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■ table of contents

www.woodbioenergymag.com

FROM THE EDITORS Information Wonderland

TIES 2 Grinding Ties For Power

IN THE NEWS Florida Contractor Wins Lawsuit

PRODUCT NEWS New Technology Developments

CORINTH PELLETS Preparing To Bounce Back

Cover Photography: Corinth Pellets (Jessica Johnson)

WOOD BIO CONFERENCE Final Pages Of Conference Coverage

28 4

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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 8

Number 4

32 Co-Publisher/Adv. Sales Manager ■ David H. Ramsey Co-Publisher/Executive Editor ■ David (DK) Knight Chief Operating Officer ■ Dianne C. Sullivan Publishing Office Street Address ■ 225 Hanrick Street Montgomery, AL 36104-3317

Acrowood

425.258.3555

Airoflex Equipment

563.264.8066

Andritz Feed & Biofuel

800.446.8629

Arizona Instrument

800.528.7411

Arjes GmbH

+49 0 3695 85855-0

Astec

423.867.4210

BM&M

800.663.0323

Bandit Industries

800.952.0178

Biomass Engineering & Equipmnt

317.522.0864

Bliss Industries

580.765.7787

CPM-Roskamp Champion

601.932.9080

Drying Technology

409.385.6422

Kice Industries

316.744.7151

KNL Holdings

870.236.7753

Lundberg

425.283.5070

Metal Detectors

541.345.7454

Mid-South Engineering

501.321.2276

Mid-South Forestry Equipment Show

662.325.2191

Morbark

800.831.0042

Mailing Address ■ P.O. Box 2268 Montgomery, AL 36102-2268 Tel: 334.834.1170 ■ Fax: 334.834-4525

Nestec

610.3237.670

PDI

207.764.6811

Peterson Pacific

800.269.6520

Editor-in-Chief ■ Rich Donnell Managing Editor ■ Dan Shell Senior Associate Editor ■ David Abbott Associate Editor ■ Jessica Johnson Art Director/Production Manager ■ Cindy Segrest Ad Production Coordinator ■ Patti Campbell Circulation Director ■ Rhonda Thomas Marketing/Media Coordinator ■ Jordan Anderson

PHG Energy

615.471.9299

Process Barron

205.663.5330

TerraSource Global

855.483.7721

Advertising Sales

Uzelac Industries

414.529.0240

North American Sales Representative Susan Windham ■ P.O. Box 2268 Montgomery AL 36102-2268 334.834.1170 ■ Fax: 334.834.4525 E-mail: windham.susan4@gmail.com

Wood Bioenergy (ISSN 1947-5306) is published six times annually by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc., 225 Hanrick St., Montgomery, AL 36104. Wood Bioenergy is free to qualified readers in the United States, including owners, managers, supervisors and other key personnel. All non-qualified U.S. subscriptions are $50 per year, Canadian subscriptions are $60 and foreign subscription are $95 per year (U.S. funds). Subscriber Inquiries and Back Issue Orders—TOLL-FREE: 800.669.5613. Fax 888.611.4525. Subscribe or renew online: www.woodbioenergymagazine.com and click on the “Subscribe” button. When requesting change of address, please specify both old and new. Periodicals postage paid at Montgomery, Ala. and at additional mailing offices.

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All advertisements for Wood Bioenergy are accepted and published by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. with the understanding that the advertiser and/or advertising agency are authorized to publish the entire contents and subject matter thereof. The advertiser and/or advertising agency will defend, indemnify and hold any claims or lawsuits for libel violations or right of privacy or publicity, plagiarisms, copyright or trademark infringement and any other claims or lawsuits that may arise out of publication of such advertisement. Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. neither endorses nor makes any representation or guarantee as to the quality of goods and services advertised in Wood Bioenergy. Copyright ® 2016. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. Printed in USA.

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■ from the editors

Wood Bio Summary

Nothing To Waste M

ost of you probably read some of the report in our June issue on the Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo held in Atlanta back in early April. That article mostly delved into the presentations of the eight keynoters. But given the amount of information that spewed forth from the dozens of technical presentations during the conference, we felt we would be negligent if we didn’t offer another report with some detail on those presentations. And so that’s what we’ve done on pages 18-27 of this issue. One of our leading editors, Dan Shell, volunteered for the task of plowing through and digesting the hundreds and hundreds of powerpoint slides from these presentations and putting together about a 2,800 word report. Perhaps because they don’t know how to go about it, some conferences do a poor job of passing onto the industry at large the latest revelations from their own conference. This is rather like shooting yourself in the foot. They spend countless months putting together the presenters and the agenda, and then when it’s over they put it all on a conference proceedings site online, accessible only by those who attended the conference. We do the same thing with our Wood Bioenergy Conference, but let’s face it, people don’t have a lot of time to churn through dozens and dozens of powerpoint presentations and interpret what the graphics are trying to reveal. So we take it another step, and pull together a summary report of these presentations for our entire domestic and international readership. There’s nothing like being at the conference in person, but at least somebody might “glean a few nuggets” by reading the article in this issue. We have an advantage in being able to do this because Wood Bioenergy magazine is the media host and one of the organizers of the event. As the ones who solicit the speakers and presentations, we are always amazed when it’s all over by how

much technical information was delivered over the course of a very short time. While the conference is going on, obviously we have to get caught up in the logistics of the thing—making sure the audio-visual system works properly; that the upcoming speakers have been spotted; that there are enough seats in the room; that our introductory remarks are ready; bouncing from meeting room to meeting room. So we don’t really get to appreciate what was exchanged during the conference until we’re involved in preparing the proceedings afterward. And then we find ourselves saying over and over, “Wow, this is really good stuff.” It’s that concern of losing this “good stuff” to the whims of cyberspace that prompts us to pound it home in print the old-fashioned way. Dan’s article reviews the presentations on dust control and safety, fire prevention, material handling, drying efficiencies, modernized operational performance, project planning and air emissions control. It’ll only take you 15 minutes to read, and when you’re done you’ll be as informed, if not more so, than the next person.

Wood Bioenergy / August 2016

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■ in the news Third Portland TP&EE Gears Up Organizers of the third Timber Processing & Energy Expo (TP&EE) announce that attendee registration on-line is open. TP&EE will be held September 28-30 at the Portland Exposition Center in Portland, Ore. It is hosted by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc., which publishes Wood Bioenergy, Timber Processing and Panel World magazines, and caters to primary producers of lumber, plywood and engineered wood products.

The 2014 event attracted 1,700 industry producer personnel, representing 140 wood products companies and hundreds of lumber, veneer/plywood and engineered wood products mill operations. The event also attracts an international audience, with 22 countries represented in 2014. In addition, 1,000 exhibitor personnel were on hand. Registration options remain the same as they were in 2014, meaning the event is free for those who register on-line. Registration at the show will be $20. The other on-line options include registration along with a beer & brat ticket for $15. The event is moving into Hall E, which is a third larger than Hall D, where the event was held in 2014 on the Expo Grounds. The additional space has allowed the show to increase the size of its Beer Garden to allow for more seated area. Also, the event has added German and Italian pavilions featuring machinery manufacturers from those countries. Nearly 190 exhibitors have purchased all of the available space, 56,000 sq. ft., inside Hall E. Show organizers have added a tent with booth space to be placed in front of Hall E to relieve a growing waiting list. “That’s about all we could do

this time,” comments Show Director Rich Donnell. “Maybe next time we’ll add a second hall. For now though we’ve turned our attention to attendee registration.” To register, visit: www.timberprocessingandenergyexpo.com.

GREC Ordered To Pay Biomass Supplier Florida’s Gainesville Renewable Energy Center (GREC) must pay $4.6 million to raw materials supplier Wood Resource Recovery, according to a judge’s ruling in a breach of contract case between GREC, which is managing and operating the 100 MW biomass power plant that started up near Gainesville in 2013, and its top biomass supplier. The disagreement began in early 2015, when GREC said it would no longer accept yard waste at the biomass plant—despite the contract allegedly saying it was allowable. Wood Resource Recovery filed suit in April 2015, claiming GREC was in violation of the contract. Later GREC counter-sued, claiming the yard waste wasn’t meeting quality standards. During court action, GREC claimed the yard waste delivered had too many plastic bags in it, while Wood Resource Recovery attorneys argued GREC had used the raw material contract as basis for a major loan, then tried to get out of the contract once the loan was obtained. The judge said GREC had violated the contract by prohibiting Wood Resource Recovery from delivering yard waste to the biomass plant even though the contract said it was permissible.

Peel Ports Dispatches To Drax Power Seven months after opening phase 1 of its biomass terminal, Peel Ports has dispatched more than 400 freight services from the railheads at the Port of Liverpool to Drax power station in North Yorkshire, UK.

The Drax site is both the single largest carbon saving project in Europe and the UK’s biggest single generator of renewable electricity. It produces almost 2,000 MW of renewable power—enough for 3 million homes and around 12% of UK renewable generation. The power station is supplied with sustainable biomass shipped directly by rail from the terminal, with each service carrying around 1700 tonnes of compressed wood pellets manufactured and imported from North America. The terminal has created nearly 50 extra permanent jobs at the Port of Liverpool. In addition to the trans-Pennine rail links used for the Liverpool to Drax flows, the port’s proximity of 25 miles to the West Coast Main Line provides efficient access and journey times to markets in Scotland, the Midlands and the Southeast. For intermodal traffic, the port has W10 gauge clearance capability, allowing 9 ft. 6 in. containers to be conveyed on standard deck height rail wagons. In addition, available train path capacity to the port is currently amongst the highest of all major ports within the UK.

Enviva Links With Lynemouth Enviva Partners, LP announced the execution of a new take-or-pay off-take contract to supply wood pellets to Lynemouth Power Ltd., a subsidiary of Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH). Lynemouth Power plans to convert its 420 MW coal facility in the UK to wood pellet fuel by the end of 2017. Deliveries under this contract are expected to commence in the third quarter of 2017, ramp to full supply of 800,000 metric tons per year in 2018, and continue through the first quarter of 2027. This transaction significantly extends the weighted average remaining term of the Partnership’s off-take contracts to 8 years as of June 1. “Our strategy is to fully contract our production capacity, and this

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■ in the news

contract provides additional length and diversification to our sales book,” says John Keppler, Chairman and CEO. “We are proud that a world-class energy group like EPH selected Enviva to supply more than half of the wood pellets required annually by its Lynemouth facility, further reinforcing our position as a preferred supplier to toptier biomass projects.”

Lahti CHP Plant Receives EIB Loan The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a new loan agreement for a combined-heat-andpower plant (CHP) in Lahti, Finland. The EUR 75 million loan was signed with regional energy utility company Lahti Energia in central Finland for the deployment of a biomass-fired CHP plant. The new facility is set to replace an old coal-fired power plant by 2019 and

will run on certified 100% renewable fuel. Features such as the recovery of condensation from the fuel and the recycling of ashes back into the forest as fertilizer will significantly reduce harmful emissions.

ForesTree Provides Online Services Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc., North America’s leading publisher of forest industry trade publications, in partnership with Southern Loggin’ Times, which is a sister publication to Wood Bioenergy, has launched ForesTree Equipment Trader (FET), a first-of-its-kind online service dedicated exclusively to pre-owned forestry equipment, components, parts and related services.

ForesTree Equipment Trader is a new, easy to use marketplace that connects buyers and sellers of used forestry machines, attachments, components, and parts; it connects allied service providers with potential customers; and it connects employers with potential employees. FET is an affordable, effective service for individuals and forestry equipment dealers. It offers several Membership Levels, with options and features that include multiple listings, multiple photos per listing, full product descriptions, videos, company branding, website embed codes, and much more. An extensive variety of search criteria is available on ForesTree Equipment Trader, including year, make, model, condition, location, radius and more. Other features of the FET website include: contacting sellers and leaving comments on listings, a seller rating and review system, and an

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in the news ■

Equipment Wanted List for buyers. “We’re excited about launching ForesTree Equipment Trader and what it brings to logging equipment owners and dealers,” says DK Knight, Hatton-Brown Publishers’ Co-Publisher. “FET is a fitting outgrowth of Southern Loggin’ Times, which for years has carried the largest used logging equipment classified section of any North American logging magazine. We expect FET to become even more popular than the magazine.” ForesTree Equipment Trader can be found at www.ForesTreeTrader.com.

and lake area near Raleigh, NC. The lake and wetlands on the property help filter water flowing into the Neuse River, the drinking water source for the town of Clayton and Johnston County. l Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation ($175,000),

to assist with acquisition of 385 acres of hardwood bottomland, cypress-tupelo swamps and 2.6 miles of frontage along the State Scenic Nottoway River in Southampton County, Va. Conserving this land will provide water quality enhancement and

Enviva Awards New Fund Grants The Enviva Forest Conservation Fund, a $5 million, 10-year program designed to protect tens of thousands of acres of bottomland forests in northeast North Carolina and southeast Virginia, announced the recipients of its 2016 grants. The Enviva Forest Conservation Fund, established by Enviva Holdings, LP, and administered by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, is awarding $500,000 in 2016 to preservation and conservation programs that span more than 2,000 acres of environmentally sensitive bottomland and wetland forests in North Carolina and Virginia. The 2016 Enviva Forest Conservation Fund matching-fund grant recipients are: l The Nature Conservancy North Carolina Chapter ($195,000), to assist with acquisition of 1,294 acres of forested wetland in the floodplain of the Roanoke River, Washington County, NC. The property will be protected as part of The Nature Conservancy’s Roanoke River Preserve and includes extensive stands of cypress-tupelo and Atlantic white cedar forests. l The Triangle Land Conservancy ($100,000), to help finance purchase of a permanent conservation easement on 127 acres of bottomland hardwood forest, uplands,

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■ in the news

flood storage capacity, and support a myriad of threatened and endangered flora and fauna. l The Nature Conservancy Virginia Chapter ($30,000), to finance a conservation easement donation of a 408 acre floodplain tract along the Meherrin River, Southampton County, Va.. This project blends working forest uses with limited harvest designations to maintain health and condition of floodplain forest communities.

centives, research and pilot projects under way, supply chain challenges, environmental impacts and benefits, and market development opportunities for using wood as an energy source or bioproduct in the Appalachian Region. Contact Conference Chair Helene Cser, 919-513-2579; email: hecser@ncsu.edu.

Wood Energy Events Set For Asheville

Bandit Industries has hired John Mocny to serve as the company’s chief executive officer. Mocny joined the Bandit team in February 2016, bringing decades of engineering and management experience from previous leadership roles with General Motors and Caterpillar. Mocny holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engi-

The Appalachian Wood Energy Innovations conference will be held on August 24-26 at the Crowne Plaza Resort in Asheville, NC. Participants attending this event will hear from industry, federal agency and university experts on woody biomass policies and in-

Bandit Names Mocny As New CEO

neering from Michigan State University, and a Master of Engineering Science and Management degree from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. Bandit owners Mike Morey Sr., Dianne Morey and Jerry Morey remain involved with the operations and management of the company. Jerry Morey continues to serve as president of Bandit Industries. “We decided to bring in a CEO to take better advantage of the opportunities before us, and to help take Bandit to another level,” Jerry Morey says. “It was important for us to find someone with exceptional leadership experience, but also someone who understands the manufacturing side and can relate to our customers. John is also a Michigan native, and he shares the pride we have in our community and our state. He’s a down-toearth leader.”

Wood Bioenergy / August 2016

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■ pellet producer

The Maine

Learning Curve By Jessica Johnson CORINTH, Me. arry Carrier and Ralph Pearl are not strangers to the wood business in central Maine. Carrier, a member of the well-known Maine forest products family behind the E.J. Carrier Co., and Pearl, a former pine sawmill manager, are the brains behind the re-boot of formerly flailing Corinth Pellets. Pearl is quick to say getting the plant running, after an $8 million equipment investment, hasn’t been easy— especially when the company is also rebuilding its brand. Yet that is exactly what Carrier and Pearl have done with Corinth in less than two years. Pearl estimates that depending on the day and the product mix, the facility runs at a rate of 50,000 bagged tons per year—something he is incredibly proud of, considering a whole new crew was brought in to run what is essentially a whole new plant.

Corinth Pellets went into shutdown this spring after battling lower than expected sales. “Just when we were getting to where we felt good about ourselves, the sails went out from under us,” Pearl says, adding that the plant will restart soon. “It’s symptomatic of this industry,” Pearl saysadds, and not a comment on Corinth’s quality or manufacturing process. Instead, Maine battled a warmer than expected winter and an overflow of supply, without too much demand. At a time when Corinth was ramping up capacity, so Ralph Pearl, Plant Manager were other facilities in the area. Pearl shrugs when he adds low oil prices to the list of things that didn’t help the over supply and low demand situation. “Heating degree days were way off, that was also a big factor. Everyone was geared up for the winter before, buying pellets early, and then barns were full,” he says. Pearl estimates the plant will restart soon, if it continues to only focus on New England home heating. However, Carrier is exploring all kinds of options and markets.

Major Investments

Currently Corinth Pellets services the consumer market, but owner Larry Carrier is considering a move to bulk pellets for export.

One of the biggest things that Carrier did, once he completed the purchase of the facility, was overhaul it, starting with the dumpers going to the pelletizers. Last year, Corinth installed new truck scales and dumpers provided by Airoflex as well as some concrete for smooth paving in the wood yard. The rechipping system was also replaced; along with a new feed bin and whole new conveying system. The two existing dryers were re-

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pellet producer ■

The facility is located in the heart of Corinth, Me.

Corinth processes whole tree chips to 3/8 in.

placed with a single larger rotary dryer to help cut down intentional. “They have more dryer than needed. The on power usage. To continue with being conscious of intent was to build a 90,000 ton per year finished pellet the plant’s power usage, a new energy system was inplant, and the plant is currently running at 50,000 tons stalled. A new bag house was completed to handle hamper year.” mermill emissions. A dust collection system was inWith the cost of power in Maine, Corinth was destalled to eliminate the need to pump dust out of the signed to conserve as much as possible, which led to pellet mill building and back into the wood yard. the upgrade from two dryers to one, as well as a custom New metering bins, new feed system and one new designed air recycling system, which conserves the heat Andritz pelletizer with a rebuild of three existing Anthat leaves the dryer. The plant’s burner system operates dritz pelletizers helped Corinth raise pellet quality to a on wet fuel waste wood primarily, producing 45 million level Pearl and Carrier were thrilled overby. BTU per hour of thermal energy from roughly five tons Since the completion of the major investment, per hour of fuel. Corinth is currently in the middle of another round of The PDI dryer is a 14x60 rotary drum dryer. Material improvements: rebuilding a pellet cooler and adding a is conveyed in at roughly a 45% moisture content, is bulk system to be able to diversify its product mix from dried down to 10% moisture and conveyed out at a rate strictly bagged pellets to both bagged and bulk pellets. of about 12-15 tons per hour. The system incorporates One of the biggest challenges Pearl saw as the facility an air-recycling cyclone, which recirculates hot air from went on-line post investment was the capacity at the the dryer outlet back through the inlet, making the coolers. “We were running the coolers fine at 20,000 ton process energy efficient and economical. per a year. But at 300 ton per day? It’s a bottleneck. And Corinth’s investments weren’t just focused on energy if you can’t keep your pellets cool, you can’t bag warm efficiency, but also safety. As such, a new GreCon fire pellets,” Pearl adds. The new cooler, protection system was installed. Pearl being built by Pearl and his team, with comments, “The thing to keep in mind support from the Carrier family-owned is it’s a protection system not a prevennearby hardwood sawmill Kennebec tion system. You’re fixing the symptom Lumber Co., will be able to handle just not the cause.” shy of twice its current capacity. The majority of engineering support, Facility Flow as well as the OEM for the new dryer was provided by Player Design Inc. As The manufacturing facility is in the part of the new energy system, PDI heart of Corinth, Me., so Carrier is very provided a wet fuel burner that can cautious about safeguarding his neighburn both white wood and green bark bors from dust and noise. As part of the input, at a wide variety of input moisnext round of upgrades, a fence is being ture contents. The dryer, in conjunction built around the entire facility. with the burner, can produce up to 20 Corinth takes in both sawdust and tons per hour of dried material for the chips. Roundwood is available in emerpelletizers. Corinth runs the system at a gency situations, but is usually sold to a rate of about 50,000 tons of finished nearby Sappi Paper mill. Corinth is depellets per year—even though dryer casigned to process a whole tree chip pacity is much greater than it’s curwith no specific spec. Instead, material rently operating because of Corinth’s is rechipped to a usable 3/8 in. Pearl pelletizer capacity. Tyler Player, Princi- Upgrades to the green end–part of a says, “It works for us.” pal with PDI, says the overbuild was Corinth focuses on two products, a recent $8 million investment.

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■ pellet producer

100% softwood pellet and a mixed pelAll dry material is conveyed to dry let. The mixed pellet is about 80% softsilo where it is metered before feeding wood, 20% hard—spruce, fir and some the Andritz pelletizers as needed. Pelpine. In order to get the proper mix, lets are then cooled and bagged. chips and dust are put in a hopper and are mixed on the feed chain, as it is Maintenance, Safety conveyed up to the new dryer. From the hoppers, material is dried The facility runs 24/7, so another big in the new PDI rotary dryer before challenge Pearl has faced has been findtraveling through a reverse auger. The ing time for maintenance. Corinth went auger was a safety design element, deon-line after the machinery installs in signed to reflow material out of the January of last year. Pearl said it’s been confined space in the event of an emer- Corinth produces 50,000 bagged hectic. However, Carrier has been exgency back to the open air wood yard. tons of pellets per year. tremely supportive. “I’ve never worked From the auger, fines are spun out in for anyone like him,” Pearl explains. “If a confined space area through screens provided by we need it, and we’re running, he’ll say, ‘don’t bother BM&M, in order to preserve the integrity of the Bliss me with it, get it.’ He’s all about the finished product.” hammermills. Pearl estimates that about 25-30% of The hardest part Pearl feels about the facility is how product is spun out and does not go through the hamhe As for maintainings something that runs 24/7, Pearl mermills. A dust collector accepts material not adds, “You have to have key people in key places at key processed by the hammermills. times,” he says. Sometimes that didn’t always happen, Pearl notes that fugitive dust was a concern because he says honestly. of the close proximity to neighbors and homes. In addiThe burners are cleaned twice a week, which creates tion to the dust collector, a dirt wall acts as a fence to a four-hour window for the maintenance team to try to help control noise and dust that might be missed from schedule priority items that focus on safety and quality. the dust collection system. “Safety first, then we go from there,” Pearl says of his

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pellet producer ■

eight-hour per week windows. four-12 rotation. Bagging sees the most maintePearl focuses heavily on the safety of nance—also the one piece of the plant his crew. Pearl, or one of the facility’s that wasn’t touched as part of the upfour leaders, does conducts weekly hot grade, Pearl notes. It’s also the next big topic meetings. A Safety Director, area of capital investment attention. shared with other Carrier owned lum“We can’t always be messing with the ber mills, comes in monthly to make a bagger,” he says. “With the silos we presentation. have now, we only have an hour and a Each member of the crew must be in half, maybe two hours before we have PPE at all times and participate in lock to shut down…that’s not a big winout, tag out. dow.” “We’re new in the pellet business The maintenance staff is a lean team Corinth has four Andritz pelletizers. and hindsight is always 20/20,” Pearl of two. Pearl is actively looking for a says. He points to the huge learning fabricator to join the team. curve and what he would have done had he known The previous ownership of Corinth did not pay mind more about not only the future, but the pellet business to what they should have, Pearl says, and the facility in general, adding, “Anyone that says making pellets is suffered. Because of that, many members of the crew easy is blowing smoke. It’s not easy. All the stars have didn’t find themselves fitting in with the environment to line up. It’s a 24/7 fight, but we’re in it.” Carrier and Pearl implemented. He feels that Corinth has installed state-of-the-art “There was a big crew change,” Pearl says, “The equipment and it’s just become a matter of learning people that are here now are here for the right reasons; how to operate it to the best of its ability, saying they want to do their jobs. They want to make a good “There’s always something that will be, ‘wow, I can’t pellet and they want to see Corinth Pellets LLC sucbelieve I didn’t see that a month ago.’ If I don’t learn ceed. That’s what we’ve been working towards; getting something every day I’m not getting out of my office that kind of crew.” Six workers work per shift, on a enough.”

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â&#x2013; conference recap

Technology, Regs Highlight

Wood Bio Sessions

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Smart engineering concerns, new dryer flight designs and control systems highlighted drying session.

ATLANTA, Ga. ontinuing the coverage of more than 30 technical presentations from the Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo this spring, here are some of the top presentations covered in detail.

Dust Safety One of the most attended and awaited sessions was “Dust Control & Safety,” which covered a variety of dust issues, from control systems to new regulations. Jordan Newton, Vice President of Innovation & Engineering for SonicAire, noted that in the U.S. from 1980-2005, there were 281 combustible dust incidents that resulted in 718 injuries and 119 deaths. From 2008-2012 there were another 50 incidents, and in some cases owners have been found criminally liable, he said. Newton detailed the former NFPA wood dust standard, which broadly stated that dust should not be allowed to accumulated more than 1/32 in. deep over 5% of any given 1,000 sq. ft. area in a manufacturing facility. The new wood dust management rule, NFPA 652, sets minimum general requirements for all plant operators when managing hazards posed by combustible dust and directs users to more specific requirements depending on industry and material types. From there, NFPA 652 points to several separate rules for different industries, including the new “NFPA 664 Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Explosions in Wood Processing and Woodworking Facilities,” a more detailed rule for wood bioenergy and forest industry facilities. According to Newton, the new NFPA 652 standard focuses on hazard awareness, identification, management, mitigation and prevention. Overall the biggest impact from NFPA 652 is the requirement for all companies that “generate, process, handle or store” combustible dust to complete a Dust Hazard Analysis (DHA), Newton said. The DHAs are required to be in place by August 2018. Developing a

DHA means going through five steps: l Identify all processes associated with combustible dust. List process lines and identify all pieces of equipment that produce or handle dust. l Identify locations where dust can accumulate: inspect areas where dust exists, identify amount of accumulation. Pay particular attention to overhead structures such as pipes, joists, beams and ductwork and drop ceilings. In addition, determine where dust may be released during abnormal operating conditions. l Determine ignition sources. l Quantify wood dust risks by evaluating each area and piece of equipment and determining the severity of risk with each. Remediation methods must be identified for risks. l Examine and evaluate current safety measures. Noting that preventing the accumulation of dust as an engineered plant solution is a better way of reducing dust risk, Newton said managing dust through periodic sweeping, air-blowing and other manual labor activities isn’t as efficient or thorough as an engineered solution such as SonicAire’s BarrierAire system that keeps dust from accumulating on overhead structures. Detailing key engineering questions that plant operators should be aware of when adding or upgrading a dust control system, Kice Industries Southeast Regional Sales Manager Ben Kice covered fundamental differences in baghouse and cyclone dust collection systems. In comparing baghouses to cyclones, Kice noted that baghouse systems have high efficiencies, typically greater than 99.5%, while cyclone efficiency is highly dependent on application. Meanwhile, cyclones have minimal maintenance requirements, while baghouses have moderate maintenance issues, depending on proper design/sizing for the application. As for costs, baghouse systems cost up to three times as much as comparable cyclones. “Fugitive dust can result in a wide range of issues in all facilities,” Kice said. “Effective dust control systems require careful design, so work with a reputable system designer to ensure you are installing a safe and cost-ef-

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Dust safety session: Plants must complete Dust Hazard Analysis by 2018.

fective solution.” During the wood dust session, Mikael Jidenius, Area Sales Manager, North America for Firefly AB, noted that while major dust explosion or fire events get the big headlines, “The high frequency of smaller incidents is even more costly to the industry when adding up the loss of production.” Jidenius pointed out ignition sources outside plant process areas include hot surfaces, overheated lamps, electrical faults and truck/front-end loader operations. “Many of these can be eliminated by good procedures and maintenance,” he said. Ignition sources inside plant process areas include mechanical friction, overheated/blackened material, machinery breakdowns and metal-to-metal sparks, Jidenius said, adding, “Many of these can be detected early with a certified dark particle/spark detection system.” He also cited research that shows detecting only sparks is less effective than previously thought. “You need to detect both sparks and dark/hot particles in your process to minimize fires and dust explosions,” Jidenius said. During a presentation on fire protection systems, Jeff Nichols, Managing Partner for Industrial Fire Prevention, noted that in a re-

cent study of 166 combustible dust explosions, the most common ignition source was friction (50 incidents), followed by spark (38 incidents). He reported that common risk factors include combustible dust hazards not recognized, leading to dangerous dust accumulations Nichols added that a key to process safety management is to identify combustible dust hazards and ignition hazards and evaluate equipment for potential to contribute to combustible dust incidents. Inherently safer designs include segregating risk areas by installing explosion resistant barriers and diverters between combustible processes, separating combustible processes by increasing the distance between them, and isolating combustible processes in special areas, separate buildings or outside. Nichols said a requirement of the new NFPA 664 standard for fire and explosion prevention is that any ducts with fire hazard must be equipped with either a listed spark detection and extinguishing system; a listed spark detection system actuating a high speed abort gate; or be feeding to a location with minimal personnel or public exposure, subject to a risk analysis. Nichols added that NFPA 664 specifies, “The spark extinguishing

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system should activate every time a single spark is detected.”

Drying, Handling During the session on drying and material handling technology, Dane Floyd, President of Biomass Engineering & Equipment (BE&E), noted the importance of smart planning and engineering in material handling systems that are critical to production and uptime. Floyd cited four cases: conveyor failures at a major energy plant; a poorly designed floor reclaim system that’s holding a plant to 70% of its capacity; a plant with severe raw material handling and loss issues due to leakage; and a large pellet plant that went through multi-million dollar upgrades and extended startup due to poorly designed and applied conveyors and material handling systems. Floyd says the BE&E team keeps finding similar issues: using the wrong conveyor for the wrong application, using screws to travel long distances, using a belt on too steep an incline and no screening to protect conveyors. No reliability or redundancy built into critical processes is another problem Floyd sees in some material handling designs. “This is where folks say ‘It happens,’” he said. Other recurring design problems include insufficient surge and feed between operations and resulting overloaded conveyors due to surge issues. “We see a lot of dust leakage,” he added. “Mills buy it then they give it back by wind and rain.” Many operators also make the mistake of basing purchasing decisions largely on initial cost instead of longterm performance and efficiency and maintenance concerns. “There is no single company in the world that builds the very best of every single item needed for an energy or pellet plant,” Floyd said. “We’re seeing very good competency in hammermills, pellet mills, air handling, bagging and material handling, etc., and it’s smart to procure the best in each area to ensure success.” Floyd noted that another way of being smart during design and engineering is building in flexibility when receiving and handling raw material. “You planned for 100% dry dust but now have to buy some green. Can your conveyors deal with green material densities? Can they be easily extended and upgraded with larger drives?” Also, prepare for raw material surprises, Floyd said. “There is no such thing as ‘clean wood’ being dumped at your truck dump. Expect the unexpected and screen everything.” Another smart material handling move is to build in redundancy and surge. “Everything breaks—everything—and you have to run through the repair time,” Floyd said. “For example, do you have enough surge capacity to change a hammermill screen without stopping machinery downstream?” Floyd showed that BE&E’s Smart conveyors, floors and container bins incorporate designs and engineering

Efficient material handling is key to plant success.

to resolve material handling issues he covered during his presentation. The owner of Player Design, Tyler Player, revealed new dryer flight designs that promote drying efficiency: A new flight design on the dryer tube interior is providing proper drying gradients, Player said. Under the new design, “As hot air and material move past a third of the drum distance, heating drops off dramatically, allowing fine materials to exit and wet materials to finish drying,” he explained. Player cited a test case of a 100% hardwood system in the Southern U.S. that saw dryer capacity increased 35% and emissions reduced by 28%. In offering a solution to moisture content issues with wood pellet raw material furnish, John Robinson of Drying Technology Inc. noted that traditional MC sensing and control—especially using exhaust temperature—is flawed because a new set point cannot be calculated when the evaporative load changes, he said. Noting that biomass MC going to pelletizers varies widely, “Lag time will be extremely large,” Robinson said. The Delta T model provided by Drying Technology supplies an inside-the-dryer moisture soft sensor and evaporative load soft sensor. The system offers continuous calculation of the setpoint needed to maintain target MC, he explained. Robinson added that with the Delta T system, extremely dry and wet portions of production are reduced

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100% and operator input is reduced significantly. “This gives you a greater assurance of meeting specifications,” Robinson said.

Projects, Operations During the “Projects & Operations” session, Bijan Shams, President of Cogent Industrial Technologies, explored emerging technology trends for improving operational performance. He noted that safety, reliability and operability are the three key factors affecting operational performance, and all are interrelated: Lack of system reliability and lack of operators’ situational awareness affect process safety; poor operating conditions affect equipment reliability; and unchecked process disturbances diminish equipment reliability and safety. Shams detailed current technology trends, from social media and mobile devices to real-time connectivity and IT/OT convergence. Harnessing these technologies and trends make it easier to develop an integrated management approach with increased operational visibility, improved decision support and reduced downtime through real-time monitoring. These new technologies enable the creation of collaboration hubs that manage operational risks while tak-

ing advantage of centralized knowledge management that has fast access to a wide variety of performance information. According to Shams, among the many benefits of developing such modern operational systems include increasing productivity and safety while improving situational awareness. Operational systems also foster more effective issue resolution while helping drive continuous improvement and process benchmarking, he said. Emphasizing the importance of smart engineering and creating value through planning for a successful plant project, Mid-South Engineering Vice President Jeff Stephens started off with quotes touting the value of planning from historical figures as varied as Ben Franklin, George Patton and even Jesus before defining a project: “a modification to an existing plant process that will impact its economic viability.” Stephens noted every project consists of three parts: performance (scope), cost (budget) and time (schedule). “Note that each part affects the other two and good ‘performance’ on all three are required for a successful project,” he said. Smart planning early in a project means beginning with the end in mind, and developing feasible designs early in the project’s life cycle. “Brainstorm and develop many different layouts/designs and assign each a

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capital cost,” Stephens said. The presentation included characteristics of a “typical” project, which may range from several to tens of millions of dollars. “The typical cost breakdown is about 60% for equipment and 40% for everything else,” Stephens added. Other typical project issues include capital equipment inflation of around 5% to 6% a year, plus inflation rates for labor and materials of around 2.5% a year. “This is a significant economic cost that must be weighed against other risks,” Stephens said. Ways to reduce costs during preliminary design phases include utilizing existing structures when possible, working with a smaller equipment Emissions session covered design improvements and new and existing technologies. footprint, minimizing detailed engineering changes and when developing a master project schedule, let the project pick the ficiency with a tipper system, Joe Canova of Columbia outage date. “Don’t be limited by the outage,” Stephens Industries covered tipper applications and benefits. said. Canova noted that among the benefits of using a tipCost-saving opportunities during a project include per to receive raw materials are increased tonnage per on-site personnel selection, selecting the contract type trailer vs. self-unloading systems; increased number of and strategy that best suits the project and managing trailers a day; reduced handling when tipping to a hopcontract issuance efficiently to avoid additional costs. per or conveyor; reduced potential for contamination; Stephens advised his audience that on future projects reduced startup, operating and maintenance costs; and they should take time to determine the best contract more flexibility. strategy and develop a realistic project schedule. “EsKey factors when considering whether to add a tiptablish the level of construction management that will ping system, Canova said, are type of facility, its layout be required and staff it with well qualified personnel,” and process flow and tonnage requirements. Trailer Stephens concluded. “Follow your plan and drive the fleet ownership, sizes and different types should also be project with your schedule.” considered. Showing how plant operators can increase overall efWind conditions are another big factor, as are any

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permits required along with potential environmental restrictions, he added.

Emissions Controls The “Air Emissions Control” session detailed the benefits of several technologies. Showing audience members ways to improve RTO operations, Nestec’s Rodney Pennington said many RTO designs have room for improvement in areas such as excessive energy consumption, excessive CO emission with NGI, failed heat exchange media and media support grids and particulate and condensable build-up. Pennington noted that auto thermal alignment systems adjust valve timing based on actual operating conditions and compensate for poor air flow, poor heat distribution and unbalanced mass flow. Plant managers can improve NGI operation with an energy enhancement system that delivers 15%-25% in fuel savings for wood applications. Looking to further improve RTO performance, Pennington said, plant operators can follow strategies such as hotter inlet valve surfaces to minimize or eliminate condensable buildup on the valve, and use forced draft fans vs. induced draft. He also promoted annual inspections and fine-tuning to maintain or improve RTO efficiency. Process Combustion’s Nathan Hess, applications engineer, gave a presentation on “Dual-BioPhase BioOxidation,” called a green, energy-efficient approach to VOC and HAP emissions destruction. The new Dual-BioPhase Technology is an RTO alternative, Hess said. The benefits are many, he added, since the system doesn’t consume natural gas, doesn’t generate nitrous oxide, sulfuric oxide or carbon monoxide and operates at ambient temperatures and low pressures. Also, the system generates roughly 90% less CO2 than thermal systems, Hess said. In biological oxidation, contaminants transfer from air phase to biofilm, where they are biodegraded

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by micro-organisms. Essentially, combining pollutants, bacteria, oxygen and nutrients results in carbon dioxide, water and more bacteria. According to Hess, the biofilm is the primary element involved in destruction of contaminants, and as biofilm continually grows it sloughs itself off to maintain microbial colony health. One big difference the new technology has is the use of synthetic media compared to the natural bioactive media used in older designs. In a dual bed configuration, PCCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s engineered synthetic media features high surface area, structured design and large mean free passage diameter with good mass transfer characteristics that promotes a consistent biofilm platform. Among the benefits the dual biophase technology offers compared to traditional biofilters, Hess said, is a footprint six to eight times smaller, no media replacement required, a

metered nutrient delivery system and stable pressure. Noting the simplicity and efficiency of cyclones, Mike Clark, regional sales manager with FisherKlosterman, said that cyclones are often the most economical form of gas/particle separation and are simple to maintain with no moving parts. Additional benefits include performance under severe conditions and no product contamination. Clark reported the data required for optimal cyclone design and application includes mechanical factors such as temperature, pressure, corrosion allowance, MOC and more. Process factors include gas flow and temperature and pressure, gas density, viscosity, particle specific gravity and particle loading. Fisher-Klosterman performs a sieve analysis that includes aerodynamic particle size analysis to develop the best cyclone arrangement and capacity, Clark added.

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Making It Big

With Small Chips

By Jessica Johnson PANAMA CITY, Fla. ’m not a logger, Bill Register says with conviction. “I’ve never been a logger—I was in the construction business,” he explains. But when Green Circle Bio Energy came looking around his part of northern Florida and southern Georgia six years ago for some microchipping operators, he was one of the first ones to jump on board. “I thought I could make some money at it,” says the owner of Register’s Enterprises. When Register found his construction business feeling the pinch of the downturn, it seemed like the proposition from Green Circle was a match made in Heaven—and it was. As part of his established construction business, Register does a lot of right-of-way clearing work for highways. Before the microchipping operation, he was just burning that wood. Now, he’s able to microchip it and market it to Green Circle (recently acquired by Enviva Pellets Cottondale, LLC). By having this market for what used to be trash, Register is able to be more profitable on the construction side, which in turn makes his bids more competitive. Word spread fast that Register was becoming successful operating a microchipping crew. He says that many logging companies were coming to him asking if he could chip their logging residuals. Most times he had to turn them down: “They get dirt in it and it’s no good to us. It’s not enough volume,” he says. “We need the same volume a regular logger needs, because we do look at the wood, we move quickly.” Just how quickly?

Register estimates that one of his chipping crews can clear about 18 loads per day, at a 28-ton load average. Operating one microchipping crew, one fuelwood crew and an excavating crew with a tub grinder was a big change, he says. “We learn stuff every day. We don’t know everything by any means. Hopefully we will have it figured out in the next five or 10 years, maybe,” he says. His current setup works well for him, however. Currently, his crew is on a contract with timber broker Panhandle Forestry, as one of multiple crews working a 60,000-acre tract of timber owned by timberlands titan Holland Ware. In certain areas, Ware’s company wanted a clean slate, so Register has been working the area for two years—chipping everything—to prepare it for replanting and bedding. “We hope to spend next Christmas here, too,” Register says about the deal. “I hate that is going to run out at some point, and we will be back to what we were doing—much smaller tracts and moving every two weeks or so.” Every load of microchips goes to Enviva’s Cottondale wood pellet facility, whether it comes from the Panhandle contract or not.

Machinery Register’s crew uses a Peterson 4300B, purchased in 2013. When he first got into microchipping, Register says he purchased a Peterson 4300 because it was the only machine on the market that could cut wood as small as he needed to cut it. Now, multiple manufacturers offer a microchipper, but Register stuck with Peterson—even though he had problems with his first chipper. “They got

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chipping story ■

Left to right, Mike Helms, estimator for Register’s Enterprises; Bill Register; and Doug Loy of Panhandle Forestry

way ahead of their engineering and had some problems,” he says. With the money from the first chipper sale, he purchased the 4300B. He believes with this chipper he is able to make a more consistent product. One of his chipping crews is solely focused on making fuelwood for a WestRock paper mill, with a handful of loads also going to Enviva’s Cottondale facility. Register uses a Bandit 3590 chipper on this job. Register makes use of contract truckers for both products, who use trailers he owns—a mix of ITI, Peerless and Pitts. Forestry equipment is all John Deere: two new 643L cutters, three 648H skidders and two 210G excavators. Beard Equipment provides dealer support. For Peterson dealer support, Register leans on Thompson Tractor Co. Equipment is serviced every 500 hours, and everything is oil sampled. The company as a whole employs two full-time mechanics, and one is dedicated to the chipping operations. Machines are greased daily by operators as part of a checklist. The checklist covers everything that needs to be done on a daily and weekly basis by operators. Register has found this method helps cut down on confusion of when machines were serviced and when they need to be serviced. Register holds machine maintenance in high regard, and holds his crew accountable for keeping the machines in top condition. That can take a lot of effort, but it pays off, he believes, in consistently high chip quality. He explains, “Even if it was brand new, you could probably run it for a week or two; but if you don’t keep it adjusted, it isn’t going to make the proper product.”

Knives Register believes that knife maintenance is one of the most important aspects of the chipping operation. Normally, the crew will get 40 loads out of a set of knives, unless rain rolls in and dirt sticks to the wood. The microchipper runs a two-sided knife. These twosided knives are disposable, but with cutting capacity on both sides. Register gets more life out of the knives,

It’s all about small chips quality for Register.

which justifies the extra cost. The two-sided knife is also lighter, and it takes crew foreman and chipper operator Charles Waldron only about 15 minutes to change the entire set. Waldron sharpens the knives every eight loads. For Register, cost and safety were the driving factors in switching to a double-sided knife. The Peterson 4300B has 12 knife pockets in it, and with a conventional knife weighing anywhere from 50 lb. to 65 lb., Register wasn’t comfortable with his men regularly handling that much weight. He says, “I was always so afraid a guy would drop one of those big knives. Lugging all those knives up there once a day, it would be tough.” With the two-sided knife, you can easily hold a set of 12 in your hand. “The

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■ chipping story

Chipping crew, left to right, Randy Riley, Huey Henderson, Charles Waldron; not pictured, Michael Pitts

knife is split and it looks like a school ruler,” he adds, “It’s light.”

Chip Quality Peterson chipper knife configuration

When Register first started hauling to Green Circle, 90% of the load had to pass through a ½ in. screen,

with 10% passing a 4 in. screen. That is not the case anymore. Now between 75% and 85% of the loads will pass a ¼ in. screen. Eighty-five percent of the material is the size of an aspirin or smaller. Register says the real challenge when it comes to chip quality is

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keeping the Peterson chipper anvil and belly band set, along with the knives in proper spacing. These concerns aren’t the case with the Bandit chipper used for fuelwood. He explains, “We make anywhere from a ¾ in. to 1.5 in. fuelwood chip, it doesn’t matter—there’s no real spec on it.” A large portion of the Holland Ware tract Register is chipping is sand pine. That particular species of pine gave the crew a lot of trouble last summer, when the wood got so dried up, there was hardly any sap resin. “When it gets hot, the trees get limber. It’s like chipping a water hose, so it’s really hard to stay in chip quality because the machine wants to just drag it in, instead of snapping it off,” he says. In July 2015, Register made a reinvestment in the chipper and rebuilt the bottom end to get it back in spec, after struggling with the sand pine quality. Enviva checks Register’s loads twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, and sends a spec sheet with all the day’s loads. The spec sheet helps Register keep himself in check and uphold his supremely high standard for a ¼ in. or smaller chip. The spec sheet, and high standards by the mill, is something that Register noticed once Enviva purchased Green Circle. He was making a good, small chip before, he says, but Enviva implemented internal processes in place that ensured every load was a small chip. It does cost Register more in the field, but he essentially is sending them a product that requires very little work by their hammermills. “Basically, we’re sending it to them almost prepackaged, ready to go,” he says. There is a lot more paperwork involved now, since the acquisition, but that’s the only thing Register has really noticed—apart from the facility being more cognizant of chip quality. He says, “They’ve been good to us.”

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Turning Rail Ties

Into Electricity

SUPERIOR, Wis. ontinental Biomass Industries (CBI) recently designed and installed an electric stationary system that is customized to grind 600 to 800 tons of railroad ties on a daily basis. Ties 2, based in northern Wisconsin, initially approached CBI about possible system options nearly two years ago and the planning process took off not long afterward. The challenge was to create an electric system that could withstand the tough and gnarly material that hardwood railroad ties often present while producing high amounts of consistent end product. It appears Ties 2 made a worthy investment after reviewing 2016’s early results. Downtime has been minimal and the grinding facility’s crew has shown it isn’t afraid to work extra hours to meet customer demand. Ties 2 was founded in 2013 through a partnership between TiEnergy and Omaha Track. Midwest Companies is the parent company of TiEnergy. The stationary system is the eighth piece of CBI equipment that Midwest Companies has purchased overall. “Those that install railroad ties in the first place want to find the hardest wood possible for the sake of the ties lasting,” says Ties 2 Operations Manager Chris Weides. “Because of that, we come across extremely hard wood that is also littered with metal. And I mean all sorts of different metal—anywhere from six inches wide to metal that is six

feet wide. If you want to throw a metal plate through a CBI, it spits it out the other end.” Much of the system’s success can be attributed to the CBI Grizzly Mill primary grinder. This unit features a 60 in. x 60 in. solid steel rotor that is the largest rotor design ever manufactured by CBI. Before the ties are initially ground, they are loaded onto a Taper Slot Vibratory Screen to remove dirt and debris. “It takes a grinder like the Grizzly Mill to get that primary grind done properly,” Weides says. “CBI produces the only grinder, as far as I know, that can handle railroad ties. CBI is built to do the job because it is the heaviest built grinder that can handle the abuse that railroad ties give it. This system holds up well to the operations that we put it through.” “The Grizzly Mill’s rotor size allows the rotor to carry more energy into the ties,” says CBI Stationary Systems Manager Matt Skinner. “The bigger size gives it a chance to make contact with more hardwood ties for a greater initial grind.” The end product, which looks very similar to the average homeowner’s landscaping mulch, is trucked to two nearby power plants: Minnesota Power in Duluth, Minn. and Excel Energy in Ashland, Wis. Each power plant burns the end product to generate electricity for those living in nearby regions. Weides oversees the entire operation and worked di-

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rectly with CBI engineering and field technician personnel for the final installations. “The way this system is set up allows us to save money on wear and tear,” Weides explains. “The availability to load two trailers at once or to stockpile the end product properly is just unbelievable.” Following the primary grind, the ground ties pass through a magnet tower to ensure all existing metal is removed before moving onto the CBI prescreener. Any material that the screener identifies as oversized is then passed through a CBI Grizzly Mill secondary grinder (48 in. x 72 in. rotor) while material that is not oversized is discharged into a top load trailer. Material that passes through the secondary grinder is disGround material goes to two electricity plants. charged into a second top load trailer. CBI has designed, manufactured, installed and supcan be incorporated to guarantee desired product size. ported its own customized stationary systems for more “Gnarly, tough and fast are the three words I’d use to than 20 years in a variety of applications. Sawmill and describe this system,” Weides says. “Downtime to us paper mills, C&D processing facilities, waste recycling means money is going out the window, so the less downplants and wood biomass production locations such as time we have the easier my life is and the less money we Ties 2 utilize CBI equipment to reach high production vollose. Downtime has been very minimal with this system, umes. Various system components such as slow speed priit’s running great.” mary shredders, screeners, conveyors, picking stations, Article and photos provided by Terex Environmental magnetic separators, water tanks and secondary grinders Equipment.

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■ product news Dustex Purchases Lundberg Associates Dustex, LLC of Kennesaw, Ga. has acquired A.H. Lundberg Associates and formed a new company, Lundberg, LLC, which will take over all operations of the previous company. “The combination of the technologies offered by Dustex and Lundberg creates a full service air pollution control company that can offer solutions to mitigate nearly any emissions control concern,” comments Douglas Giarde, president of Lundberg, LLC.” “The complementary fit between the two companies provides us with both additional scale and ability to expand our offerings into an even wider array of industries and geographies, further enhancing our never-ending goal of pre-

senting the optimal solution for every application,” says Dustex CEO Patrick Paul. Lundberg, LLC operations will continue in Bellevue, Wash. Lundberg includes the GeoEnergy wet ESPs, RTOs and other devices.

CPM Promotes Belt Drying

CPM Wolverine Proctor, as a world leader in conveyor drying, offers a drying solution to meet all your pellet plant needs including customized solutions. With a variety of belt widths, heat sources, configurations and capacities, the

Wolverine Proctor conveyor dryer can be manufactured for any facility worldwide. The dryer housing framework is fabricated from heavy duty structural steel square and rectangular tubing and angle sections to form rigid frames. The housing structure is clad in double skinned panels filled with SR-26 insulation. Panels are welded at the corners so as to be vapor tight from inside the machine. For easy access to the interior for cleaning, side panels are doors that are hung on special latches. Conveyor return is designed for outside the dryer housing and below the conveyor sub floor. The dryer conveyor consists of a polyester web type conveyor belt supported on evenly spaced carry rollers in the main body and return sections with an end take-up and automatic tracking system.

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CPM offers steam or hot water process air heating systems. Alternate heat sources can be evaluated on a per-application basis. The advantages of a belt dryer are many. Since they operate at low temperatures they are ideal for use with residual steam or hot water generated by other plant processes. VOCs are not generated during the conveyor drying process due to low drying temperatures. A rotary picker, located at the center of the dryer, turns the product for increased capacity and uniformity. Visit wolverineproctor.com.

NESTEC Has Solutions For Clean Air NESTEC is a leader in providing air pollution control solutions, focusing primarily on reducing VOC and HAP emissions. Since 1999, it

has engineered more than 1,000 new and aftermarket projects. Carbon monoxide, wood dust particulate, condensable organic aerosols, alkali metal containing ash, water-saturated air streams— these are some of the constituents

Drying Tech Focuses On Moisture Sensing

If you have been diagnosed with a serious health malady, would you want a generalist who uses a cookie-cutter treatment approach? The obvious answer is you would engage the best specialist available. So why leave it up to a cookie-cutter to “string together” the most critical operation in a pellet mill—your moisture sensing and control system. Drying Technology Inc. specializes in developing and installing theoretically-based moisture sensing and control technology. The twicepatented, award-winning Delta T solved the three main problems with moisture sensing and control by supplying the following exclusive solutions: (1) an inside-the-dryer moisture sensor consisting of software and two ordinary temperature sensors that is rugged, reliable, does not drift, and does not require recalibration; (2) a simple, non-problematic, relatively inexpensive evaporative load sensor; and (3) a unique capability for re-calculating the setpoint value needed to maintain the target moisture following changes in biomass mc and or feed rate. Visit moisturecontrols.com.

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found in VOC exhaust streams emitted from wood-products operations. NESTEC engineers have decades of experience treating emissions in wood products plants. NESTEC engineers take a comprehensive approach to evaluating, designing and building completely integrated clean-air solutions, striving to reach maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards for every solution. NESTEC provides single-point responsibility and service/training

for all oxidizer systems, with 24/7 response and cellular online router service. Using the secure Talk2M tunnel, cloud-based servers allow authorized users immediate connection to their oxidizer control panel, as well as remote service assistance and diagnostic support. Getting started is simple: NESTEC will review your plant operation, analyze your control system’s performance, and make recommendations to optimize your efficiency—whether that means upgrading your current protocols, or providing a new system designed for your needs. Visit nestecinc.com.

SUGIMAT Provides Combustion Systems SUGIMAT offers combustion technologies that enable companies to use their production waste

to produce both thermal and electric energy. With plants ranging from 350 kW to 50 MW, SUGIMAT has more than 3,000 references in 27 countries. SUGIMAT heaters can use biomass or non-conventional fuels using various combustion systems such as a cylindrical furnace, combustion chambers with pusher grates, travelling grates, dust-injection systems or fluidized beds. In addition to thermal oil and steam heaters, the company produces installations with hot water

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and overheated water boilers, as well as hot gas generators and auxiliary HTF heaters for solar thermal plants. SUGIMAT also develops heaters for energy cogeneration systems by ORC turbines and other equipment i.e. exchangers, steam generators and exhaust gas cleaning systems. During more than 38 years of experience, SUGIMAT has developed many projects with a variety of types of fuel. The innovative fluidized bed combustion system, suitable for non-conventional types of fuel, is able to burn fuels with ash content up to 50% and moisture content up to 70%. In order to ensure the right performance of the waste as fuel, SUGIMAT has a specialized laboratory where combustion tests can be performed and new technolo-

and Conservation’s office of sustainable practices, which awarded the city a $250,000 grant to help with the building of this plant. PHG Energy, based in Nashville, develops, manufactures and installs industrialgrade downdraft gasification systems. The technology employs a non-burning thermo-chemical process in which waste materials or renewable biomass is cleanly converted to a fuel gas with combustion properties similar to natural gas.

gies can be designed and developed. Visit sugimat.com.

Gassed Up

Evergreen Engineering Expands To Atlanta PHG Energy’s waste-to-energy gasification plant in Lebanon, Tenn. is quickly progressing from concrete foundations to the erection of steel structures. Touring the site are Scott McRae, gasification project manager for the city, and Tom Doherty with the Tennessee Dept. of Environment

Eugene, Ore.-based Evergreen Engineering has opened a branch office in Atlanta, Ga. to pursue opportunities in the Southeastern U.S. The office has begun operations. The Atlanta office will initially consist of 10 employees but is expected to grow substantially.

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Evergreen President Gordon Yutzy comments, “This new office is a natural progression for Evergreen; it represents our ongoing commitment to providing the best possible engineering services to our many clients in the Southeastern region and continuing to develop new relationships in the industries we serve.” Director of Operations Rick Burns adds, “Evergreen is poised to become one of the leading consulting engineering firms in the country. The Atlanta office will provide both our existing and future clients with a depth of experience coupled with a convenient Southeastern location.” The address of the new office is: Evergreen Engineering, Inc., 8607 Roberts Drive, Atlanta, GA 30350. Visit evergreenengineering.com.

Rotochopper Names Regional Sales Mgr. Dave Whitelaw has joined the Rotochopper sales team as Regional Sales Manager for Florida,

Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. He brings 20 years of experience in the organics and wood recycling industry, including operations management, sales and consulting.

Progress Offers Remote Log Crane

stationary control room. Progress Industries offers log cranes from 75' to 180' with capacities of 14 tons to 45 tons. These radial cranes travel in a 360° circle, unloading trucks with treelength logs or short logs. The logs are then stacked in a circle for storage or fed for processing. Storage capacities can reach up to 20,000 cords of 60' treelength. Visit progressindustries.com.

With the option of a remote style log crane, an operator can be in a separate control room away from the log crane. This allows one operator to control the infeed deck system and still operate the log crane, too. In many cases where an operator is not comfortable traveling on the crane, this allows him or her to be in a

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