikes to slash open trash bags, as well as a series of different-sized holes to capture small organics. “The first half of the trommel has a set of 2-inch holes—most organics fall out there, and we do get some nonorganic small stuff. The back half of the trommel is a set of 9-inch holes. The 9-inch material then goes over a 5-inch screen, and the stuff that’s smaller than 5 inches goes to the composter along with the 2-inch, and the bigger stuff coming out of the end of the trommel is feed for the RDF facility.” The material that arrives at the RDF site is mostly paper and plastics, though clothing and other composites that are a

PHOTO: ENERKEM

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ADVANCED BIOFUELS AND CHEMICALS¦ mixture of materials—running shoes and toys—occasionally makes its way in. First, it is sent past a large magnet equipped with a belt to pick up magnetic material and toss it out of the stream into a bin, to avoid any large pieces of metal going through the primary shredder, which serves two functions. “In some cases, not all the bags get opened and emptied when it goes through the trommels, so the primary shredder tears those bags up pretty good to make sure,” Derick says. “The other purpose is to do a little more sizing, as the primary shredder is set at 6 inches.” After the primary shredder, material is sent past another type of magnet to get any last bit of metals out, and then split between two large waste screens. “One is set at about a 1-inch size—to get any remaining wet organics out,” Derick says, reiterating that Enerkem’s fuel specs are between 15 and 20 percent moisture. “That’s an issue for us,” he admits. “We are looking into drying options.” Following the waste screens, the oversized material is sent to landfill and undersized materials to the composter. What remains in the stream is close to making its final journey to Enerkem’s storage unit, but not before it enters a wind sifter. “Basically, it’s a density separation using air,” Derick explains. “The air is blown through what’s called an air knife, a slit the width of the conveyor that uses air pressure to force the lighter materials up. They move to another conveyor, and heavier materials drop out and are routed to a bin where we can send those to landfill as well. That’s to ensure things like glass, bricks and any other missed metals can be separated out. We don’t want those going to Enerkem.” Lighter material moves through an additional wind sifter and two Eddy current machines, which use polarity to remove aluminums and lighter metals that get through the density separation. “It knocks those materials off the belt,” Derick says. Finally, waste goes through two reshredders set at a 2-inch size, once again to meet Enerkem’s fuel specs. Once it crosses weigh scales, the material is on its

way to Enerkem’s storage facility, via a Vecoplan-supplied Vecobelt, an 18-inch diameter, tubular conveyor that uses air to move product. “A fan supplies air under the belt,” Derick explains. “Because it is running on air, there is a lot less wear and tear, and it can run a lot faster than a typical conveyor.” The fuel arrives at the bunker system, which is comprised of seven different storage compartments to allow Enerkem to mix and match feedstock based on energy content or dryness. On challenges in properly prepping feedstock according to contract, Derick says deciding on the right shredding system proved to be difficult. “We went through a few different iterations of design— we originally looked at high-speed shredders, but there are a number of challenges with those in terms of shredding potential explosive materials. There’s dust in the waste, because it’s got wood and paper, and with a high-

speed shredder there is more of a chance, if a piece of metal goes through and you get a spark, of an explosion. We went with low-speed shredders to design for a nonhazardous facility. That saved us some money, otherwise we would have had to have the final shredders in a separate building.” Overall, Derick says the project, which will divert 90 percent of Edmonton’s waste from the landfill, has been very good. “Vecoplan was great to work with, and we were able to get project done in specified timeline,” he added. “It all went well, we were on budget, and it was a good experience.” Author: Anna Simet Managing Editor: Biomass Magazine asimet@bbiinternational.com 701-738-4961

SEPTEMBER 2014 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 55

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