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■ table of contents

www.woodbioenergymag.com

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FROM THE EDITORS A Pellet Mill’s Second Chance

42 PRODUCT NEWS Biomass Flow Study

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IN THE NEWS Employees Stepping Up At Bandit

46 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS Employment Opportunities

18 LASALLE BIOENERGY Drax Gets Third Pellet Plant Going 24 PELLETS TECHNOLOGY From The Woods To Load-Out 36 A CRUSHING EVENT IFAT Was All About Reduction

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Cover Photography: LaSalle BioEnergy (Jessica Johnson)

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Wood Bioenergy / August 2018

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table of contents ■

advertising index Advertiser Index is a free service for advertisers and readers.

The publisher assumes no liability for errors or omissions.

Volume 10

Number 4

36

Airoflex Equipment

12

563.264.8066

Amandus Kahl Hamburg

17

770.521.1021

Andritz Feed & Biofuel

13

800.446.8629

Astec

3

423.867.4210

BM&M

14

800.663.0323

Baelz North America

38

844.223.5962

Bandit Industries

2

800.952.0178

BinMaster

41

800.278.4241

Bliss Industries

37

580.765.7787

CEM Machine

16

315.493.4258

Continental Biomass Industries

33

603.382.0556

CPM-Roskamp Champion

10

800.428.0846

CW Mill Equipment

42

800.743.3491

Firefly AB

45

+46 8449 2500

Fulghum Industries

10

800.841.5980

Grecon

37

503.641.7731

Hurst Boiler & Welding

11

877.774.8778

Metal Detectors

41

541.345.7454

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9

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40

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46

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45

812.923.4992

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23

641.628.3141

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7

314.621.3348

WMF 2018 China

43

+852 2516 3518

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■ from the editors

Back From The Brink:

Urania Pellet Facility W

hile numerous industrial wood pellet plants were being built in the Southern U.S. during the past decade, the two that were built by German Pellets (in Texas and Louisiana) gained the most headlines. Why? Because not long after the one in Texas started up and as construction was in full swing at the one in Louisiana, the parent company was found to be in financial straits. And by the time the one in Louisiana had started up and was producing pellets, during which time it was discovered the plant had numerous “defects,” it was all but over for German Pellets, or as George Bailey said in It’s A Wonderful Life, “It means bankruptcy and scandal and prison.”

We don’t think anybody has gone to prison over anything, yet, and whether “scandal” is the right term for running away from (or with) the $390 million in bonds issued by the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority is up for discussion, but indeed both plant operations and the parent company filed for bankruptcy.

These developments became tasty fodder for environmental groups that were already taking the new industrial wood pellet industry to task for turning trees into pellets, and for some sectors of the wood products industry that didn’t like the disruption of “their” wood supply chain for the purpose of shipping those pellets overseas for burning in power generation plants.

Enter Drax, which is really the company that started the industrial wood pellet movement when, following the release of the European Commission’s Climate & Energy Package (which stemmed from The Kyoto Protocol), Drax decided to pursue the conversion of three of its six 660 MW boiler units from coal to biomass at its power generation facility in England. Following the successful conversion of the third one in late 2016, Drax was bringing in 7 million tons of wood pellets annually. Hello new global industrial wood pellet industry.

In the meantime, Drax decided to supply some of those pellets itself, and built, started up and today operates industrial wood pellet plants in Gloster, Miss. and Bastrop, La., each producing 450,000 tons of pellets and rising, complemented by a port operation at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge. As Drax completed the conversion

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of a fourth unit, it decided it wanted to supply more pellets to its facility in England, and went shopping.

It didn’t have to walk up and down too many aisles until it came upon the German Pellets mills, both looking desperately for buyers. Drax showed some interest in the Texas facility at Woodville (what a great name by the way), and in a port facility that German Pellets had started up at Port Arthur, Texas, but then a fire at the port smothered those notions. Drax turned to the facility in Urania, La. and bought it with a winning bid as part of a bankruptcy proceeding. Compared to what the facility cost to build, you might say Drax got a bargain basement deal.

Drax had done some due diligence on the facility, but those kinds of biddings don’t hold the door open for long before you have to leave. After the purchase Drax confirmed the plant did indeed have numerous “defects,” but after much work led by some experienced industrial wood pellet personnel, the plant appears to have turned the corner. Add the fact that Hunt Forest Products is currently building a sawmill adjacent the Drax plant, and that Drax will consume all of Hunt’s residuals, and the once downtrodden Urania plant, now called LaSalle BioEnergy, has become a major asset for Drax.

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■ in the news Bandit Owners Selling Company To ESOP Bandit Industries owners Mike Morey Sr., Dianne Morey and Jerry Morey announced they are selling 100% of the company to their employees in an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).

Under the ESOP, Bandit will retain its current leadership and key management personnel will remain in place.

The announcement comes after two previous attempts to sell Bandit Industries—once to another manufacturer and once to a private investment firm.

“We realized neither was a good fit for Bandit, so we made the decision to sell to our trusted employees,” says Dianne Morey.

“It will be fun to watch our crew take it to the next level,” adds Mike Morey, who developed the very first Bandit chipper in 1983 and founded Bandit Industries.

Bandit is growing rapidly with 20% growth per year with two plant expansions under way and several new products being introduced later this year.

Bandit also recently entered into an agreement with ARJES GmbH, a leading slow speed shredder manufacturer from Germany. Bandit will sell and distribute the ARJES products in the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Indonesia and other parts of the world. The product line will shred almost anything, including cement with rerod, asphalt, steel belted tires and complete cars and trucks.

Bandit will celebrate its 35th anniversary this September with a dealer meeting and a field day open to the public. All of the Bandit products will be shown, including the new products that are about to be released and the ARJES line of shredders.

“We are a leading supplier in all of the markets that we are in,” says Jerry Morey. “We have a very strong, dedicated dealer organization and a great crew, which is the key to our success. Our employees

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are experienced, smart and loyal to us. That is why we are so confident that an employee owned company is the right fit for Bandit. All our employees will have a stake in the company.”

Drax Takes On Fourth Biomass Conversion Drax Power Station in the UK took a step closer in early June to achieving its coal-free ambitions by taking its fourth coal-fired power generating unit offline as part of a planned outage program as it prepares to convert it to run on sustainable biomass.

Once the upgrade is complete, two-thirds of the power station’s capacity will produce renewable power.

Drax has already invested £700 million in upgrading half the power station and associated supply chain infrastructure to use sustainable biomass instead of coal—transforming the business to become Europe’s largest decarbonization project.

The conversion of the fourth unit is expected to be completed over the summer, returning to service in the second half of 2018. The cost of conversion is significantly below the level of previous conversions, at around £30 million.

Drax engineers will upgrade the unit by re-using some redundant infrastructure left from when the company was first co-firing biomass with coal on a large scale, around eight years ago.

A trial last year confirmed that by modifying the old co-firing delivery system, compressed wood pellets can be delivered in the quantities required to fully convert the fourth generating unit.

Andy Koss, Drax Power CEO, comments, “Switching the fourth unit from coal to biomass is another milestone in the transformation of the power station. It will extend the life of the plant, protecting jobs both here at Drax and in the supply chain, whilst delivering cleaner, reliable power for mil-

lions of homes and businesses.”

Once it comes back online, the fourth unit will help the power station, at Selby in North Yorkshire, to deliver vital reliable and flexible power needed by the grid to maintain secure supplies as more renewables come online and the sector continues to decarbonize.

Once the conversion is complete Drax will turn its attention to its remaining two coal units, which it plans to replace with gas-fired power generating units. The Closed Cycle Gas Turbines it is looking to develop could deliver up to 3.6 GW of capacity, as well as up to 200 MW of battery storage.

In the UK there has been an 84% reduction in coal-fired power generation in the last five years as low carbon generation has increased. l Drax also announced it will pilot the first bioenergy carbon capture storage (BECCS) project of its kind in Europe, which, if successful, could make the renewable electricity produced at its North Yorkshire power station carbon negative.

BECCS is vital to global efforts to combat climate change because the technology will mean the gases that cause global warming can be removed from the atmosphere at the same time as electricity is produced. This means power generation would no longer contribute to climate change, but would start to reduce the carbon accumulating in the atmosphere.

The demonstration project will see Drax partner with Leeds-based C-Capture and invest £400,000 in what could be the first of several pilot projects undertaken at Drax to deliver a rapid, lower cost demonstration of BECCS. A report by the Energy Technology Institute in 2016 has suggested that by the 2050s BECCS could deliver roughly 55 million tonnes of net negative emissions a year in the UK—approximately half the nation’s emissions target.

The first phase of the project will look to see if the solvent C-

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in the news ■

Capture has developed is compatible with the biomass flue gas at Drax Power Station. A lab-scale study into the feasibility of re-utilizing the flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) absorbers at the power station will also be carried out to assess potential capture rates.

FGD equipment is vital for reducing sulphur emissions from coal, but has become redundant on three of the generating units at Drax that have been upgraded to use biomass, because the wood pellets used produce minimal levels of sulphur.

Depending on the outcome of a feasibility study, the C-Capture team will proceed to the second phase of the pilot in the autumn, when a demonstration unit will be installed to isolate the carbon dioxide produced by the biomass combustion.

portant milestone for Pinnacle as it represents our first long-term contract in South Korea and our largest contract to date in Asia, thereby further establishing our strategic position in the Pacific Rim,” says Robert McCurdy, CEO of Pinnacle. “Being the first longterm industrial wood pellet con-

tract to ever be signed in South Korea, this new agreement attests to the country’s growing commitment to decarbonization.”

In South Korea, the Renewable Portfolio Standard policy aims to increase the share of energy generated from renewable sources to 10% by 2023. According to ➤ 12

Pinnacle Increases Foothold In Asia Pinnacle Renewable Holdings Inc. has entered into two new longterm, take-or-pay off-take contracts with customers in South Korea and Japan. The contract in South Korea is with CGN Daesan Power Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of CGN New Energy Holdings Co., Ltd, a diversified independent power producer in Asia. The contract in Japan is Pinnacle’s second with Toyota Tsusho Corp., a trading and investing company and a group member of Toyota. As a result of these two contracts, the weighted average remaining life of Pinnacle’s portfolio of off-take contracts with customers has been extended from seven years as of March 30, 2018, to more than nine years.

Under the terms of the Daesan contract, Pinnacle will supply 315,000 metric tons per annum of industrial wood pellets to Daesan beginning in 2021. The industrial wood pellets will be used in a biomass power generation plant in South Korea.

“Entering into this long-term relationship with Daesan is an im-

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■ in the news

Online TP&EE Registration Is Free Organizers of the 2018 Timber Processing & Energy Expo (TP&EE) announce that free online registration is now open for the big machinery event to be held October 17-19 at the Portland Exposition Center in Portland, Ore. Approximately 190 exhibitors will display equipment and technologies catered to the structural veneer, plywood, mass timber, engineered wood products and lumber industries. Held every other year, this is the fourth TP&EE hosted by Panel World and Timber Processing magazines, and produced by Hatton-Brown Expositions LLC. Personnel from wood products companies and mills registering online receive free admission to all three days of TP&EE. (Walk-up fee is $20 per day.) Those with equipment companies who are not exhibiting are required to pay a fee. The 2016 TP&EE attracted 1,600 nonexhibitor personnel, representing 110 wood products producer companies and hundreds of individual mill operations. “There is tremendous action in the plywood and lumber industries right now, and we anticipate this TP&EE will be the busiest yet as mills continue to take advantage of excellent building products markets and wood products prices,” comments Show Director Rich Donnell. Register at www.timberprocessing andenergyexpo.com

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■ in the news 9 ➤ Hawkins Wright, a leading provider of market intelligence and analytical services to the international pulp, paper and biomass industries, biomass demand growth has been the strongest in South Korea over the past five years, where industrial pellet consumption increased by a compound annual growth rate of more than 58% between 2013-2017, reaching 2.5 million metric tons.

Under the terms of the Toyota Tsusho contract, Pinnacle will supply 170,000 metric tons per annum of industrial wood pellets to Toyota Tsusho beginning in 2021. The industrial wood pellets will be used by Kanda Biomass Energy K.K., which is established by RENOVA, Inc., Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd., Veolia Japan K.K. and two other companies, in a biomass power generation plant in Kanda, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.

“We are pleased to enter into our second long-term supply agreement with Toyota Tsusho, and our fifth new contract overall in Japan this year,” McCurdy continues. “Our growing contract backlog in Japan underlines both the increasing adoption of biomass and the strength of our competitive position in this market.”

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Chunk Of East Texas Timberland Is Sold A joint venture of timberland and institutional investors is acquiring 1.1 million acres of east Texas timberlands for $1.39 billion.

CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc., BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group, Highland Capital Management, Medley Management Inc., and a major Canadian institutional investor that’s not identified are purchasing the property as sold by Campbell Global on behalf of institutional owners of the property. The transaction is expected to be completed within two months.

CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc., a publicly-traded REIT headquartered in Atlanta and which invested $227.5 million in this acquisition, reports it will more than triple the number of acres under its control and management to 1.6 million.

According to CatchMark Timber, the acquired timberland has an attractive site index and features a rapidly accelerating inventory profile, projected to grow from a current 2.8 million tons of annual harvest volume to more than 5 million tons by 2028.

CatchMark Timber states the joint venture will assume existing long-term sawtimber and pulp-

wood supply agreements with Georgia-Pacific and International Paper, which run through 2029 and 2027, respectively; International Paper has an option to extend its agreement until 2032.

The acquisition is one of the largest U.S. timberland transactions since the 2007 sale of 1.55 million acres, which included the acreage in this new acquisition, by Temple-Inland to the ownership now selling it.

Wood-Based Gas, Jet Fuel Project Begins Global Bioenergies has started a three-year project to demonstrate a new value chain combining its isobutene process with technologies developed by Sekab and Neste Engineering Solutions. The aim is to convert currently poorly valorized softwood residues into second generation renewable isobutene for subsequent conversion into gasoline and jet fuel. A €13.9m grant agreement was signed with INEA on behalf of the European commission.

The project sets the foundation of a first-of-a-kind biorefinery converting residual wood to high performances drop-in renewable gasoline and jet fuel. With an estimated forestry residues potential

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in the news ■

of 145 million tons per year, the European Union has the potential to support the deployment of hundreds of such biorefineries.

Peep Pitk, Head of R&D at Graanul Invest, comments, “We are thrilled by the opportunity to be part of industrial consortia which focus on softwood residue streams valorization in novel value chains and end-use markets. We believe it to be important to kick-start the biomaterials market with high sustainability standards, as it will add strong value to the softwood residues on longterm basis.”

The 11 project partners coming from eight EU-member States have signed an agreement with the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA), which manages the Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy societal challenge of the Horizon 2020 program. INEA’s mission is to support the Commission, project promoters and stakeholders by providing expertise and high quality of program management.

The project was selected under the name REWOFUEL (N°792104), in the frame of the European HORIZON 2020 program for research and innovation, following a very selective and competitive process led by independent experts.

The objective is to demonstrate the new value chain at cubic meter scale by combining the technologies and know-how of participants as follows: l Residual softwood supply and processing by Graanul Invest AS (Estonia) l Softwood conversion to hydrolysates by Sekab, using its CelluAPP technology (Sweden) l Hydrolysates fermentation to bio-isobutene by Global Bioenergies (France and Germany) l Bio-isobutene conversion to fuel components by Neste Engineering Solutions (Finland) l Preliminary engineering of a wood-to-isobutene plant and overall integration with a fuel conversion unit by TechnipFMC and IPSB (France)

l Evaluation of gasoline applications by Repsol (Spain) - Evaluation of Jet fuel application by SkyNRG (Netherlands) l Valorization of the lignin side stream by Peab Asfalt (Sweden) l Valorization of proteins from the dried killed residual biomass

by Ajinomoto Eurolysine (France) l Assessment of the sustainability and environmental benefits by the Energy Institute at the University of Linz (Austria) Jonas Markusson, Innovation Manager of SEKAB, states, “The REWOFUEL project has great potential to become an alternative value chain to existing biofuels and to create new uses of European residual forestry resources.

All parts of the process—the extraction of sugars from wood, the conversion to bio-isobutene, lignin-based chemicals and the production of gasoline and jet fuel—are well developed and are all cutting edge.”

The program covers a total budget of €19.7 million. Non-refundable grants totalling €13.9 million will be provided by the European Union, with the remainder being contributed by the participants. Global Bioenergies will be the coordinator of the project, and receive funding amounting to €5.7 million. Additionally REWOFUEL will be supported by numerous industrialists including Air France and Safran.

Marc Delcourt, CEO of Global Bioenergies, adds, “While we make progress on our first commercial project based on sugar beet-derived sugars, this new grant from the H2020 program further supports our strategy to diversify the feedstocks usable in our isobutene process, and thus opens the door to the deployment of our technology in many new geographies.”

Torrefied Wood Pellets Mill Gains Momentum A proposed wood pellet production plant in Hazelton, British Columbia continues to take steps for-

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■ in the news

ward. Project proponents have just returned from an international pellet conference in Japan where interest in the project is strong and the demand for pellets as replacement for coal in energy production is forecast to grow dramatically.

“Our project would manufacture 100,000 tonnes of pellets a year and create about 45 full time, direct jobs and about the same number of indirect jobs in the region,” says Rick Connors of Gitxsan Forest Inc. (GFI), a partner in the proposed plant with Airex Energy. “It is about a $50 million project, and we are moving forward with potential international customers and with financing partners.”

Connors says the Japanese biomass market is forecast to grow to as much as 33 million tonnes per year as the government is mandating a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and replacing coal or using it in combination with wood pellets in energy production is one way to do this. Pellets are typically sold on long-term (10-15 year) contracts.

“Our project will make ‘torrefied’ wood pellets,” says Connors. “It is a process similar to roasting coffee beans. The advantage of torrefied pellets over the white pellets we are more familiar with is that they can be used in coal-fired plants without expensive re-fits to the plant itself. Airex has a unique technology that we will be the first to use in North America of this scale.”

Fiber for the project would be provided through GFI and other area forest licensees including a few local sawmills that will provide waste sawmill residues that are traditionally difficult to dispose of and will now be used as feedstock for the new plant.

Pellets will be shipped by rail to Prince Rupert then loaded onto bulk carriers for Asian markets.

“People in the northwest have heard plans for various pellet plant proposals over the last 10 or so years,” says Connors. “None of these have been as well thought

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out or planned to the same degree that we now have. We have the fiber the project needs, the technology and product the market needs, and we are confident we will soon have funding in place that will allow us to break ground by the end of this year.”

Research Focuses On Lignin-To-Fuel Washington State University Tri-Cities associate professor Xiao Zhang is targeting the use of lignin—a common material that makes the cell walls of plants rigid—to create affordable biofuels and bioproducts.

U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has granted Zhang, an associate professor in WSU’s Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory, $500,000 to complete the research. The laboratory is part of the university’s Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering.

The project will be conducted in partnership with Xuejun Pan, a professor in the department of biological systems engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Lignin is one of the largest renewable carbon sources on Earth.

It allows trees to stand, gives vegetables their firmness and makes up about 20-35% of the weight of wood. It also is one of the largest remnant products left over in the biofuels creation process.

Zhang and his team will investigate new conversion pathways to produce chemicals and biofuels without completely breaking down lignin into monomers—molecules that can be synthesized into polymers. In addition to its potential cost savings, the process could maximize carbon utilization in the biofuels creation process. It would also provide a profitable use for a waste product.

“We aim at converting lignin into a skeleton that has a similar carbon length in jet fuel range,” Zhang says. “The uniqueness is re-

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■ in the news

ally targeting a more cost-effective process in taking advantage of the basic lignin structure of characteristics. Unlike many other processes, we don’t have to break down the lignin completely to its monomers.”

Unilever Installs Biomass Boiler South Africa’s largest fast-moving consumer goods manufacturer, Unilever, unveiled a R50-million biomass boiler at its Maydon Wharf Factory in Durban.

“Our new biomass boiler at Maydon Wharf is illustrative of the seriousness of our commitment to sustainable living,” comments Unilever South Africa Executive Vice President Luc-Olivier Marquet. “We have previously unveiled our Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP), which com-

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mits to reducing our environmental impact by half by 2020. This can only be achieved by putting sustainability at the core of our strategy. An important part of achieving these goals is to manage our electricity and water use, and to ensure that no non-hazardous waste goes to landfill. The biomass boiler is our latest step on this journey.”

The boiler is fueled by wood pallets, waste wood and off-cuts from local furniture and door manufacturers. The boiler consumes on average 940 tonnes of biomass a month—“roughly the weight of 375 medium-size African elephants!”

The boiler cost R50m to install, and the company estimates it will provide a saving per annum of R17m per year. This figure factors in fuel savings, and will reduce the facility’s carbon footprint. The

boiler will lead to a reduction of over 30% in CO2 emissions and is projected to save 14,000 tons of CO2 every year.

The company is actively looking at the re-use of condensate, heat, water waste and flash steam in its factories, as well as new soap-making technologies that use less energy in production. Further, the company is examining the feasibility of a new dryer vacuum and solar power.

Russia-Japan Deal Steers Toward Pellets The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and JBICIG Partners (JBICIG, a subsidiary of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)) as part of the Russia-Japan Investment Fund (RJIF, launched

by RDIF and JBIC), together with RFP Group and Japan’s Prospect Co., Ltd. have agreed to collaborate and consider potential investments in Russia’s biofuel industry, including the construction of wood pellet plants. A corresponding agreement was announced on the sidelines of the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe’s visit to Russia.

As part of the agreement, the parties initially plan to cooperate on a project to process timber industry waste into wood pellets for energy production. The project involves the construction of a pellet production plant, with a total capacity up to 135,000 tons per year.

Construction of the first facility is expected to start this year. Parties plan to explore further increase of capacity and construction of additional plants with a capacity of 500,000 tons per year. A significant volume of the product will be exported to Japan.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), comments, “Russia has great potential for development in the bioenergy industry. We have the largest timber resource in the world. Fuel pellets made of wood will contribute to the development of alternative energy sources ➤ 38

Wood Bioenergy / August 2018

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■ LaSalle BioEnergy

Three Of A Kind:

Drax Builds Its Hand

By Jessica Johnson URANIA, La. hen opportunity knocked to add a third industrial wood pellet plant to its portfolio smack in the middle of its other well-performing two plants within regional shipping distance of its port operation, Baton Rouge Transit, at the Port of Baton Rouge, and only a short drive from its new North American headquarters in Monroe, it seemed like a no-brainer for Drax Biomass.

Senior Director of Operations Richard Lamb acknowledges that purchasing a plant from a bankruptcy broker meant taking on a little faith. But he adds, “We knew what we were buying,” and he notes that the former German Pellets plant was designed a little differently and there were “one-offs,” which Drax personnel

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weren’t sure were positives or negatives.

The previous owner had constructed and started up the plant in mid-2015, but encountered operational problems, as well as financial, and declared bankruptcy in February 2016. Drax Biomass purchased it at bankruptcy auction in April 2017 and re-named the operation, LaSalle BioEnergy.

The site is a wide footprint that was originally designed for two mirror image pellet plants with a capacity of nearly 1 million tons. While plant one was mostly completed, plant two had a lot of foundation work and conduit on the ground.

Drax came in and redid all the power lines in the facility and all the aluminum cables going to the breakers because it was all undersized, creating operational obstacles for the team.

“If I had to guess on our largest restructuring activ-

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Opposite page, air emissions technologies; below, dryer lineup

ity,” Lamb notes, “I would have to say either the concrete work we had to do that wasn’t finished or the cabling we had to run. All the cables in the facility are brand new. We even ran cables overhead where the underground cables were.”

Another major issue was the communication and programming problem between the machines and the control room—a nightmare actually.

Lamb smiles as he recalls the first time an alarm went off inside the control room: “It sounded like a fire truck was behind you. The first time it went off, I was looking for a fire extinguisher.”

Drax ultimately decided to hire a programmer and started going through the programs making changes.

“We did have to buy a few programs, but since then, we’ve retrofitted the systems to where we’re not dependent upon others,” he adds.

Focus now in the control room is on taking items off the screens and setting up soft tabs instead.

Lamb believes this will give the control room the visibility it needs without getting bogged down by having every single detail on screen.

And then there was the reputation of the plant, which had suffered in the local community and certainly in the vendor sector. “We sat down with vendors face to face and told them we do

Chip pile is moving quicker as production ramps up.

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■ LaSalle BioEnergy

There are too many other things on the Drax plate at Urania at the moment, and the cost to change the color to Drax blue is not insignificant. “It’s so red though,” Lamb laughs.

In November 2017 LaSalle BioEnergy started producing some pellets, mainly to verify the process capabilities. Once the plant hit February and March, production gained momentum.

Today, though the plant is technically still in a semi-commissioning phase, Lamb is thrilled with production numbers.

Production took off so quickly, LaSalle started Mostly roundwood comes in now; sawmill residuals will soon take priority. making more pellets than the facility could logistically handle. Until a rail spur project is completed early next year, pellets are trucked to Baton Rouge. Another trucking company had to be brought in to handle the increased volume. Lamb credits the LaSalle team, especially Plant Manager Mufaddal “Mufi” Noorbhaiwala and Operations Manager Cody Davis, for driving the success.

Mufi, a veteran with Enviva before moving to Drax, and Davis, a former German Pellets employee, have a lot of pride in the plant. “They have put some hours in here, to the point where I’ve stepped in and said y’all need to go home,” Lamb says. Each month he sends out the production targets, and Mufi and Davis come behind him and set higher targets.

Lamb himself came on board with Drax in June 2016. He had worked in managerial roles for Enviva and Green Circle Bio Energy since 2008.

The operation retained 28 German Pellets employees, and the majority of the supervisors are former German Pellets employees. In total, the facility employs 74, a much welcome relief to the community’s economics.

At Drax, a well-run facility doesn’t just mean high production numbers and hitting targets to the expense of all else. Lamb foremost believes in creating and maintaining a safe work environment. He’s proud to report LaSalle has been safety event free so far in 2018. A lot of Drax made changes to the control center. that is thanks to the dedication of the employees, but also the safety measures Drax installed after the acquisition. what we say we’re going to do,” Lamb recalls. “Give us The first thing Lamb’s team did was install e-stops on an opportunity to show you what we’re capable of every single piece of machinery, as well as place underdoing. Most of them gave us an opportunity and today I ground fire water lines and a grounding grid. A GreCon can tell you we don’t have an issue with anyone.” system was in place throughout, and Lamb says that One thing that won’t change in the near future is the LaSalle continues to enhance dust control measures. bright red color that German Pellets painted the mill.

Lamb recognizes the importance of driving a safety

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LaSalle BioEnergy ■

culture. There are multiple safety programs and protocols in place to assist and incentivize the proper safety mindset. He adds, “You show me safety is important to you and we’ll show you how important it is to Drax.”

Pellet Flow Currently, between 120-160 trucks per day pass through an impressive scale house, before entering the wood yard. Since the plant was designed to take 100% southern yellow pine roundwood, there is only one Phelps truck dumper. That setup will change soon as Drax will procure LaSalle BioEnergy operates 12 CPM pellet mills, which feed down to the coolers.

100% of the residuals from the new Hunt Forest Products-Tolko Industries partnership sawmill that is under construction adjacent the Drax facility. This will help Drax move away from roundwood dependency while creating a guaranteed byproducts market for Hunt. “A win-win,” Lamb says. Until that happens, the Urania facility continues to increase its intake of residuals and microchips.

Roundwood is handled either by a LogPro 25 ton crane or laid down with a Volvo 350 wheel loader and proceeds through a LogPro drum debarker. Chipping is done 24/7, though Lamb expects to back off that once the Hunt sawmill comes on.

After screening and any re-chipping for oversized material, chips are brought to the chip pile stacker-reclaimer, which incorporates an underground tunnel transLamb: Teamwork has been special.

Mufi: Higher goals port, the first one Lamb has seen. He’s not sure if he prefers it to the conventional setup, but it does rain event, we don’t have to dry the fuel.” allow a hot-feed into the process line. Urania carries Chips move to a Vecoplan wet hammermill station for about three days of chips—not a lot of cushion. further breakdown before metering into a TSI rotary Another ”one-off” is the covered shed for fuel dryer, reducing moisture content from 48-50% to 13%. chips, which is a definite positive. It operates with a The Vecoplan pneumatic conveying system allows some walking floor, which requires minimal attention. It’s addition dry-down as it brings material to Vecoplan dry an example of something Drax discovered at the plant hammermills before entering the storage silos. that it may make a best practice moving forward.

From the silos, raw material is treated and sent to 12 “Because of the covered storage, when we have a big CPM pellet mills. After pelletizing, the 6 mm SYP pel-

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■ LaSalle BioEnergy

Production should reach 400,000 tonnes this year and increase next year.

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lets are between 5-6% moisture content. Once cooled, pellets are stored in four grain silos before being trucked out until the rail spur is operational.

Environmental abatement equipment includes a TSI wet ESP and RTO. “We’ve been inside the WESP and the RTO multiple times and they are clean,” Lamb notes. “It’s doing its job. We haven’t had any build up even as we’ve picked up our production rates.”

Lamb has been very impressed with the team assembled at Urania, and the mill continues to set production records. It will finish somewhere around 400,000 metric tons for its first year, with a goal of increasing production for 2019. “I’ve been doing this for nearly 11 years,” Lamb says, “I’ve never seen a plant commission as fast as this plant. A lot of credit is due to the team for that.”

Lamb says when you start really digging into what the plant is capable of, a lot of opportunity surfaces.

“I’m really eager to see what kind of production we can get out of here.”

Not only how much production, but the lowest cost production, which is part of a five-year project for the facility, whose pellets via the port some 160 miles south ultimately end up at the Drax Power Station in Selby, North Yorkshire, England.

LaSalle BioEnergy appears to be shaping up to be another jewel in Drax’s Cajun crown.

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■ pellets technology EDITOR’S NOTE: The following companies submitted these editorial profiles and photos. All statements and claims are attributable to the companies.

Airoflex Equipment

Airoflex offers truck dumpers and trailer tippers.

How do you determine if an over-the-wall or a portable, moveable tipper is the best choice for your facility and material handling needs? The differences may seem obvious but there are factors to consider when choosing what is best for your facility.

There are several similarities when it comes to Airoflex Equipment’s over-the-wall tippers and its portable tippers. Both models are engineered with a rugged design; the tippers can tackle the most challenging applications and come equipped with a 10 ft. x 45 ft. platform that includes walkways and hand rails on both sides, a 45-ton lifting capacity, 63° tilt and a two minute up-cycle time.

The differences include the installation and the flexibility of the tippers. With the standard over-the-wall tipper there are installation requirements involving earth work and foundation design. With minimal installation, the portable can be up and running the same day as delivery. Upon consideration of the soil capacity, you are free to move the tipper within the jobsite or it can be readily prepped for over-the-road transport. Both tippers come with an electric hydraulic power unit, but the portable unit can be used with a customer supplied diesel generator set.

Airoflex emphasizes after-sale customer service along with startup and commissioning, a large inventory of spare parts, service legs for ease in maintenance, cylinder rebuild and repair, and inspection and testing services to provide assistance when required. Search Airoflex’s large in-stock inventory for pins, pin eyes, pusher pins, pivot bearings, cylinder sleeves, adjustable packing glands, packings, spanner wrenches and replacement cylinders for the main dumper, backstop, pit doors, and wheel locks.

Airoflex Equipment is known for being a leader in the manufacturing of truck dumpers and trailer tippers since 1947. With more than 70 years of experience, Airoflex provides durable, reliable and quality built equipment.

Choose Airoflex for all of your material handling needs.

Visit airoflex.com

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Andritz Georgia Biomass, located in Waycross, Ga., is a leading supplier of sustainable wood pellets and operates one of the largest, most modern wood pellet producAndritz set up a service center to specifition facilities in the world. cally support the Georgia Biomass facility.

During Georgia Biomass’ design phase, the Andritz hammermill and pellet mill were identified as the best equipment for meeting the extreme production needs Georgia Biomass would face, and from the wood yard to pellet production, Andritz technology can be found throughout the plant.

Andritz manufactures key processing machinery in the pellet production line for biomass, solid biofuel, and waste pellets and has occupied 50% of the market share since the pioneering of biofuel pelleting in the 1980s.

But it is the aftermarket sales, service and support that truly sets Andritz apart from the competitors.

“The Andritz commitment extended to setting up a machine shop in nearby Savannah to service those parts that could be refurbished, saving us valuable time and money,” comments Mark Gaddy, Chief Operating Officer, Georgia Biomass.

The Garden City service center in Savannah, Ga. is one of three services centers located strategically throughout North America. The newest is located in Prince George, British Columbia. This ANBO/Andritz stocking warehouse and service center provides pellet mill roll rebuild and agreed customer consignment services, as well as select spare and ware parts.

Georgia Biomass needed to meet its own customers’ expectations. “We want proven sustainability, safe production, quality, a dependable supply and on-time deliveries,” Gaddy says. “It all comes back to the quality of our equipment and the optimal operating conditions we’ve learned to create together with Andritz.”

When it comes to fueling the future of your business, the Andritz commitment covers your operation’s entire life cycle. For Georgia Biomass, LLC this meant supplying the world’s largest biomass plant with high quality and reliable equipment backed up by a dedicated new service center in their own back yard.

Visit andritz.com

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pellets technology ■ Bandit Industries Bandit Industries’ lineup of whole tree chippers has earned its reputation among industry professionals by standing up to the toughest jobs, producing high quality chips, and helping producers build their businesses. But Bandit continues to refine its lineup of whole tree chippers, adding options and features to make these machines more productive for the men and women who rely on them to get their jobs done.

That’s why in 2018 Bandit introduced new options to its largest drum-style whole tree chippers—the 24 in. capacity Model 3090 and the 30 in. capacity Model 3590.

Bandit’s Model 3090 can now be outfitted with a powerful Caterpillar C27, 800 HP engine. This engine powers Bandit’s legendary whole tree chipper drums, which produce a higher quality chip, and throws those chips harder, fully loading chip trailers without the need of Bandit Industries continues to refine maan auxiliary chines for changing markets blower, which robs horsepower and increases fuel consumption.

Bandit’s Model 3590 rides on a new tandem axle configuration that slims down the width of the machine, making it easier to haul down the road and easier to position in the woods.

The Model 3590 has a new track option configuration, giving one of Bandit’s most popular whole tree chippers go-anywhere versatility. The Caterpillar 325EL steel track undercarriage is the same tracks Bandit puts under its largest horizontal grinders. The 3590 track can be outfitted with a powerful Caterpillar C27, 800 HP diesel engine.

The new Fish Mouth infeed is standard on all Bandit whole tree chippers. This unique design helps funnel whole trees toward the feedwheels, making it easier to feed larger trees.

Visit banditchippers.com

BinMaster BinMaster brings a sense of simplicity to customers seeking basic operation and single-point particulate monitoring with the new DD-3000 Dust Alert sensor.

The DD-3000 is ideal for baghouse leak detection when installed in stacks, ducts or pipes. This compact sensor is designed to save time by eliminating the need for manual inspections, reduce maintenance, and prevent emissions and downtime.

The DD-3000 with integrated electronics and sensing

probe utilizes highly reliable inductive electrification technology to detect—and alert—when particulate emissions exceed a preset point. As particles flow past and over the sensing probe, they induce a charge into the probe that creates small electrical currents.

This extremely sensitive method minimizes the influence of sensor contamination, particulate velocity change, or temperature drift.

With its single-piece design, the DD-3000 is easy to install and configure with no special alignment or structural supports needed. Sensor models are available with either an alarm relay— Breathe easy with BinMaster’s new generally used to alert to a need for maintenance—or a 4-20 mA particulate monitor. transmitter output option used for monitoring trends and compliance.

This proactive dust sensor is applicable in a wide range of applications including cement, mining, chemicals, food, wood and more.

Visit binmaster.com

Bliss Industries Bliss Industries, founded in 1981, maintains a reputation of manufacturing the most efficient, reliable and wellbuilt equipment in the industry. Developed from a design concept proven worldwide, the range of Pioneer Pellet Mills continues to expand. Overall reliability, maximum efficiency, ease of operation and maintenance combine to provide lower operat- Bliss Industries’ Pioneer pellet mill ing costs to each comes in a variety of models. owner.

Bliss Industries offers a variety of models ranging from 21 in. diameter dies to 34 in. diameter dies. Its 3roll design along with the feed cone system delivers “even striations” throughout the body of the pellet. The result is uniform wear within the pelleting chamber and a high quality finished product. The Bliss two stage twin drive offers greater flexibility and allows for lower electrical demand at startup. This along with a host of other

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■ pellets technology

“user friendly” features makes Bliss Industries the obvious choice.

Bliss Industries also manufactures an extensive line of hammermills and coolers for biomass size reduction, processing and cooling. Its hammermill line consists of nine different diameters, 12 different widths and five individually distinct designs. Horsepower range is from 500-600, which makes it easy to find the correct mill for your application.

Visit bliss-industries.com

CBI

CBI ChipMax offers high production at a low cost per ton.

Available as tracked, portable and truck-mounted, the CBI ChipMax has a high-production capability of up to 120 tons per hour, with low cost per ton and extreme reliability. Compact yet enormously productive, the CBI ChipMax 484 whole tree chipper hit the market with an eye on productivity and customer flexibility. The rotor, chipper box, and feed system are the strongest in its class as this drum chipper provides owners with years of trouble free service.

Featuring two rotor options, the CBI ChipMax makes high-quality fuel chips custom sized from 12–25 mm or “micro-chips” from 4–12 mm from logs up to 24 in. diameter. These wood microchips produce a consistent fiber length that dramatically reduces the overall cost of producing pellets and improves the function of small boilers.

“CBI purpose-builds commercial wood chippers for clients who produce microchips for manufacturing wood pellets, wood chips for boiler fuel, and wood chips for the pulp and paper industry,” comments Laurens Veer, Sales Manager for CBI Europe. “From concept to completion, the ChipMax 484VR’s rugged and mobile design is ideal for forestry applications in Europe and Scandinavia. CBI machines provide high production volumes, at a low cost per ton, while producing a consistent and valuable end product.”

CBI manufactures and distributes a complete line of portable and stationary grinders, shredders, chippers, flail debarkers and attachments for composting, forestry, biomass recovery, and wood-waste processing.

Visit cbi-inc.com

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CEM Machine Because so many chipping lines struggle to meet their required chip production or chip quality levels because of limitations at their chipper, sales on CEM’s high production heavy duty wood chippers remains strong.

Gains are often CEM chippers operate on six continents. possible by simply replacing the production-limiting disc chipper with a CEM chipper with more knives. CEM’s heavy duty chippers vary in size from 96 in. (2.4 m) to 140 in.

(3.5 m) diameter discs and are typically provided with 12 to 20 knives.

The beauty of stand-alone upgrades of existing facilities is that they often require little infrastructure modification except for replacement of the chipper in order to realize substantial performance improvements of the entire system.

For instance, by a pellet operation replacing an 8 knife disc chipper cutting 3/4 in. long chips with an 18 knife CEM chipper cutting 3/8 in. microchips, not only will combined power consumption of chipper and green mills be greatly reduced, but the production capacity of the chipping line will also increase over 10%.

CEM is a U.S. manufacturer and supplier of stationary heavy duty/high production microchip chippers, log chippers, chipper parts, engineered upgrades and technical services for CEM’s products. With equipment operating on six continents, CEM’s patented technologies provide owner/operators of pulp mills and pellet/biofuels plants around the world with exclusive advantages in areas of wood yard safety, reliability, production capability and both conventional wood chip and microchip quality.

Visit cem-machine.com

Hurst Boiler The latest edition in the Hurst biomass boiler series is the Hurst Reciprocating Grate Stoker with automated ash removal. These units offer the very best of solid fuel combustion allowing mechanical replacement of fuel with the least amount of moving parts.

This efficient multi-fuel design is offered in various configurations to utilize a wide selection of solid fuels. All Hurst factory stokers are cast from the highest quality steel alloys and mounted on a robust undercarriage system. Capable of burning wood, coal, bark, construction debris, nuts, shells, husks, paper, card-

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pellets technology â–

board products, hog fuel, sawdust, shavings, sludge and agricultural biomass.

The Hurst BIOMASS-TER Control System features a Co2 neutral release and PLC based total systems monitoring.

Hybrid Series: Available in steam or hot water multipass dry back design, 100 to 1800 BHP, 15 to 450 PSI steam.

N65 Series: Available in steam or hot water firebox design, 100 to 1500 BHP, 15 to 450 PSI steam.

S100 Series: Available in steam or hot water firebox design, 100 to 800 BHP, low pressure steam with hot water options.

STAG Units (Stand-Alone Gasifier): STAG Hurst biomass boiler units are used when heated air is needed instead of steam or hot water.

Hurst manufactures units to service oil heaters, rotary dryers, lumber kilns, brick kilns, and the firing and co-firing of boilers. Available with components such as ash systems, material handling, custom blend refractories, combustion air systems and the Hurst BIOMASS-TER combustion monitoring system.

The biomass product line is available with options including flat grate stokers, underfeed stokers, and traveling grate stokers to meet all biomass system requirements.

Hurst Boiler is a leader in the development of boiler technology and energy management projects through sustainable solutions for renewable energy and energy efficiency. Hurst biomass boiler systems can reduce or even eliminate your energy and disposal costs through the combustion of renewable and sustainable fuel sources.

Visit hurstboiler.com

Mid-South Engineering Mid-South Engineering Company is a full service, consulting engineering firm founded in 1969. Its veteran staff has executed thousands of projects in the wood products and wood biomass industries.

Mid-South offers clients multi-disciplined (mechanical, industrial, electrical, civil and structural) engineering support for projects of any size. They can also provide feasibility studies, project planning, project management, pneumatic design and construction coordination.

Mid-South is based in Arkansas, with branch offices

Mid-South Engineering put its stamp on the industry.

in North Carolina and Maine, serving clients domestically and around the world.

Visit mseco.com.

MoistTech Controlling the amount of moisture in wood products is a critical concern of the forest industry. An excess of moisture can have a large impact on final product quality and production. With MoistTech’s NIR MoistTech IR-3000 moisture sensor moisture sensor, wood product manufacturers can adjust moisture levels on real-time information, lowering raw material and fuel costs, higher yields, and more uniform products. Moisture control will become even more vital as mills begin to expand their production to include niche products and processing requirements become more stringent.

With the help of industry partners and 40 years of knowledge, MoistTech offers the most advanced wood moisture sensors for the non-contact measurement of moisture in forest products such as fiber, sawdust, hog fuel, wood flakes and wood particles. With thousands of installations worldwide in a wide variety of forest products, MoistTech offers both online for the continuous readings of NIR moisture measurement and laboratory NIR moisture sensors for spot tests near lines or in your quality control labs.

NIR (Near Infrared) moisture measurement is a noncontact measurement that offers clear advantages over the traditional methods, the most important being easeof-use, the elimination of hazardous chemicals, and increased efficiency of product testing. With NIR analysis, all manual steps of collecting, drying and accurately weighing samples are eliminated. Real-time data is fed directly to the mills distributed control system for process control.

The MoistTech IR-3000 moisture sensor has been

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■ pellets technology

used extensively within the wood products industry and is ideal for process control of dryers, blenders and incoming raw material providing real-time moisture measurement. Installation is quick and simple and only needs the wood moisture sensor to be mounted a few inches above the product.

MoistTech’s product database allows it to pre-calibrate the wood moisture sensor. With known product moisture samples each instrument can be calibrated within a few minutes prior to shipment. Field installation then becomes even simpler.

Visit moisttech.com

ous chain and sprocket drives and provides more torque.

The 50/48X can be equipped with a Caterpillar C27, 1,050 HP (783 kW) engine or Caterpillar C32, 1200 HP (895 kW) engine, both Tier 4 Final. The PT Tech HPTO15 hydraulic clutch is now standard, which allows flexibility across a wide range of chip sizes.

“The Morbark 50/48 has long been the industry standard for high-production mobile fuel and microchip applications, and we strongly feel these improvements will minimize downtime, increase production and provide overall customer success,” states Stanton.

Visit morbark.com

Morbark

NESTEC

Morbark 50/48X whole tree drum chipper

“The most productive portable drum chipper in the industry has become even better,” says Michael Stanton, Morbark Director of Industrial Sales, of the Morbark 50/48X whole tree drum chipper, which was introduced at Expo Richmond in May. The 50/48X was updated to a similar design layout as Morbark’s other industry-leading industrial drum chippers with a sloped infeed, reverse-pivot top feed wheel, bottom feedwheel, externally adjustable anvil and Advantage 3 drum assembly that can come as 10-knives for fuel chip or 20-knives for microchip applications.

Making it easier for customers to perform routine daily maintenance guided many of the new improvements. This focus resulted in the development of: ● A hydraulic hinged door and hood locking system to provide quick access to the drum during knife change intervals ● Large work platforms on both sides for easier and safer drum inspections ● A consolidated area for oil and hydraulic filters, easily accessible from the ground or maintenance platform ● An independent drum drive tensioning system for ease of adjustment ● An increased area between the engine and chipper base for easy access during general engine inspection and belly band removal Other improvements focused on performance and production. The powerful top feedwheel was enlarged more than 15% to 40 in. (101.6 cm), and the enhanced hydraulic system now includes a direct drive Poclain motor for the top and bottom feedwheel that eliminates previ-

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NESTEC, Inc. has pioneered the use of regenerative catalytic oxidizers (RCO/RTO) for the control of pellet cooler and hammermill exhaust to meet EPA requirements. Its systems have been installed at facilities for NESTEC focuses on process exhaust control. more than five years without catalyst replacement. Its unique design also allows for online cleaning of the catalyst, a proprietary thermal alignment control logic for system balancing, proprietary cold-face support grid design for optimal flow distribution and online bake-out of the systems. Furthermore NESTEC developed a unique process exhaust system to ensure product from the pellet coolers remains entrained in the exhaust stream.

In addition to its new RCO/RTO systems NESTEC provides system upgrades for used equipment, service and repairs for other manufacturers’ designs, particulate control upstream of the RCO/RTO systems including wet electrostatic precipitators, baghouses, scrubbers, and all the necessary logic and control development for integration into the production plant. If you are looking for an experienced partner to ensure success with your air emission goals NESTEC, Inc. is your best option.

Visit nestecin.com

Paratherm Paratherm HE is an economical, highly refined, mineral oil based heat transfer fluid formulated for service in closed-loop heat transfer systems to 600ºF. As shown by its almost water white appearance, Paratherm HE has an extremely low level of impurities. Its low vapor pressure equals greater stability in vented expansion tanks.

Paratherm HE has a negligible vapor pressure that pro-

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■ pellets technology

duces almost no reaction with air in vented expansion tanks.

Paratherm HE heat transfer fluid is a key product for engineered wood processes due to its highquality group II base stock and high flash point. Thermal fluids are an extremely important part of these processes because for the enormous heat loads, quantities can range from 10,000 to 75,000 gallons.

Because safety, mainteParatherm HE heat transfer nance and uptime issues are important in these large fluid provides more for applications, technical supyour thermal fluid system. port for the fluids and equipment can be crucial for plant management and maintenance professionals.

Paratherm’s technical support provides expert engineering, product support and training. Take advantage of its comprehensive analysis program. Its state-of-the-art lab provides advanced laboratory capabilities.

Preventative maintenance with fluid analysis is a key component of Paratherm’s customer commitment and is closely related to system performance. The easiest way to ensure an efficient operating system is to establish a routine maintenance program. Paratherm’s preventative maintenance provides timely feedback on your system, eliminating surprises. Consistent fluid sampling allows for a comparison of samples over time, providing insight on how the fluid properties have changed and most importantly what corrective actions need to be taken to keep your system running efficiently.

Paratherm products are stocked across North America and in Europe, South America and Asia. Paratherm specializes in high volume, bulk delivery and emergency 24/7 service.

Visit paratherm.com

Peterson

Peterson 6300 drum chipper for chips and microchips.

Peterson provides a variety of drum chippers ideal for making microchips for pellet production. Peterson drum chippers are available in both tracked and wheeled ver-

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sions, and are available from 540-1050 HP depending on the application.

The Peterson 3310B drum chipper is the smallest offering at 540 HP, and is equipped with a 4-pocket drum to make standard biomass chips and an 8-pocket drum to make microchips. The unique transverse design allows for a much smaller landing, and the rotatable spout allows for many loading options without having to reposition the machine.

For those needing more capacity, the Peterson 4300series machines pack 765 HP and are available with a 6-pocket drum for standard biomass chips and an 8pocket drum for microchips. The chipper utilizes a 36 in. diameter by 44¾ in. (91 by 114 cm) wide drum with either 6 or 12 knife pockets. Traditional babbitt type knife systems are standard equipment.

Chip length can be set from 1⁄8 to 1¼ in. (3 to 32 mm) depending on rotor and knife configuration. The end load spout is standard, and an optional top loading spout is available.

For operations needing the maximum output, the 1050 HP Peterson 6300-series drum chippers can handle logs up to 36 in. in diameter, and have 8-pocket drums for standard biomass chips and 16-pocket drums for microchips. The chipper utilizes a 50 in.

(127 cm) diameter by 60 in. (152 cm) wide drum.

Other key features include a sloped feed deck for the ease of feeding and wear resistant AR450 wear surfaces on the drum pockets and shell. The feed chain has been upgraded to WDH120 for improved strength and long life.

All Peterson drum chippers share the same robust knives, the thickest in the industry, and industry-leading clamping system for long life and superior performance.

Since 1981, Peterson has specialized in the developing of delivery and processing equipment that turns lowgrade organic materials into high value products.

Visit petersoncorp.com

Uzelac Industries Uzelac Industries Inc. has established itself as a major supplier of rotary drying systems. Uzelac’s drying systems convert biomass waste products (such as wood chips, wood fiber, agricultural, sawUzelac Industries provides rotary dryers dust and more) and full services. from expensive, landfill material to a quality, flash dried, profitable byproduct.

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pellets technology ■

Uzelac’s equipment offerings include single and triple pass drums, multiple fuel burners, particulate scrubbers, screening systems, coolers and more. The company also offers a full list of services, including design and application engineering, installation and startup, training of customer personnel, parts, field service and troubleshooting. Uzelac prides itself on being cost-effective and environmentally friendly.

Under the leadership of President and CEO Mike Uzelac, Uzelac Industries values integrity, customer satisfaction and innovation. The family-owned company operates worldwide from its home base in Greendale, Wis. and its Kansas office in Neodesha, Kan. Visit uzelacind.com.

Vecoplan Midwest

Containerized Pellet Plant (CPP) from Vecoplan Midwest, LLC

Vecoplan Midwest, LLC is part of the worldwide Vecoplan group based in Bad Marienberg, Germany—a machine manufacturer with more than 50 years of experience in the wood and biomass industry and beyond.

Vecoplan provides everything from single machines to turnkey solutions for the wood and biomass markets.

Vecoplan develops, produces and markets machinery and plants for shredding, conveying and processing primary and secondary raw materials gained in recycling processes. It offers products in size reduction, material handling, screening, storage solutions and pelleting.

Vecoplan Midwest has developed an entirely self-contained pellet plant that is compact, clean and affordable.

The Vecoplan Midwest CPP is the perfect pellet plant for processing wood, biomass, feed products, manures, most anything that needs to be pelleted. The CPP can be available standard with manual weigh scale bagging, bulk loadout, and tote sack loading. Additional add-on options include large raw material surge capacity, hammermilling, and an on-site office.

The plant can be relocated in a very short time, should the need arise. Vecoplan Midwest stands ready to provide after-sales service and parts as well as on site operator training.

Features include: ● Seven different models with throughput ranging from 1,000 lbs. per hour to 12 tons per hour. ● Eight hours setup time (depending on model) ● Adapts easily to most existing trailer loadout systems ● Alleviates the need for expensive buildings With more than 50 years of experience combined with German made quality and engineering, Vecoplan Midwest, LLC is the right partner for your business!

Visit vecoplanmidwest.com

Vermeer The Vermeer WC2500TX whole tree chipper is equipped with a tracked undercarriage to aid in maneuverability in the woods, boasts a compact design and packs a 600 HP (448 kW) enVermeer WC2500TX whole tree chipper gine to meet propacks power in compact design. duction demands.

The 20 in. (50.8 cm) high-mount tracked undercarriage makes this a fully mobile unit, allowing operators to efficiently and effectively move the machine around jobsites without the need for additional support equipment. The D4 undercarriage is designed for tough jobsite conditions with high-mounting structures for nearly 29 in. (73.7 cm) of belly clearance and rising chain rollers for material cleanout. The tracks can be single or double grouser depending on the terrain of your operation.

The whole tree chipper can be equipped with either the microchip drum that produces chip sizes between 1/8 in.

(3.2 mm) to 5/8 in. (15.9 mm) or the macrochip drum that produces chip sizes between 5/8 in. (15.9 mm) and 1 ¼ in.

(31.8 mm). The knife setup is quick and simple with knife position being set by two bolts—no babbitting needed, which makes changeout on jobsites easy.

The WC2500TX is equipped with proven technologies including SmartCrush, SmartFeed and EcoIdle system.

With SmartCrush technology, the machine can automatically increase down pressure when difficult material enters the cutting drum and adjusts variable-speed dual-infeed conveyor chains. SmartFeed is a patented feedsensing control system that monitors engine rpm and automatically stops or reverses the feed roller and infeed conveyor when feeding larger, hardwood materials. Also, EcoIdle is an engine control system function, which automatically lowers engine speed to 1400 rpm if no material has been chipped for 30 seconds.

Visit vermeer.com

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■ pellets technology

Amandus Kahl The proven flat die technology used in all Amandus Kahl presses is also utilized in this new machine, which is particularly suitable for pelleting fibrous materials such as biomass and wood.

The first 65-1500 press for wood pelleting was installed in the plant of a large wood pellet producer in the USA who already owns a number of type 60-1250 presses. The 65-1500 press has been designed especially for higher capacities.

The 65-1500 is Amandus New flagship Kahl pelletKahl’s answer to the permaing press type 65-1500 nent challenge of reducing the investment costs per ton of produced wood pellets and of further reducing the operating costs. Whereas the type 60-1250 presses achieved an average output of 6 tonnes per hour (t/h), the 651500 press achieves between 8 t/h and 10 t/h with a pellet durability of (PDI)> 98.5%.

Amandus Kahl has always given top priority to the development of the 65-1500 press. Though the 60-1500 type press has already proved itself in other industries, such as crushing of waste tires, compaction of domestand industrial waste, the engineers of Amandus Kahl have produced a machine with special features which are specific to the production of wood pellets. For example, the machine is equipped with six pan grinder rollers, which press the product through the die, all bearings are reinforced and the main drive shaft is more than 12 in. thick.

Following several months of operation, the pellet producer was able to reach output of 10 t/h according to their own statistics. It could be observed that the service life of the dies increased disproportionately due to the larger die and the larger open perforated surface.

With the 65-1500 flat-die pelleting press, Amandus Kahl has broken new ground in the economic production of wood pellets. Before being introduced to the market, the 65-1500 press had been extensively tested and verified in Kahl’s pilot plant. Following successful tests, these efforts were rewarded with an order for several presses from the U.S. producer, who was looking to increase production capacity.

Visit akahl.de/en/

BM&M BM&M high-speed gyratory chip screens have been utilized in a variety of wood screening applications for more than 50 years, providing outstanding performance and reliability to thousands of customers. The high per-

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formance of these machines is based on the drive being strategically positioned in the middle of the machine’s mass that allows it to run larger strokes and higher speeds than other designs, which results in superior production, performance and deblinding efficiency.

These machines are available with 1-4 screening decks and numerous screen areas to BM&M chip screen meet specific production requirements thus keeping their footprint to a minimum. Chip screens are supplied with open or closed construction depending upon the nature and dustiness of the material, utilizing both perforated plate and tensioncontrolled mesh style screens. Optional ball decks ensure continuous cleaning (deblinding efficiency) of the screen surface that is critical for maintaining a predictable output.

BM&M wood bio fuel applications include: screening green wood to separate material ready for combustion from material needing grinding reducing energy costs while maintaining uniform particle size; screening sand out prior to suspension burners to eliminate the formation of clinkers; and screening wood pellets to remove doubles and fines for quality control.

Support of these machines comes from a network of direct BM&M employees and exclusive representatives across North America with multiple parts warehouses ready to provide quick response to any parts needs.

BM&M headquarters is located in Surrey, BC and is where BM&M offers full scale testing for customers to confirm and guarantee performance of recommendations.

Visit bmandm.com

ProcessBarron ProcessBarron has been designing, building and installing Underpile Drag Reclaimers for 30 years. Underpile Drag Reclaimers can be used for a variety of materials, and ProcessBaron custom makes them to fit the application and design to ensure a steady fuel flow. They can range from one to six strands wide depending on the application and ProcessBarron underpile drag reclaimer volume require-

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■ pellets technology

ments. If you need redundancy, ProcessBarron can put multiple reclaimers side by side.

Among the many benefits of ProcessBarron’s drag chain reclaimer design is the drag chain design itself.

The drag chain pivots internally and does not rotate on the sprocket teeth at all. This process of non-rotation between the chain and sprocket minimizes the erosion and wear to the drive sprocket, thus greatly extending the life of the shaft/drive sprocket(s) assembly. A second benefit is that the drive sprockets have twice (plus 1) the required teeth around the sprocket diameter allowing the drag chain to run and engage every other set of teeth per revolution of the drive shaft. This feature will basically double the life of the drive sprocket assembly.

A third feature is the tail section and tail shaft assembly which are both designed with a radiused pan that will lift up material that has spilled onto the return pan and return it to the carrying side of the drag reclaimer. This ultimately makes the ProcessBaron drag reclaimer self-cleaning.

Visit processbarron.com

Williams Chip Hog Williams Chip Hog is the first hammermill to combine the high capacities and heavy duty features of a primary hog-type hammermill crusher with the fine grinding capabilities of a secondary hammermill. This rugged machine has a simple, durable, field-tested and proven design.

A specially-designed cover helps cut down on product surging, leading to less wear and downtime, fewer replacement parts, and cost savings.

Other features of the Williams chip hog include a large feed opening, Williams Chip Hog heavy duty tool steel hammers for extended wear life, and high hammer tip velocity to shred wet fibrous materials. Along with heavy duty reinforced screen sections, oversized bearings and an available hydraulic cover opening system, the Williams chip hog is made to help ensure smooth operations with minimal downtime.

The Williams chip hog was initially designed for conditioning green wood chips with 40-50% moisture content to a uniform 1/4 in. product size for drying or further processing. Williams chip hogs are often utilized before downstream pelletizing operations. Green wood chips are fed to the chip hog to be reduced for more efficient drying before moving on to pelletization. There are extensive other possibilities for these mills as well.

Whatever your application, Williams offers stand-

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alone components to complete systems for grinding and/or drying a wide variety of biomass materials.

Williams chip hogs are available in a variety of sizes with impressive capacities up to 100 TPH. Visit williamscrusher.com

Precision Husky Precision Husky builds equipment to work as hard as you do, and for years to come. Our fuel-efficient, low maintenance and high production chippers and grinders are used worldwide to manufacture highPrecision Husky continues to meet inquality chips, woods chipping and grinding needs. mulch, compost, boiler fuel and to clear and clean jobsites.

If you need high-speed productivity and a low cost per ton, you’ve come to the right place. ● Whole Tree Chippers for Micro-Chips Precision Husky did not invent the whole tree chipper, but we do make the best chipper you can buy, especially when it comes to in-woods processing of micro-chips, which dry much quicker in pellet production applications.

The latest generation of Precision-built, in-woods chippers pushes the envelope of technology to include a 66 in., five-knife option (and up to eight knives), which allows the chipper engine to operate at a lower rpm with the same production of other units on the market operating at higher rpm’s. This not only saves on component wear and tear, it produces the most valuable chip and micro-chip quality you can find. ● ProGrind Horizontal Grinders For working with long limbs, our high-speed ProGrind horizontal grinders can’t be topped. We have three models (H-3045, H-3060 and H-4060) to choose from, each with a rugged diesel engine and offering you from 520 HP up to 1050 HP. The dual cutting surfaces at various depths help eliminate jams.

When fitted with an optional chipping drum, the ProGrind also does an excellent job producing micro-chips for pellet producing applications. ● Precision Husky Wants Your Business Precision Husky is showing the industry just how outstanding one company can be. We work from a 165,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Leeds, Alabama. Our President, Scott Smith, is a second-generation innovator like his father, company founder and CEO Bob Smith.

Together they have helped Precision go from a small regional provider to a worldwide leader in timber processing technology.

Visit precisionhusky.com

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trucking article ■

Trucking Challenges Persist

By David Abbott

M

ore than a few loggers over the years have referred to their trucking operations as a “necessary evil.” The obstacles in place are well documented.

Based in Broken Bow, Okla. since 2012, logger Chris Gibson, 31, runs a fleet of 15 trucks. “The major problem with trucking these days is that insurance has gone up so much on new trucks, and new trucks have gone up a lot in price,” he points out.

According to C.K. Green, owner of Virginia Custom Thinning, LLC, the scarcity of qualified drivers is at an all-time high. “I’m concerned like everybody else. I have 10 trucks of my own and two contractors, and I need to find two more.”

Several companies have been forced to park trucks for lack of drivers. For instance, Virginia’s Gasburg Timber Corp. has downsized its trucking fleet in recent years for that reason.

“You have to do it one of two ways,” Gibson believes. “Either find someone who is young who needs a job and that you can train, or find somebody who has been doing it all their life and who just doesn’t want to do anything else. Guys who are in-between can go work in the oil fields and make more money.”

Other issues include tainted driving records among potential hires and their inability to pass a drug test. Another common impediment is lack of experience, which begs the question: How are young drivers to attain such experience? This is an increasingly prescient concern as older drivers retire, and they are retiring at a brisk pace.

Alabama’s Mid Star Timber fields up to eight crews and runs 32 log trucks, as well as five over-the-road trucks (under the name Mid Star Express). Owner Mitchell Presley says, “As far as being able to hire younger drivers, we let the insurance company look at our training program. They have allowed us to bring some younger drivers on because of that. The experience level of three years is lowered as long as we do the training.”

Beyond training, some use other methods to help with insurance costs. Partners Stephen Wright and Frank Myers at Gasburg Timber Corp. implemented a driver rewards program in 2016 and report it has improved the company’s insurance score (CSA—compliance, safety, accountability). “The better your score, the less likely DOT is to stop you, and it helps on insur-

ance,” Myers says. The program involves bonuses for clean DOT reports with no violations, and it rewards both individuals and the team as a group. “We reward them as a group so the group helps police itself. Team members hold each other accountable.”

Turnover may be inevitable, but many have found ways to limit it. One obvious key: competitive pay. Mid Star’s Presley believes, “Paying more money gets you a better driver.” Green agrees. He says he pays drivers $160 per day minimum. He also pays more for Saturday work. In addition, drivers who have been with Green more than 90 days get $100 a month towards health insurance and become eligible for a simple IRA plan.

Tim Mahan, owner of Mississippi’s Southern Forestry, Inc., reports that his drivers remain loyal for the most part. “I just don’t have a big driver turnover,” he says. “These boys make $40-45 thousand a year, instead of $25 thousand like I hear other drivers make, and they are driving late model trucks and trailers.”

Mahan is big on keeping trucks and trailers in good repair. “One thing I don’t mess around with are issues with our road equipment. I think it is extremely important to keep maintenance done on trucks and trailers. It’s more important than the stuff in the woods. If you a blow a tire on a skidder, it’s not as likely to get someone killed.”

Gibson takes steps to increase visibility of his trucks by using extra lights and brighter color paint jobs.

Green is known for taking pride in the appearance of his trucks, painting them special colors and keeping them washed weekly. He does so for safety and improved public image, but it also helps to keep DOT off his back.

Mahan governs his trucks to a maximum 68 MPH, with a 5MPH tolerance. “If they keep within that 5 MPH parameter for the week, they get paid extra,” the logger says. “It can make as much as $50-60 a week difference, so it is a real incentive and has greatly improved fuel mileage. It also means less wear and tear on brakes and tires.”

To promote a sense of ownership for drivers, Mid Star leases some trucks to a select group of drivers.

More than employees, they become stakeholders with a vested interest in the truck’s profitability and efficiency.

Eventually, these drivers can own their trucks.

This is an excerpt from an article that appeared in affiliate magazine Southern Loggin’ Times.

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IFAT FOCUSES ON RAW MATERIALS PROCESSING Environmental technologies were booming at IFAT, the trade fair for water, sewage, waste and raw materials management held May 14-18 at Messe München in Munich, Germany. More than 141,000 visitors from 160 countries came to observe more than 3,300 exhibitors. “IFAT presents the technologies of the future for clean environment; hence, it is driving the public discourse more actively than ever before. This was reflected in the visits of international politicians, the numerous delegations from all over the world and technology experts who came to share ideas, experiences and knowhow,” comments Stefan Rummel, Managing Director of Messe München. The next IFAT occurs in Munich May 4-8, 2020.

(Photos by Wood Bioenergy international correspondent Murray Brett.)

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■ in the news

16 ➤ and enable the Russian Far East to realize its export potential.”

Russia-Japan Investment Fund was established to pursue and implement attractive investment projects to promote economic, trade and investment cooperation between Japan and Russia. Priority sectors identified for cooperation include health care, development of smart cities and sustainable technologies, energy, cutting-edge technologies and developing industries and export in the Russian Far Eastern District, as well as other initiatives that will strengthen the trade and economic relations between the two countries Russia Forest Products (RFP Group) is the largest forestry company of the Russian Far East with 5 million m3 of annual allowable cut rights and annual felling volumes over 2 million m3. RFP operates one of the largest wood-pro-

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cessing clusters with input capacity over 1.5 million m3 of roundwood, which includes plants for production of veneer, sawn wood and wood pellets. RFP is set up to become a leading producer of biofuel at the Russian Far East.

Enviva Announces Chief Financial Officer Enviva Partners, LP announced that Shai Even, former chief financial officer for Alon USA Energy, Inc. and Alon USA Partners, LP, will succeed Stephen Reeves as the Partnership’s Chief Financial Officer. Reeves has resigned from the Partnership for personal reasons.

“Enviva would not be the company it is today without Steve. The Board of Directors and I are grateful for his many significant contributions to Enviva over his more than six years with us, including

the finance and accounting organizations that he built which remain in place,” says John Keppler, Chairman and CEO. Even has 25 years of experience in operational and strategic finance. Prior to joining Alon USA Energy, Even served as chief financial officer of DCL Group in Tel Aviv, Israel, and as an auditor with KPMG. He has a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Accounting from Bar-Ilan University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Angelina FP Plans Sawmill In Lufkin Officials with a new sawmill planned near Lufkin, Tex. say the facility should start up by the second quarter of 2019. The new Angelina Forest Products mill is moving into the former General Electric Buck Creek electric pump assembly plant

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■ in the news

south of town as the site of the $100 million sawmill project.

According to Angelina Forest Products Executive Vice President Stephen Raley, the mill will produce 220+ MMBF annually as a full line southern pine random length mill, with plans to expand quickly if needed.

Raley was formerly with Temple-Inland and Georgia Pacific, and several other key Angelina Forest Products executives are former Temple-Inland personnel as well.

New Hampshire Gov Nixes Biomass Bill The biomass power industry in New Hampshire took a hit in June when Governor Christopher Sununu vetoed a Senate bill that would have required electric distribution companies to offer to pur-

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chase energy output of eligible biomass power facilities as well as facilities that produce electricity using municipal solid waste as a primary energy source.

The bill had stated: “The continued operation of the state’s six independent biomass-fired electric generating plants and the state’s single renewable waste-to-energy generating plant are at-risk due to (natural gas) energy pricing volatility. These plants are important to the state’s economy and jobs, and, in particular, the six biomass-fired generators are vital to the state’s sawmill and other forest products industries and employment in those industries…and are also important to state policies because they provide generating fuel diversity and environmental benefits, which protect the health and safety of the state’s citizens and the physical environment of the state.”

Governor Sununu countered however that the bill creates “another immense subsidy” for the six biomass plants, and it would cost state ratepayers $25 million a year over the next three years. “Senate Bill 365 doesn’t even guarantee solvency of these facilities,” Sununu wrote. “We need to be taking steps to lower electric rates, not passing legislation that would cause massive increases.”

Since the veto, regional chip suppliers to those plants have expressed concern about the health and future of their operations, and at least two of the biomass power plants reportedly quit taking chips and were running only on stockpiles as they considered whether to shut down.

The bill acknowledged that customers would see modest increases to their monthly power bills.

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■ product news

Funding Focused On Biomass Handling Forest Concepts LLC has been awarded a $1.8 million cooperative agreement from the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office to address the critical issues of poor flowability, high friction, and highly variable physical properties that have plagued the biomass industry.

Biomass materials have a wide range of moisture contents that are subjected to varying temperature, pressures, and forces which traditional metrics provide little-to-no value for the engineering design of hoppers, feeders and mixers. Many of the reported failures at advanced biofuel and bioproducts production facilities are due in part to feedstock handling related problems resulting from a lack of useful and accurate

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engineering data.

Forest Concepts, led by Dr. Jim Dooley, in collaboration with Penn State University’s Dr. Virendra Puri, has an overall project goal to contribute to the design and operation of reliable, cost effective, continuous feeding of biomass feedstocks into various reactors typical of integrated biorefineries. For the past 30 plus years Dr. Puri has greatly advanced the modeling of compression, flowability, and storage of particulate materials while Dr. Dooley has made significant advances in low energy processing of uniform, flowable precision feedstocks from a variety of high moisture biomass.

“We appreciate DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office support for this important project. The new biomass characterization and flowability properties tools that will result

should enable our engineers and others in the bioeconomy to improve process on-stream time and reduce operational risks associated with flowability issues,“ Dooley states.

“From the characterization datasets generated using Penn State’s laboratory scale Cubical Triaxial Tester (CTT), we will develop and validate a comprehensive computational model to predict mechanical and rheological behavior of biomass flow to enable systematic and reliable design of biomass handling/conveying/feeding systems,” adds Dr. Puri.

A component of the project will be to design and build a large scale CTT for commercial use in predicting biomass flows through feedstock handling systems, and final validation of the predictive model including all feedstock handling in-

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■ product news

feed and outfeed unit operations will be performed using Amaron Energy’s mobile pyrolysis unit in Salt Lake City.

Curran Pellet Mill Installs Furnace When Pat Curran decided to get into the wood pellet business in 2007, it was to help ensure that the fiber from Curran’s family logging business Seaway Timber and Curran Logging based in Massena, NY always had a home. When the pulp mill across the border in Cornwall, Ont. shut down, the logging business lost a big market for its wood chips.

“We were starting to see some of our markets tightening up,” Curran explains during a tour of his pellet plant operation. “In order for us to be successful as a logging operator we

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need to have something close by.”

Supplying wood chips for pulp mills makes up a huge part of the family logging business, which mainly harvests the plentiful hardwood species that populate the region of upstate New York. Curran’s logging business supplies chips to Domtar’s pulp mill in Windsor, Que.; Fortress Paper’s mill in Thurso, Que.; and International Paper’s plant in Ticonderoga, NY in addition to producing sawlogs for a handful of customers in the area.

To ensure the company continues to have a variety of options for its fiber, Curran has given his pellet plant a significant upgrade in the form of a $3 million Torbel 15 MW fluidized bed hot gas furnace.

The investment in the new furnace has created multiple opportu-

nities for fiber utilization. One option is to use the furnace to significantly increase wood pellet production at the plant. The plant only produced 60,000 tons of wood pellets this year due to decreased demand in the biomass wood pellet market, but had the capacity to produce upwards of 125,000 tons.

With the new furnace and the rest of the plant operating at its current capacity, the plant will experience about a 15% increase in production. This stems from the plant no longer having to burn its highgrade fiber for heat.

The uptick in efficiency stems from the gas cleaning system in the Torbel furnace. The unit is equipped with four multi-cyclone dust collectors that run in parallel. The multi-cyclones clean the hot gas, and separate ash, sand and burning particles prior

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product news ■

to drying the wood fiber in the dryer.

This improves the quality of the wood pellets produced, which Curran says is a key reason for the investment.

Increased production potential doesn’t stop at 15%. If the market demand was there, Curran says he could very quickly increase production by installing an additional dryer and doubling the infeed system, number of hammermills and pellet mills in the plant.

network of authorized dealers. The three locations will offer sales, service and parts on all Bandit hand-fed chippers, stump grinders and skidsteer attachments.

Intermountain Bobcat is a divi-

sion of the Scott Intermountain Companies, which has been involved in the construction equipment business since 1968. In 1995, the company acquired Intermountain Bobcat and operates it today. ➤ 46

(From Canadian Biomass magazine)

Hitachi Opens U.S. Wheel Loader HQ Hitachi Construction Machinery Loaders America Inc. (HCMA) celebrated the grand opening of its new U.S. corporate headquarters in Newnan, Ga., with employees, local dignitaries, business partners and members of the media on June 1.

The celebration featured a ribboncutting ceremony, traditional Japanese Sakura Ceremony, Kagami-biraki Ceremony, presentations from visiting guests from Hitachi Construction Machinery (HCM), factory and headquarters tours, and a traditional southern BBQ lunch.

The new facility represents a $4 million investment by HCM to HCMA. The initial phase consists of the new headquarters facility at 12,291 sq. ft., a new training facility at 3,600 sq. ft., the training facility offices and administration at 5,084 sq. ft. and a future storage building at 21,421 sq. ft. This investment represents the foundation to support the anticipated market expansion of Hitachi wheel loaders in the North American market. The investment also represents the confidence HCM has in the HCMA organization and the distribution network. HCMA anticipates tripling its market share in the next five years.

Intermountain Bobcat Joins Bandit Network Utah-based Intermountain Bobcat with locations in Salt Lake City, Ogden and Orem has joined Bandit’s

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■ product news

ducing quality, long lasting solid tires for skid steer loaders and telehandlers, as well as tracks for compact utility loaders. With this latest business expansion, MWE continues to grow its product portfolio while honoring its commitment to offer the full range of tire, track and undercarriage components for the compact equipment industry.

In addition to expanding its tire and track product line with the purchase of Nighthawk, MWE now has four large warehouse distribution centers located throughout North America to ensure all orders placed through the website TracksandTires.com and its hundreds of dealer partners will arrive quickly.

MWE’s product portfolio includes an assortment of MWE, Nighthawk, TNT, Camso, Bridgestone, Titan and Goodyear tires and tracks, undercarriage components and accessories, Westinghouse Outdoor Power Equipment and ClimateRight HVAC systems.

used skidders or wheeled fellerbunchers. Forwarders, wheeled harvesters, and tracked feller-bunchers and harvesters are still eligible for a six-month warranty.

Each used machine must pass a strict 100-plus point inspection in order to be certified.

Deere Expands Used Equipment Warranty John Deere announced new equipment and warranty additions to its forestry certified used program.

The program will now include L-Series skidders and wheeled fellerbunchers and an option to extend up to 12 months, in addition to the existing six-month offering.

“Our certified used program is designed to give customers a sense of security when purchasing used equipment,” says Kent Stickler, manager, Product Training and Information.

The new 12-month warranty option guarantees that customers are covered if any issues do occur with

Midwest Equipment Acquires Nighthawk Midwest Equipment (MWE), a leading manufacturer and supplier of tires, tracks and undercarriage components for compact equipment, has acquired Nighthawk Machinery. Since 2010, Nighthawk has earned the reputation for pro-

Dates For 2019 Expobiomasa Set AVEBIOM, the Spanish Assn. for the Energy Recovery of Biomass, has announced the 12th edition of Expobiomasa will be held September 24-26, 2019 in Valladolid, Spain.

The last Expobiomasa was attended by 300 professionals from the continent of America, with a prominence of visitors from Mexico, Chile and Argentina, countries that make particularly use of biomass as an energy source.

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