canadian biomass setoctu 2014.pdf

8/11/2019 canadian biomass setoctu 2014.pdf

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CANADIAN

BIOMASS12 Greener fuel for greenhousesA new control system for biomass furnaces leaves greenhouseswith a smaller carbon footprint.

16 United visionThe industry comes together in Quebec to support the move towoody biomass.

19 WPAC show guideCanadian Biomasshas your exclusive guide to the 2014 Wood

Pellet Association of Canadas AGM and Conference.

24 Succinic successBioAmber is building a global bio-succinic industry.

26 Exciting times and challenges aheadFactors that will help or hinder development in the years tocome.

13

9

13 DUST IS OUR BUSINESSWood pellets are designed to burn - theyre made from highlycombustible dust that is pressed into pellet form.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014

8 Biomass update- News

19 WPAC show guide

DEPARTMENTS

Our Cover

6 Editorial- Time to play politics

9 WPAC- The U.K. is committed to pellets

10 CanBio - CanBio/NRCan survey of the bioenergy industry

30 Final thoughts- Making things happen

COLUMNS

Tops, limbs and logs that would otherwise be unwanted get a second life through Quebecs commitment to usingwoody biomass for heat and energy. See the full article on page 16.

High electricity and fossilfuel prices are promptingmore Canadians and beyondto look at biomass.Read the full story on page 26.

2416


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6/326 CanadianBIOMASS

Volume 14 No. 5

Editor- Amie Silverwood(289) [email protected]

Associate Editor -Andrew Macklin(905) [email protected]

Contributors- Staffan Melin, Treena Hein, GordonMurray, Guillaume Roy, Annie Webb, GabrielleBauer, Christopher Rees, Christina Coutu.

Editorial Director/Group Publisher - Scott Jamieson(519) 429-3966 ext [email protected]

Market Production ManagerJose CrevierPh: (514) 425-0025 Fax: (514) [email protected]

National Sales ManagerRoss AndersonPh: (519) 429-5188 Fax: (519) [email protected]

Quebec SalesJose CrevierPh: (514) 425-0025 Fax: (514) [email protected]

Western Sales ManagerTim Shaddick - [email protected]: (604) 264-1158 Fax: (604) 264-1367

Media Designer - Brooke Shaw

Canadian Biomass is published six times a year:February, April, June, August, October, and

December.Published and printed by Annex BusinessMedia.

Printed in CanadaISSN 2290-3097

CirculationCarol Nixonemail: [email protected]. Box 51058Pincourt, QC J7V 9T3

Subscription Rates:Canada - 1 Yr $49.50; 2 Yr $87.50; 3 Yr $118.50Single Copy - $9.00(Canadian prices do not include applicable taxes)

USA 1 Yr $60 US;Foreign 1 Yr $77 US

Occasionally, Canadian Biomass magazinewill mail information on behalf of industry-re-lated groups whose products and services webelieve may be of interest to you. If you prefernot to receive this information, please contactour circulation department in any of the fourways listed above.No part of the editorial content of this publica-tion may be reprinted without the publisherswritten permission 2014 Annex BusinessMedia, All rights reserved. Opinions expressedin this magazine are not necessarily those of theeditor or publisher. No liability is assumed forerrors or omissions.All advertising is subject to the publishers

approval. Such approval does not implyany endorsement of the products or servicesadvertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuseadvertising that does not meet the standards ofthe publication.

www.canadianbiomassmagazine.ca

While looking through my notes

from the International Bioenergy

Conference in Prince George, I

found a quote from Ken Shields, CEO of

CanBio: Whos responsibility is it to hold

the governments feet to

the fire? I also noted thatit will be policy that moves

the bioeconomy forward.

One of the biggest chal-

lenges facing the bioecon-

omy is access to feedstock.

Shields and WPACs execu-

tive director, Gord Murray,

started a heated exchange

on fibre access during that

same session, moderated

by our own Scott Jamie-

son. The same can be saidfor some of Canadas biofuel producers,

who bid on feedstocks from hundreds or

thousands of miles away when local re-

sources just arent available.

But I am not so sure that fibre avail-

ability is still the bioeconomys biggest

hurdle. The focus of our industrial part-

ners from coast to coast has been on

meeting the demands of markets in the

U.S., Europe and Asia. At the same time,

the industry hopes that domestic policy

will change to finally open the doors tosales of notable volumes on home soil.

Perhaps it is time for us to shift our focus.

Our national bioeconomy stakehold-

ers need to work on a united push to

change government policies in Canada

to establish a domestic market. There is

currently no greater area for the industry

to grow than here at home, even when

considering the likely continued growth

of international markets.

That isnt to say that associations

across Canada havent tried to engagemunicipal, provincial and federal govern-

ment officials. Groups like WPAC and the

CRFA, to name just two, have consistently

updated their membership on work be-

ing done in consultation with govern-

ment officials or in meetings with gov-

ernment stakeholders. But it is clear that

the work done to this point

simply hasnt been enoughto launch a domestic bioen-

ergy market.

So how do we progress?

I spoke to CanBio VP

Brent Boyko from OPG Ati-

kokan on this very issue.

We discussed how easy it

is to fall in the trap of just

inviting sitting politicians,

rather than reaching out to

politicians from all parties

when an important confer-ence or meeting takes place. Sure, no one

wants to have the bioeconomy bounced

around like a political football, but invit-

ing politicians from all political stripes

creates the potential for discussion in the

hallways among the provincial and feder-

al governments.

But there is a need to make sure that

there are clear objectives, strong facts,

statistics and benefits for pushing the bio-

economy forward. We have seen how eas-

ily the industry can come into question;we need to be clear and accurate in pre-

senting arguments to politicians to ensure

that they dont fall on deaf ears.

It is time for industry leaders to pres-

ent a united front, with legitimate action

items signed off by multiple stakeholders

to provide the necessary clout. Without

a consistent, unified voice in Ottawa and

our provincial capitals, we will continue

to be overlooked.

Time to play

politicsPushing Canadas bioeconomyforward will take political support

CANADIAN

BIOMASS


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8/328 CanadianBIOMASS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 20148 CanadianBIOMASS 2014

BIOMASSupdate

A Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEOI) for a bio-mass facility in Revelstoke, B.C. has been met with ahuge response from the industry, with over 50 responsesreceived by the community.

The City of Revelstoke has approved $15,000 for con-sultant John Christie to review and score each of the

requests. Christie was originally hired by the City to pre-pare the RFEOI.

The community is looking for an industry partner tobuild a biomass facility in the community to convert lo-

cally-sourced wood waste into biofuels.

Revelstoke biomass gets huge response

Methes Energies International

Ltd. announced that it has

entered into a feedstock creditfacility with a major provider

of credit to the renewable

fuels industry (the Lender),

which will provide Methes all

the feedstock that is required

to run at full current capacity

(1 million gallons per month

or approximately 40 railcars

per month).

The agreement will also

allow Methes to fulfill future

orders for biodiesel that it

receives from its customers

that have been approved by

the credit department of theLender.

Methes has also

established a feedstock

hedging account with

the Lender to protect its

margins against market price

fluctuations. The Lender is a

subsidiary of a Fortune 500

company, which trades in

a number of commodities

and the group has important

connections in the biodiesel

industry. The new credit

facility replaces Methes pre-

existing $1.5 million creditfacility.

Nicholas Ng, President

of Methes, said, Our

new feedstock facility is

a significant step forward

for Methes. The amounts

available to us will be driven

solely by sales of biodiesel and

will allow us to move to full

production with confidence

that the feedstock will be

available.

METHES ENERGIES ENTERS HISTORIC FEEDSTOCK AGREEMENT

Viridis Energy Inc. announced that Tim Knoop has joined the

company as Senior Vice President of Operations. Knoop will

oversee Viridis Canadian West Coast and East Coast manufacturing

operations with the goal of heightening cost efficiencies and

fortifying the companys operational framework in preparation for

its expansion strategy.

Knoop brings over 20 years of experience in the forestryindustry. He joins Viridis from Pacific Bioenergy, where he served

as general manager of operations, as well as director of Nazbec. He

also served in senior management positions at CanFor, where he

managed continuous improvement strategies and oversaw quality

control and optimization of its sawmill operations. In addition,

Knoop spent several years at Skeena Cellulose Inc. where he

supervised lumber operations and new product development.

Knoops broad background in the timber and wood pellet

industries is an important addition to Viridis management team, as

we expand our production capabilities in order to satisfy the rapid

increase in wood pellet demand. Knoops operations management

expertise, long, successful track record, and industry relationshipswill reinforce our management teams efforts to expand our

product offering capabilities and achieve profitability, commented

Christopher Robertson, CEO of Viridis.

The provincial governments forestry plan has stimulated

a $400,000 private investment from Northern Energy

Solutions to examine the potential of constructing a pellet

plant in the Miramichi region.

The company has received a letter of intent from the

Department of Natural Resources stating that if the project is

feasible, the company will receive 378,000 cubic metres ofsoftwood from forestry Region 3 (Nepisiguit-Miramichi).

If the results from Northern Energy Solutions feasibility

study are positive resulting in the construction of a pellet

plant in Miramichi the province will provide 200,000

cubic metres of pulp wood. The plant would also need

additional wood allocations requiring approximately

100,000 cubic metres of pulp wood annually from private

woodlots.

It is estimated that a plant would produce 200,000

tonnes of pellets annually. It would employ 25 technicians

and engineers as well as support 75 jobs in the woods.

Northern Energy Solutions estimates it will invest$300,000 to $400,000 on the study, which will take about

eight months to complete. It is anticipated the plant would

cost $45 million to $50 million.

KNOOP LEAVES PACIFIC

BIOENERGY FOR VIRIDIS

PELLET PLANT FEASIBILITY STUDY

LAUNCHED FOR MIRAMICHI


9/32CanadianBIOMASS 9

T

he United Kingdom (UK) has emerged

as Canadas largest market for wood

pellets, accounting for one milliontonnes in 2013 (63 per cent of Canadian

exports) and up from 794 thousand tonnes

in 2012. And since the UK market is domi-

nated by large power utilities replacing coal

with wood pellets to reduce CO2emissions,

its climate change policy is of vital interest to

pellet producers.

The Climate Change Act of 2008 (the

Act) provides that the UK must reduce its

CO2emissions by at least 80 per cent from

1990 levels by 2050 in an effort to limit the

global temperature increase to 2C. To en-sure that regular progress is made towards

this target, the Act established a system of

five-year carbon budgets to serve as achiev-

able steps along the way with the first four

set in law. The UK met its first target and is

now in its second carbon budget period aim-

ing for a 29 per cent reduction by 2017.

A committee of experts in the fields of

climate change, science and economics was

established (CCC) and is supported by a sec-

retariat. It acts as an independent body to ad-

vise parliament on progress and recommendaction where targets are not met by focusing

on nine sectors: industry, buildings, trans-

port, aviation, shipping, waste, power, land

use and agriculture.

According to the CCCs July report, deep

de-carbonization of the power sector by

2030 is central to emissions reduction and

the most economical means of meeting its

legislated commitments (since power ac-

counts for around one quarter of total UK

emissions).

The CCC makes a number of recommen-dations that are of interest to pellet produc-

ers, which include:

Completing implementation of Elec-

tricity Market Reform (EMR) by setting

appropriate strike prices and by signingcontracts for low-carbon capacity, while

ensuring a suitable mix of low-carbon

technologies is supported.

Requiring all biomass to be sustainably

sourced.

Adding a requirement that all biomass is

sourced from forests that can demonstrate

constant or increasing carbon stocks, and

pushing for this

to be reflected in

standards at the EU

level. By no later than

2016, commit-

ting funding for

low-carbon gener-

ation in the period

beyond 2020.

Setting ambitious

emissions targets for 2020 and 2030 that

will put the UK on a cost-effective path

to meeting at least an 80 per cent target

for 2050.

The committee reported that biomasspower generation rose from 8.7 TWh in

2008 (around three per cent of electricity

supply) to 16.5 TWh (five per cent of elec-

tricity supply) in 2013. The composition of

biomass feedstock used in electricity genera-

tion has shifted from a reliance on waste-de-

rived fuels in 2008 (around 85 per cent, the

remainder a mix of plant and animal bio-

mass) towards a greater proportion of woody

biomass (27 per cent of feedstock in 2013).

The CCC also recommends that the use of

biomass in the power sector should focus onconversion of existing coal plants rather than

new, dedicated biomass plants.

Plans are on track for the UK to meet the

following scenario:

Around 2 GW of large-scale dedicatedbiomass or biomass conversion is already

on the system, with a further 1.4 GW of

co-firing and other biomass capacity under

construction.

The Department of Energy and Climate

Change has awarded contracts for biomass

conversions at Drax (pellets), Lynemouth

(pellets), and Teesside (chips) with a total

capacity of 1.4 GW.

There are further plans to convert anoth-

er unit at Drax (0.65 GW) and potentially at

Eggborough (1.4 GW).

1.7 GW of existing biomass conversioncapacity is set to come offline by 2016.

The UK is legally committed to aggressive

carbon reduction targets well into the future;

biomass, especially in the form of wood pel-

lets, will continue to play a prominent role.

This is good news for Canadian wood pellet

producers.

Gordon Murray is executive director of the Wood

Pellet Association of Canada. He encourages all those

who want to support and benefit from the growth

of the Canadian wood pellet industry to join. Gordonwelcomes all comments and can be contacted by telephone at250-837-8821 or by email at [email protected].

The U.K. is committed

to pelletsClimate change policies support the continued use of biomass

to reduce CO2emissions.

By Gordon Murray

WPAC Report

According to the CCCs July report,deep de-carbonization of thepower sector by 2030 is central toemissions reduction.



Canadas bioenergy industry is

growing and contributing to the

replacement of many jobs lost

in small communities in traditionalindustry sectors. The industry is also

diversifying from strictly energy prod-

ucts to higher-value bio-materials and

bio-chemicals.

In 2013 CanBio and Natural Resourc-

es Canada (NRCan) undertook a nation-

wide survey of Canadian bioenergy plants

and operations to understand the growth

and structure of the emerging industry.

Policy: The federal and provincial

governments have implemented an

array of policies to support the bioen-ergy industry. Federal programs have

played a large role in the development

of bio-fuels.

Pellets: Installed production capaci-

ty grew by 61 per cent in 2010-12 but

uncertain markets led to a small capac-

ity decline in 2013 with the closure of

three plants.Community heat: Until 2000, only

five biomass heat projects existed in Can-

ada. By 2013 the number of systems had

grown to 109, led by B.C. and the N.W.T.

Nationwide, 33 additional bio-heat in-

stallations are under construction.

Cogeneration: In 2013, 39 operat-

ing biomass cogen plants at pulp and

paper mills in Canada were identified

with combined electrical capacity of

over 1,500 MW. Independent power

producers provide an additional 540MW of electrical capacity and 150 of

thermal capacity.

Ethanol: Capacity in ethanol from

corn and grain has increased from 411

million litres in 2005 to 1,826 million

litres from 14 plants, nearly all of which

are producing at full capacity. Four pi-

lots and four commercial demonstra-tion plants for ethanol from lignocellu-

losic feedstocks are expected to come

on stream by 2016.

Biogas: By 2013, Ontario has become

the definite leader in Canada for on-

farm anaerobic digestion installations

with 37 of Canadas 77 operating facili-

ties. Quebec is in second place with 14

plants but with twice as much capacity

as Ontario based on five facilities.

The full survey was released by

CanBio following the CanBio AnnualConference in Thunder Bay in Sep-

tember. The full results of the survey

will be available on the CanBio website

www.canbio.ca in October.

CanBio/NRCan survey of

the bioenergy industryThe executive summary of the 2013 CanBio and NRCan bioenergyindustry survey was released in Thunder Bay.

By Christopher Rees

CANBIO report

The Port of Belledune is your

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Wood pellets, wood chips, and all forms of wood products are handled at the Port of Belledune;

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Becausegreenhouse crops can be grown throughout

the year, they are becoming increasingly

important for the food supply of countries

like Canada, which have colder climates

and shorter growing seasons. However,

greenhouse heating can be one of the high-

est operating costs for a producer. Heat is

typically supplied by non-renewable fossil

fuels, such as oil and natural gas. These fu-

els are also frequently used to enrich thegreenhouse with carbon dioxide (CO

2) to

enhance plant growth. The high cost and

environmental impact of fossil fuels has

led some greenhouse operators to look for

alternative heat sources, such as biomass.

Enter the Biomass Furnace Flue Gas

Emission Control System (GECS), a process

designed to recapture energy and CO2from

the furnace and redirect it to the green-

house.

The brainchild of researchers and sev-

eral graduate students at McGill Universi-tys Department of Bioresource Engineer-

ing, GECS is a greener way to use wood

pellets for heating greenhouses, says

Dr. Mark Lefsrud, the engineering professor

spearheading the project. The system not

only recovers heat and purifies noxious

gases and particulates from the furnaces

exhaust, it also recycles CO2back into the

greenhouse, which enhances plant growth

and yields.

The GECS unit consists of a rigid box

air filter coupled with two sets of heatingelements, two catalytic converters and two

forced air fans. The unit is attached to the

chimney of a pellet stove installed in agreenhouse. Pellet stoves generally pro-

duce less harmful emissions than other

stove types because the shape of the bio-

mass allows for a better distribution of ox-

ygen, which produces a uniform and com-

plete combustion. This makes the flue gas

easier to purify and more suitable for CO2

enrichment, explains Dr. Lefsrud.

The air filter removes the particulate

matter in the flue gas, while the other ele-

ments transform the exhaust gases into less

harmful gases, says Yves Roy, a Masterscandidate who played a pivotal role in de-

signing the system. He explains that there

are three steps in the purification process:

the first is the mechanical collection of

large-scale particulates using a combina-

tion of an electrostatic precipitator, cyclone

and a bag filter. Finally, two sets of catalytic

converters and heating elements transform

all noxious gasses to less hazardous gases.

Once the GECS prototype was complet-

ed, the team tested it on the chimney of a

wood pellet biomass furnace. The devicepassed with flying colours. We confirmed

that it considerably improves the thermal

efficiency of the wood pellet heating system

since no heat is lost through the flue gas,

says Dr. Lefsrud. The teams measurements

also affirmed the systems safety: when the

exhaust from the furnace chimney was

pumped directly into the greenhouse, the

air remained well within Health Canadas

air quality guidelines for acceptable levels

of indoor gases and contaminants.

The GECS unit is also very cost-effec-tive: The capital investment required for

the GECS is far lower than for alternative

heating systems currently on the market,says Lefsrud. His experiments show that

direct combustion exhaust gas recuperation

through the purification system reduces

greenhouse heating costs by 18.8 per cent.

Translated into bottom-line terms, this

means both a lower heating bill and a lower

carbon footprint, even for small operations.

End-users may even be able to claim a car-

bon credit, he adds.

BioFuelNet gave legs to the initiative,

supporting graduate students to travel to

conferences where they showcased thetechnology and networked with other sci-

entists in the field.

Two things need to be obtained before

the GECS goes to market: a patent and a

unit suitable for commercial use. The Mc-

Gill team has already applied for a pat-

ent and intends to enhance the product

to make it commercially viable. We plan

to build a control system into the unit to

allow growers to adjust CO2

levels, says

Dr. Lefsrud, adding that the BioFuelNet

community is helping us with the com-mercialization process by connecting us to

the right people and information.

Lefsrud has high hopes for the new

technology. Our piece of equipment has

the potential to spur economic develop-

ment in the agriculture and greenhouse

sector and strengthen Canadian food secu-

rity, he says. Roy shares Lefsruds enthusi-

asm. As weather patterns become increas-

ingly fickle, greenhouses are set to become

more popular than ever. Im confident our

system will make it economically feasiblefor greenhouse operations of all sizes to

use wood-pellet biomass furnaces.

A new control system for biomass furnaces leaves greenhouses

with a smaller carbon footprint.

By Annie Webb and Gabrielle Bauer

Greener heating forgreenhouses

Bio innovation


13/32

WOODpellets are designed

to burn theyre

made from highly

combustible dust that is pressed into pel-

let form and must be treated with care to

prevent this fuel from lighting before it has

been added to the boiler.

The business of making dust is chal-lenging due to the risk of dust explosions.

The dust is present in all stages of produc-

tion and is also generated during transpor-

tation and storage due to attrition. The fin-

ished product is dropped dozens of times

before reaching the destination and the

drop height can be quite considerable, for

example up to 25 metres during the initial

stage of loading an ocean vessel.

Dust collection, dust suppression, ex-

plosion containment and explosion sup-

pression are employed in facilities formanufacturing, handling and storage to

minimize the risk of injuries and damage

to equipment and facilities. The risk factors

for initiating a fire or explosion includes

hot particles or sparks landing on a dust

layer setting the dust on fire, often with

explosive force, which in turn may trigger

a secondary massive explosion when dust

in the rest of the facility becomes lofted. A

rule of thumb to be used as a guideline for

housekeeping is that a maximum thickness

of 3.2 mm (1/8) of dust should not be cov-ering more than five per cent of the floor

area. Also, dust on surfaces with tempera-

tures higher than 250C will catch fire. If

the burning dust is dispersed at high speed

in what is referred to as deflagration, it will

light everything in its path and continue to

burn until the fuel is exhausted.

Surprisingly, dust lofted in the air catch-

es fire if heated to +450C or higher. Small

particles of dust may stay lofted in the air

for a long period of time, particularly in tur-

bulent air. In still air a dust particle with anequivalent diameter of 70 micron may stay

in the air for several minutes and a one mi-

cron particle or smaller will stay constantly

lofted in still air. If the concentration of loft-

ed particles exceeds 70 gram/m3, a defla-

gration may be initiated by, for example, an

electro-static discharge.

STATIC RISK

Generation of tribo-electric charges due tofast moving equipment is a major concern.

Wood dust has an extremely high electrical

resistivity, which means that electrons are

accumulated in the surface of dust particles

and if materials in contact with the dust

also have high resistivity, an electrostatic

potential will build up and eventually dis-

charge as a spark.

All materials in contact with wood dust

have to be electrically conducting to bleed

off the charge from the dust. All equipment

has to be properly earthed, grounded and

bonded to deflect any electrostatic voltage

build-up. There is static paint available to

minimize the dust sticking to walls and

floors and there are also static dissipativehard toe shoes (CSA SD certified) avail-

able to minimize discharge from workers

using synthetic clothing.

ENGINEERED FOR SAFETY

Strict engineering design rules apply for

mitigating the risk of fires and explosions

in manufacturing, handling and storage

CanadianBIOMASS 13

But its our menace too.

By Staffan Melin

Dust is our business

Workplace safety


14/32

facilities. In North America guidelines are

published by NFPA (National Fire Protection

Association), FM (Factory Mutual Insurance

Company), OHS (Occupational Health and

Safety), local fire codes, etc., some of which

are voluntary and others are mandatory. In

Europe, ATEX (Atmospheres Explosibles) is

universally accepted as the guideline miti-gation of risk of explosions. Equipment in-

stalled in a facility has to be rated in accor-

dance with a risk zone classification.

In North America, feedstock is dried at

high temperatures up to 450C, which is a

critical ignition temperature for lofted mate-

rial (as mentioned above). To prevent igni-

tion, the oxygen in the dryer is kept below

10 per cent: the limiting oxygen concentra-

tion for wood dust. The thermal balance in

the dryer is critical and needs special control

strategies, particularly during shutdown orloss of electrical power to the drive system.

Hot particle detectors are installed along

the materials path as it makes its way to be-

come the final product. Some brands of de-

tectors have a temperature set-point capabil-

ity as low as 250C to monitor hot particles

destined to land on dust layers. A set-point

14 CanadianBIOMASS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014

THE NITTY GRITTY ON WOOD PELLETS

Wood pellets and briquettes are produced from a variety of feedstock materi-

als such as sawdust, planers shavings, cut blocks from lumber production,

bush grind (harvest residue), bark and even higher quality hogfuel materials.

The feedstock preparation involves separation of contaminants, grinding, drying,hammer milling to size before compression to a commercial products, which in

turn are screened and cooled before storage and transportation to the end user.

The large majority of the pellets made in Canada are sold and transported in

large bulk volumes and used for electrical power production or heat. Smaller

volumes are packaged in bags and sold for residential space heaters or boilers.

Briquettes are also produced in small volumes.

The quality of pellets and briquettes are specified by ISO Standards, currently

being rolled out in Canada as a voluntary CSA Standard. These standards specify the

mechanical and chemical composition as well as the acceptable feedstock materials.

There are six different qualities for wood pellets and an additional five qualities for

non-woody (agricultural) pellets. Woody briquettes are specified in three different

qualities and non-woody briquettes are specified in five different qualities.The common denominator for all these biofuel products is that the feedstock

has to be reduced to particles before compression to a commercial product. For

some of the products, such as industrial quality pellets, the maximum allowable

particle size is stipulated in the ISO Standards. The pellets are crushed to a powder

during the fuel preparation in the power plants before sprayed into the furnaces for

combustion, much like coal powder or fuel oil.

fireflyEXIMIO

FIRE PROTECTION SOLUTIONS

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temperature of 400C is used to monitor

lofted particles in areas of high dust con-

centrations. Besides the risk of fires and

explosions caused by dust, there is also the

risk of self-heating followed by fire when

the feedstock and the final product is in

storage.

LESSON LEARNED

After the severe and fatal accidents in the

Babine and the Lakeland sawmills in Brit-

ish Columbia in 2012, WorkSafeBC and

BC Forest Safety Council implemented

a strict inspection regime in British Co-

lumbia for all woodworking facilities,

including pellet plants. Safety audits are

conducted based on a very strict protocol

on a regular basis. Citations and even fines

are issued for more serious or repeatednon-compliance. Some surprise audits

and work-stop orders can be issued. An

inspection of a typical plant usually takes

two days.

Employers are mandated to provide

training regarding the risks and proce-

dures for mitigating risk. Hot work guide-

lines, ignition source identification and

housekeeping are at the heart of the train-

ing program. Workers have the right to

initiate work-stop if conditions are consid-

ered risky. Special guidelines are stipulated

for contractors temporarily doing work in

a plant. Each plant needs to have a written

procedure for managing change involving

manpower, equipment and procedures to

make sure safety is always paramount.

NEW SAFETY GUIDELINES ACROSS

THE COUNTRY

The safety inspection scheme in British

Columbia is likely to expand to other

manufacturing facilities over time. A

worksafe certification is likely to become

a selling tool for the manufacturers since it

minimizes the risk of non-performance by

the suppliers and may in fact over time be-

come a contractual obligation by key pellet

consumers.

ISO Technical Committee 238 for Sol-

id Biofuels is coming out with guidelines

for safe handling and storage of pellets

in residential as well as in large-scale in-

dustrial applications within the next two

years. Also, fire prevention and firefighting

guidelines for pellet silos are under devel-opment. In addition, protocols for labora-

tory testing of off-gassing and self-heating

characteristics for pellets will be published

by ISO. Safety is gradually becoming the

overriding management tool for our in-

dustry and dust will gradually become

less of a menace.

CanadianBIOMASS 15

Dust on beams and rafters is usually not visible and will participate in the secondary explosions sometimes experienced in large

manufacturing plants. The top of the beams are now gradually retrofitted with 45 degree brackets to avoid dust accumulation.

KAHL Wood Pelleting PlantsKAHL Wood Pelleting Plants

AMANDUS KAHL GmbH & Co. KG, SARJ Equipment Corp., Mr. Rick B. MacArthur, 29 Golfview Blvd., Bradford, Ontario L3Z 2A6

Phone: 905-778-0073, Fax: 905-778-9613, [email protected] www.akahl.de

Quality worldwide.Quality worldwide.



THEprovince of Quebec hasthe potential to develop

a first rate system for de-

veloping woody biomass. Until 2025,

4000GWh of renewable energy could

replace fossil fuel usage to prevent up

to a thousand tonnes of CO2from being

emitted.

After a shocking Greenpeace cam-

paign last year denounced the biomasca-

rade, a group of industry, co-operatives,

municipalities, environmental and social

organizations and researchers united topromote a vision of a greener future they

have termed Quebecs Biomass Vision.

Not only did Nature Quebec, an en-vironmental organization, take part in

the partnership, but it is also one of the

leaders and spokespeople for the group.

Biomass is part of a renewable energy

portfolio in Quebec. To replace petro-

leum products, in district energy, its an

excellent solution to replace pollutant

energy sources and it creates new re-

gional employment opportunities, says

Christian Simard, the general director of

Nature Quebec.Another one of the groups spokesper-

sons, Eugene Simard, deputy director of

development for the Quebec Federation

of Forestry Cooperatives (QFFC), said,

Greenpeace has denounced extreme

methods of harvesting and using biomass.

Thats not what were talking about. Us-

ing biomass to make heat in local projects

is the optimal method of biomass usage

even according to Greenpeace.

The industry comes together to support the move to woody biomass.

By Guillaume Roy | Translated by Amie Silverwood

United vision

Bio cluster

According to Nature Quebec, the large-scale exportation of biomass and use of biomass to produce electricity is notan environmentally viable option. Its better to concentrate on replacing polluting and non-competitive energy sourcesdomestically.


17/32

To achieve a breakthrough in public

acceptance, any biomass system must

be held to the highest environmental

standards in harvesting and usage, ex-

plains Christian Simard. To build the best

projects and to assure social acceptance,

Quebecs Biomass Vision is focused on

projects that have an interesting environ-mental scope. When it comes to harvest-

ing, fixed limits are set (according to the

soil type and stands). Also, emphasis is

put on using logging and sawmill residu-

als forget about harvesting full trees to

make biomass.

According to Nature Quebec, the

large-scale exportation of biomass and

use of biomass to produce electricity is

not an environmentally viable option. Its

better to concentrate on replacing pollut-

ing and non-competitive energy sourcesdomestically. (Biomass wouldnt initially

replace natural gas in projections.)

The potential to use biomass is enor-

mous even if the industry concentrates

on replacing oil and propane energy

sources. In Quebec, the total potential for

substitution in commercial, institutional

and industrial buildings totals 11,848

GWh, while the supply of residual woody

biomass amounts to 21,456 GWh (4.29

BDMT, million) according to the research

done by Ecoressources for the QFFC.Concentrating on substituting the two

sources of nonrenewable energy, Quebec

has the potential to produce 4000 GWh

of renewable energy by 2025.

Within the industrial sector, the goal

is to increase the use of biomass from

9750 GWh to 12,750 GWh, which is an

increase from 19.5 per cent to 25.5 per

cent of total energy consumed, excluding

electricity. Even more significant gains

could be realized in the institutional and

commercial sector where consumptioncould be increased tenfold from 150

GWh to 1150 GWh by 2025. If these

stats are achieved, biomass would occu-

py 9.9 per cent of the energy used in the

institutional and commercial sector (ex-

cluding electricity).

POINTS WORTH MAKING

There are numerous reasons to make the

substitution. On one hand, fossil fuel en-

ergy sources like light fuel oils ($30.52/

GJ), heavy fuel oil ($17.63/GJ) and pro-pane ($31.01/GJ) are much more ex-

pensive than briquettes ($8.76$/GJ) or

wood pellets ($12.83/GJ) (prices are from

2010). And forecasts suggest these price

differences will increase over time.

Rather than import nonrenewable

resources and generate a commercial

balance deficit, Quebec could produce

renewable energy and create a local in-

dustry producing heat from forestryresiduals. One 4000 GWh conversion

would allow the province to improve the

import balance by $225 million and pre-

vent one million tonnes of CO2. On top

of that, these investments in the biomass

industry could create 12,500 jobs during

the construction phase and 3,600 long-

term employment positions.

REGIONAL BENEFITS

In terms of long-term development, the

use of forestry biomass for energy pro-duction has an added edge because this

renewable energy creates a lot more jobs

than any other form of energy produc-

tion. The use of biomass brings social,

economic and environmental benefits.

For a small forestry community, the sys-

tem could create many jobs and generate

important economic benefits, explains

Simard.

But its in the rural regions of Quebec

that developing a biomass system gener-

ates the most interest. And its for this rea-

son that many municipal partners have

signed onto Quebecs Biomass Vision.

Its a nice way to support municipalitiesbecause it allows them to make the best

use of their resources, Dany Rousseau

from the Quebec Municipality Federation

points out.

Coop fdre, a co-operation repre-

senting more than 100,000 members, has

been interested in biomass since 2008.

We had studied different energy systems

and we came to the conclusion that the

use of residual woody biomass to make

heat is a solution worth promoting. In the

context of long-term development, its thesource of renewable energy that has cre-

ated the most value, says Cyril Neron,

the director of growth and innovation for

Coop fdre. The Coop fdre energy

branch, Sonic, hopes to profit from the

opportunities linked with the develop-

ment of a biomass industry cluster.

CanadianBIOMASS 17

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Even if there isnt much biomass

production in private forests at the mo-

ment, Quebecs federation of private

forest landowners supports Quebecs

Biomass Vision. The forest landowners

are always partners in the development

and utilization of wood products. The

biomass cluster has started to take offand can become an interesting revenue

source for private forest landowners,

says Marc-Andr Rhaume, the federa-

tions forest engineer.

Quebecs Biomass Vision rallies sever-

al important actors from the industrial,

forestry and environmental sectors. Sup-

port from Nature Quebec adds credibility

to the environmental value of the net-

work. We want to work at the forefront

to ensure heat production from woody

biomass becomes the leading model,explains Amelie St-Laurent Samuel, the

head of the biomass project.

We have managed to rally several

organizations around our vision. This

demonstrates the strong social accep-

tance that has evolved around this initia-

tive, Eugene Gagne adds.

ATTAINING CRITICAL MASS

While the cost of using biomass is very

competitive compared to the cost of us-

ing oil or propane, the initial investmentrequired for installing biomass heaters is

prohibitive to development. Its for this

reason that the government must send a

clear message of support for the industry,

says Eugene Gagne. The government is

a large institutional energy consumer. It

needs to take a leading role in the devel-

opment of the system to lend credibility

and help it attain enough critical mass to

take off, he says.

In some rural regions of Quebec, the

volume is too small to adequately pre-pare the necessary fuel. A large-scale

project, like the conversion of the Amqui

hospital required at least 1500 tonnes

and allowed critical mass for the region

to participate. Following its conversion,

several small projects were added since

the expertise had already been developed

in the region, explains Gagne.

In order to obtain maximum perfor-

mance and the economic and environ-

mental advantages, the biomass must be

adequately prepared as fuel for the boiler.Attaining enough demand enables the

development of qualified expertise in the

region.

The province relaunched a biomass

program based on the use of forestry

residuals in 2013 that helps companies

and individuals convert their systems

and is an excellent tool to develop more

opportunities for the industry. The ac-

tual context is very positive, Eugene

Gagne guesses. In the last budget, the

government announced a $20 millioninvestment in turnkey projects. These

investments will be used for heating

systems and to sell electricity to clients

rather than simply biomass. By con-

trolling the whole chain of development,

these successful projects will lend credi-

bility to the industry, he adds.

However, the use of biomass for heat

production wasnt part of the climate

change action plan for 2013 to 2020.

With a budget of $2 million attached to

this plan, it would provide an importantsource of funding for the development of

the biomass industry in Quebec.


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NOVEMBER18-20MARRIOTTPINNACLE

VANCOUVERBCWWW.PELLET.ORG

2014AGM & CONFERENCE

On behalf of the organizing committee, I would like towelcome you to the second Annual General Meeting and

Conference of the Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC),

again in the beautiful city of Vancouver.

The jam-packed program over the next two days will provide

informative sessions with international and local experts, along

with plenty of opportunities to network with colleagues covering

the full spectrum of the industry.

Highlighted in this years conference is a focus on workplace

safety. As the industry grows, the size and complexity of the

facilities has also grown. This has put a significantly greater

emphasis on the need for collaboration amongst industry,

engineering/design organizations, equipment suppliers andregulatory bodies to provide a fundamentally safe workplace.

As the industry provides a cost-effective and renewable-energy

source to world markets, it is imperative to do so in a workplace

that is safe through the entire supply chain. This has been a key

collaborative focus of WPAC member companies over the past

year and this years conference is intended to provide some

detailed insight into this important area.

No wood pellet conference would be complete without

broad-ranging discussion on raw material from the fundamental

policies of government on crown lands to the evolution of

international sustainability certification. This years conference

provides delegates with the opportunity to participate in

a hands-on workshop on the Sustainability BiomassPartnership which is designed to provide a common

internationally recognized sustainability certification schemeunifying a number of the current customer-specific sustainability

audit processes. This again is a key part of the international

growth and unification of the market allowing the product to be

openly traded and branded internationally while providing the

end users with the key assurance that the product meets strict

and internationally recognized sustainability requirements.

Conferences of this nature would not be complete without

the participation of our sponsors and trade show participants.

I would strongly encourage the delegates to take the time to

learn about the newest in equipment evolution and share your

experiences with others.

Finally, on behalf of the WPAC members, I would like tothank our Executive Director Gordon Murray for his tireless

efforts in putting this event together and more importantly

supporting the growth of the sector in Canada and the

products presence in the market. Canada continues to be one

of the recognized leaders in supplying the world and domestic

markets with quality, sustainable wood pellets.

Thank you for the support of all the delegates and for

making this conference another success and most importantly,

enjoy the show!

BRAD BENNETT

Chairman and President

Wood Pellet Association of Canada

Welcome to Vancouver


20/32

Altentech Power

The Altentech Biovertidryer offers a new

solution to remove moisture from biomass.

It has been engineered to address the

serious drying challenges facing the

pellet industry, including operating costs,

emissions and safety.

Andritz

Andri tz is the leading supplier o f

technologies, systems, and services

relating to the equipment for the biomass

pelleting industry. Andritz has the ability

to manufacturer and supply each and

every key processing machine in the pellet

production line. Visit us at

www.Andritz.com/fb

Biomass Energy Lab

Biomass Energy Lab (BEL) specializes

in solid biofuels testing. ISO 17025

Accredited for CEN/EN methods, BEL

provides Analytical Certifications for export

shipments of wood pellets and other solid

biofuels to help meet contractual needs.

Along with testing services, BEL also offers

EN Plus Auditing & Consulting, and can

assist with internal lab design/setup and

the development of quality management

systems.

Port of Belledune

Port of Belledune is a modern, year-round

marine transport facility and deep-water

point of access that is innovative in

developing its services and facilities to the

fullest. The Port has proven itself capable

of handling any and all goods, offering

flexible services, creative solutions and

excellent rates. Additionally, the Port

specializes in the handling of bulk and

break-bulk cargoes and is the only existing

point of export for wood pellets on the east

coast of Canada.

Bruks Rockwood

Bruks is a global leader in mechanical

engineering and equipment supply for

the bulk materials handling industries.

Customer service and product performance

are at the heart of its corporate culture; it

provides specialized customer solutions,

including the development of custom

machines and systems. Its services include

project engineering, technical support,

start-up training and remote-monitoring/

servicing of machine functions.

Brunette Machinery Company

Specializing in wood processing machinery

and material handling systems for the

Biomass and Forestry industries: BioSizer,

vibrating conveyors, Grizzly Mill, chippers

for pulp-chips or micro-chips, electric log

sweeps, log decks, log singulators, rotary

debarkers. Custom engineered solutions

to take control of your fibre supply and get

more from your mill.

Bulldog Bag

Bulldog Bag is celebrating its 50th year of

providing various flexible packaging items

to a large and ever expanding marketing

place both domestic and foreign. From

printed polyethylene films, laminated films,

paper, paper-poly laminates, poly woven

sacks, paper multi wall sacks, lumber

covers and many combinations in between,

Bulldog Bag can manufacture to meet your

needs from our plant in Richmond, B.C.

Canfornav

Founded in 1976 with its headquarters

in Montreal, the companys beginnings

were in the lumber trade, which gradually

extended to steel and bulk commodities.

Today, Canfornav operates over 40 vessels,

owned and on long-term time charter,

ranging in size from 27,000 to 57,000 dwt

vessels, with further new orders pending

from Chinese yards for one more 36,000


EXHIBITORS*


21/32

dwt and two 64,000 dwt vessels. Five

36,000 dwt vessels have already been

delivered for use in special bulk trades. In

2013 the company carried over 7 million

tonnes of cargo including grain, fertilizer,

sugar, minerals, wood pellets and steel.

Cogent Industrial Technologies

Cogent Industrial Technologies offers a

proven track record in the design and

integration of electrical, controls, industrial

IT and operational information management

systems. Our focus is on embedding safety,

efficiency, operability and reliability into the

systems and empowering your personnel

to manage and improve operational

effectiveness. Cogent is the 2014 System

Integrator of the Year.

CPM Global Biomass Group

CPM has been a leader in Biomasspelleting for over 20 years. With the

formation of the Global Biomass Pelleting

Group, we can now call on all of our

resources worldwide to ensure that you

receive the highest quality equipment along

with the highest quality support worldwide.

CPM Wolverine Proctor

CPM Wolverine Proctor has over 100 years

of experience in conveyor drying: offering

customized solutions in a modern and

efficient facility devoted exclusively to

the manufacturing of thermal processing

equipment.

Dieffenbacher USA, Inc.

Dieffenbacher is a leading supplier of

equipment to the wood products industry.

Our product range includes wood fired

boilers, furnaces, and thermal oil heaters,

as well as rotary dryers, chippers, hammer

mills, and pelletizing equipment. We also

are a major supplier of MDF, OSB, and

chipboard manufacturing equipment

worldwide.

Dansons

Dansons Inc. is the leader in the field of

supplying specialty lubricants to the biofuel

industry. Not only have we developed andsupplied specialized lubricants to the pellet

mill industry, we also provide technical

support and expert advice on how to get

maximum life out of wear components.

Fike Canada Inc

Fike has over 65 years of field experience

and a team of engineers, application

specialists and combustion researchers

delivering a complete line of products and

innovative technologies to the explosion

protection market.

Firefly AB

Firefly AB is a leading supplier of fireprevention systems to the process industry.

With over 40 years of experience, Firefly

offers tailor-made fire protection solutions

to avoid costly fires and dust explosions.

Laidig Systems Inc.

Laidig Systems Inc. is a manufacturer

of radial screw type reclaimers that arecoupled with vertical silos, domes or under-

the-pile applications. The Laidig design

systems eliminate bridging within vertical

silos, create first-in, first-out flow patterns

that are ideal for pellet mill process silos

that require the handling of sawdust, wood

shavings, wood chips and wood bark. The

Laidig design pellet storage systems allow

for the removal of pellets from storage

vessels up to 61 meters (200 feet) in

diameter, which allows for an automated

ship loading system. Please visit our

website at www.laidig.com.

M-E-C DryersM-E-C designs, engineers, manufactures

and services single pass dryers, triple

pass dryers, flash tube dryers, fuel storage

systems, material handling, fuel preparation

and wet and dry wood combustion

systems. M-E-C delivers total turn-key

system responsibility for the processing of

wood fuel pellets since 1983. Thats our

difference.

Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc.

Pinnacle is Canadas largest manufacturer

of wood pellets and winner of both the

2013 BC Export Award and the 2013

Premiers Award for Job Creation. Pinnaclehas the lowest Wood Pellet Fuel Supply

Risk in the world, due to their multiple

operations from six plants, their diversified

vessel loading options through two

interlinked ports, their secure and abundant

fibre supplies and their impeccable delivery

track record. Pinnacle is PEFC Chain of

Custody certified.

Player Design Inc.

The philosophy behind PDI is simple

design and supply state-of-the-art, reliable

equipment to enable our customers to

succeed in todays manufacturing markets.

By combining innovative engineering andpractical experience, we have created a

line of machinery that delivers substantial

economic benefits, superior finished

product quality, and some of the lowest

emissions in the industry.

Prodesa

Prodesa is a well-known supplier of wood

pellet facilities and biomass fuelled CHP

plants based on ORC (Organic Rankin

Cycle). We are manufacturers of drum

dryers, low temperature belt dryers,

hammermills, pellet mills, etc. We have

over 20 years experience and dozens of

references all over the world.

SARJ Equipment Corp.

SARJ Equipment plans, designs and

builds full turnkey production plants for the

pelleting industry. SARJ incorporates the

Amandus Kahl flat die pellet machine into

all of pelleting facilities to pellet all speciesof wood, achieving the highest throughput

capacities while maintaining the lowest

operating costs.

Seeger Green Energy

Seeger Green Energy provides large

biomass heating and power plants; small

decentralized biomass heating plants; and

pellet and briquette production plants,

which offer such critical services as

project development, planning, financing

and project supervision after plant

commissioning.

Sustainable Forestry InitiativeThe Sustainable Forestry Initiative

(SFI) program is an independent, non-

profit organization with a science-

based, internationally recognized

forest management standard for North

America. A third-party forest certification

program, SFI promotes responsible forest

management and addresses the growing

demand for bioenergy feedstocks while

supporting forest values such as water

quality, soil productivity and biodiversity.

Learn more at sfiprogram.org.

Viridis Energy

Viridis Energy is a publicly tradedmanufacturer and distributor of biomass

fuel that operates two wood pellet

manufacturing facilities: Okanagan Pellet

Company in B.C. and Scotia Atlantic

Biomass in Nova Scotia, with total

production of approximately 200,000

tons. It is the only pellet company in North

America on both coasts.

Wellons Canada

The Wellons Group is a leading supplier of

biomass- and gas-fired energy systems,

including direct-fired hot gas generation

systems (HGGs) for rotary dryers. Wellons

has recently supplied HGGs for pellet plantproject at Groupe Savoie (New Brunswick),

New England Pellet (New York State) and

Resolute Forest Products (Thunder Bay).

West Salem Machinery

West Salem Machinery is a leading

manufacturer of screening, grinding and

milling machinery. WSMs Super Shredder

is ideal for high-capacity green milling

and is available as a component or part

of complete green milling island. WSM

manufactures 4400 Series Hammermills

for dry milling, vibrating screens, metering

feeders and bark processing machinery.

CanadianBIOMASS 21

EXHIBITORS*



AGENDA

NOVEMBER 17: PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS

Workshop 1 9:00 AM to 05:00 PMPeter Wllson and SimonArmstrong, SBP

Hands on Sustainable Biomass Partnership training session for auditorsand plant personnel.

Workshop 2 9:00 AM to 05:00 PM Fahimeh Yazdanpanah, UBC UBC pellet workshop

Tour 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM Kerry Lige, Fibreco Fibreco tour

Lunch 12:00 PM to 01:30 PM lunch will be provided

AGM 01:30 PM to 05:00 PMBrad Bennett, John Arsenaultand Gordon Murray

WPAC AGM

Cocktail 05:00 PM to 07:00 PM Sponsored by Viridis Energy

NOVEMBER 18: CONFERENCE DAY 1

7:30 AM to 8:00 AM Continental Breakfast

MARKET OUTLOOK | MODERATOR: MICHELE REBIERE, VIRIDIS ENERGY

1 8:30 AM to 8:50 AM Seth Walker, RISI Global review of production, consumption, and forecast

2 8:50 AM to 9:10 AM William Strauss, FutureMetrics

Pellet potential for North American power generation

3 9:10 AM to 9:30 AM Arnold Dale, Ekman The European pellet market

4 9:30 AM to 9:50 AM Ludger Spohr, Vis Nova / EIPS European biomass policy update and potential trade impacts

Coffee Break 9:50 AM to 10:30 AM

CERTIFICATION AND SUSTAINABILITY| MODERATOR: GORDON MURRAY, WPAC

1 10:30 AM to 10:50 AM Peter Wilson, SBP Sustainable Biomass Partnership sustainability certification

2 10:50 to 11:10 AM Richard Peberdy, Drax Draxs plans for SBP certification and UK policy update

3 11:10 AM to 11:30 AMBrad Bennett, PacificBioEnergy

Canadian Implementation of SBP certification

4 11:30 AM to 11:50 AM Elizabeth Woodworth, Enviva Enviva: sustainable fibre procurement by a US producer

Lunch 11:50 AM to 01:30 PM

FIBRE SUPPLY| MODERATOR: DOMINIK ROSER, FPINNOVATIONS

1 01:30 PM to 01:40 PM Rob McCurdy, Pinnacle BC pellet producer perspective on fibre access and security

2 01:40 PM to 01:50 PM Ken Shields, Conifex Primary tenure holder perspective on supplying fibre to the biomass

industry

3 01:50 PM to 02:00 PM Dave Peterson, BC MNFLR BC government perspective on bioenergy fibre supply

4 02:00 PM to 02:10 PMJonathan Levesque, GroupeSavoie

Fibre procurement in New Brunswick

5 02:10 PM to 03:00 PM ALL ABOVE Fibre supply debate

Coffee Break 03:00 PM to 03:30 PM

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT| MODERATOR: STAFFAN MELIN, WPAC

1 03:30 PM to 03:50 PMRick Warner, Katie Wallace,NSERC

R&D opportunities for the pellet sector

SAFETY AND BC DUST ISSUE| MODERATOR: ROB MOONEN, BC FOREST SAFETY COUNCIL

1 03:50 PM to 04:00 PMGlenn Hardie,Shaw Resources

Overview of Shaw Resources safety program in New Brunswick and NovaScotia

2 04:00 PM to 04:10 PMScott Bax, Pinnacle Renew-able Energy

WPACs combustible dust committee progress report

3 04:10 PM to 04:20 PM Budd Phillips, WorkSafeBC WorkSafeBCs perspective on combustible dust management in the wood

pellet industry

4 04:20 PM to 04:30 PM Leslie Cormack-Wilson, Willis Insurance update - incidents, premiums, trends, and recommendations

504:30 PM05:15 PM

ALL ABOVE Debate on safety and combustible dust

Networking Cocktail 05:15 PM to 07:15 PM Sponsored by Pinnacle Renewable Energy



AGENDA

NOVEMBER 19, 2014: CONFERENCE DAY 2

Continental Breakfast 7:30 AM to 8:00 AM

CANADIAN PELLET PRODUCER PANEL| MODERATOR: CAM MCALPINE, PR MEDIA

1 8:30 AM to 9:15 AMBrad Bennett, VaughanBassett, Michele Rebiere,Pierre-Olivier Morency

Discussion of Canadian producer perspectives on markets, sustainabilityrequirements, fibre supply, and safety

ITALIAN PELLET MARKET| MODERATOR: JOHN ARSENAULT, WPAC

1 9:15 AM to 9:35 AM Analisa Paniz, AIEL Italian pellet market overview

2 9:35 AM to 9:55 AMKerry Ellem,Global Renewables

Italian wood pellet distribution

Coffee Break 9:55 AM to 10:30 AM

ASIAN MARKETS| MODERATOR: JOHN ARSENAULT, WPAC

1 10:30 AM to 10:50 AMJJ (Jung) Moon, SMG Asset/Mission Wood Pellet An investors perspective of the the Korean pellet market

2 10:50 AM to 11:10 AMWoochun Choi, Samsung C&TAmerica

A traders perpective of the Korean pellet market

3 11:10 AM to 11:30 AM Kerry Lige, Fibreco Logistics considerations in shipping to Asia

4 11:30 AM to 11:50 AM Japanese Trading House Japanese pellet market

ANDRITZ Feed & Biofuel A/S

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USA and Canada: [email protected] www.andritz.com

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ANDRITZ is one of the worlds

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a high environmental cost.

Enter BioAmber, one of a handful of

global companies now manufacturing a

bio-based version of the chemical. BioAm-

ber has been working on the development

of bio-succinic acid for the past 15 years. It

began working on the technology in the late-

90s with support from the U.S. Departmentof Energy. Nearly six years later, the succin-

ic acid portion of the original company was

spun out of the operation, which was fol-

lowed by a capital fundraising campaign to

scale up the acids business.

After we spun it out, our bio-succinic

acid facility in France came online, which

was a large-scale demonstration plant, ex-

plains Mike Hartmann, Executive Vice-Pres-

ident of BioAmber.

The plant in France has now been run-

ning for over four years, at a similar scaleto that of current commercial production

plants, producing 3,000 MT per year. De-

spite being a demonstration-scale plant, the

company has been able to sell commercially

to companies like Dow Chemical, helpingBioAmber generate revenue and sign up cus-

tomers to both supply agreements and take

or pay agreements.

BUILDING IN NORTH AMERICA

The industry credibility that has resulted

from the success of the French plant has

given the company the needed confidence

to push forward with a second industry ven-

ture: establishing a commercial-scale facility

in North America.

During the original planning stages, com-pany officials established a preliminary list of

100 cities to consider for the new plant.

We looked throughout North America

at different provinces, different states, said

Hartmann. We then narrowed it down to

10-12 sites and then conducted due dili-

gence for each of those locations. At that

point, Sarnia was the only Canadian left in

the running.

Sarnia, located on the eastern shores

of the St. Clair River in southwestern On-

tario, has traditionally been a hub for thepetrochemical industry. However, the com-

munity is now transforming some of those

resources towards the biochemical industry,

with research and development and educa-

tion components added to compliment theemerging industries.

The assessment of the remaining loca-

tions involved looking at a series of factors

that would be important for the new plant,

including cost, government support, feed-

stock availability, service tie-ins, resource

availability and logistics. After careful con-

sideration, BioAmber announced in August

of 2011 that it had chosen Sarnia as the site

of its new bio-succinic acid plant, in a joint

venture with Mitsui and Co.

Hartmann noted that, while all of theseimportant factors were met by Sarnia, there

was one specific aspect that made the com-

munity stand out.

Sarnias location is ideal to ship product

to the United States, to Europe and to Asia.

It is centrally located for that, and that is im-

portant to us because we do have customers

in all three of these areas.

Since making the decision to build in

Sarnia, additional factors have become ap-

BioAmber is building a global bio-succinic industry.

By Andrew Macklin

Succinic success

Project profile

At capacity, the plant will produce 30,000MT of bio-suc-cinic acid per year, making it the largest plant of its kindin the world.



parent that did not gain appreciable consid-

eration during the decision-making process,

but now have become keys to the success of

the project.

The personnel in Sarnia, the history

of building large chemical facilities and the

abundance of qualified workers were also

factors that we didnt appreciate as much aswe should have, noted Hartmann.

The commercial-scale bio-succinic pro-

duction plant in Sarnia is a US $125-million

project. The plant is located in a bioindus-

trial park purchased from Lanxess, which

produces synthetic rubber for Butyl Rubber.

The site is located in the chemical core of

Sarnia, surrounded by massive petrochem-

ical producers such as DuPont, Suncor,

Imperial Oil, Shell Canada and Praxair. At

capacity, the plant will produce 30,000MT

of bio-succinic acid per year, making it thelargest plant of its kind in the world.

BIO VERSUS PETRO

Succinic acid would have traditionally been

made in a chemical valley similar to Sarnia.

But the discovery of the bio-based version of

the acid has changed the production focus

away from petroleum.

Both the petroleum and bio versions of

succinic acid have the same chemical for-

mula - C4H6O4. The variation between the

two acids is just a few parts per million atproduction scale.

The cost of producing bio-based succin-

ic acid is significantly cheaper than that of

the petroleum-based product. Hartmann

estimates that bio-succinic acid uses two-

thirds less energy to produce than petroleum

succinic acid. That cost difference makes

bio-succinic acid, essentially, the best mole-

cule for the biotech/bioindustrial route.

The reason for the savings is that the

biorefining process has a strong ability to

convert sugars into succinic acid.

From a pound of sugar, the theoretical

yield is actually more than a pound of prod-

uct, explains Hartmann. Thats because we

sequester the CO2and part of the carbon for

the bio-succinic comes from the CO2.

But what makes the increased commer-

cialization of bio-succinic acid more im-portant is the environmental impact of its

production. Bio-succinic acid produces zero

carbon emissions. Petroleum-based produc-

tion emits seven pounds of CO2gas for every

pound of succinic acid produced.

This is a potential game-changer for the

biochemical industry, producing a chemical

superior to its petroleum equivalent while

producing no greenhouse gas emissions.

Hartmann expects that this will result in the

end of global production of succinic acid

from petroleum in a few years very similar towhat has happened for citric acid

MOVING TOWARDS PRODUCTION

Construction of the Sarnia facility continues

to move forward on schedule. AMEC was

hired on as the primary engineer for the

plant, and they have been successful with

the design, engineering and procurement of

the needed materials for the site. As a result,

BioAmber is still targeting early 2015 for

completion of construction.

BioAmber has implemented a scale ofattainable production targets for the bio-suc-

cinic plant. The plan includes 50 per cent

production by the end of 2015, 85 per cent

production by the end of 2016 and 100 per

cent production by the end of 2017.

It has been a multi-year process to get

to where we are today, says Hartmann. We

are very excited to continue construction

and get the facility ready. As of right now, we

are very optimistic and really looking for-

ward to having the plant start up.

BIOAMBER IN 2014

2014 has been a year full of importantbenchmarks for BioAmber and its

Sarnia bio-succinic facility. Here is alook at the significant announcementsthe company has made so far this year.

FEBRUARY 20TH

Awarded a $10-million, inter-est-free loan from AgricultureCanada for the construction ofthe Sarnia plant.

MAY 1ST

Announced its first take-or-pay contract for the plant,signing a three-year contractfor 14,000MT per year withPTTMCC Biochem CompanyLimited.

JUNE 23RD

Secured a $20-million loan froma financial consortium led byExport Development Canada.

JULY 2ND

Received a $7-million loan fromSustainable Development andTechnology Canada.

JULY 8TH

Signs a 15-year take-or-pay con-tract with Vinmar Internationalfor 10,000MT per year fromSarnia and 80 per cent offtakefrom two additional plants yetto be built

JULY 15TH

Announced a successful second-ary public offering of 2.8 millionshares of common stock.


26/32

INtheir recent report, Renewable

Energy Scenario to 2040, the

European Renewable Energy

Council (EREC) is clear. The Council be-

lieves that in the long term, renewable

energies will dominate the worlds energy

supply system. The reason is at the same

time very simple and imperative: there is

no alternative. Humankind cannot indefi-

nitely continue to base its activities on the

consumption of finite energy resources.

EREC projects biomass to remain themost-used renewable energy source on

the planet going forward. But, if the long-

term future for biomass use is bright, that

doesnt mean the road will be smooth.

Canadian Biomasstakes a close look at the

factors that will help spur the industry

forward, and those that will provide the

greatest challenges.

DIVERSITY AND FLEXIBILITY

The range of products that can come

from biomass is a huge factor in the

growth of its use, now and in the future.

Biomass can provide heating, electricity,

fuel, biochemicals and more. Biomass is

a prolific and globally-distributed renew-able carbon-based resource, notes Doug

Bull, a researcher in the Biorefinery &

Energy Group at industry research firm

FPInnovations. Other renewable energy

resources (wind, solar, hydro and so

on) are not, and hence cannot, be used

to directly make carbon-based products

such as fuels and to get organic chemicals

from.

Many commercial biofuel plants are

expected to be built worldwide over the

next few years, some of which can accept

feedstocks such as construction debris and

textiles. The flexibility of these facilities

is very attractive. The conversion of coal

power plants to accept biomass is also wellunderway in several countries, and some

are using waste heat in combined heat and

power plants (CHP) as well.

Another important feature of biomass

is that it can produce energy on demand,

notes Gordon Murray, executive direc-

tor of the Wood Pellet Association of

Canada. In electricity, this is known as

dispatchable energy. Some other energy

forms are dependent on the sun shining

or the wind blowing, etc.


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Factors that will help or hinder development in the years to come.

By Treena Hein

Exciting times andchallenges ahead

Looking ahead



CANADIAN NATURAL GAS PRICES

Canadian natural gas prices are not likely

to rise in the next few years, which is as

far as anyone can reasonably predict. This

reality is going to pose a challenge over

that time period in the quest to get more

biomass energy projects off the ground.

Keith Schaefer, editor and publisher ofVancouver-based Oil & Gas Investments

Bulletin, says continued supply increases

of natural gas are the major factor that will

keep Canadian gas prices low. He points

to brokerage firm Raymond James out-

line of how the fast-growing and low-cost

gas production from the stacked Marcel-

lus and Utica shales in the northeastern

U.S. could displace the use of all Western

Canadian natural gas in Eastern North

America in the short- to medium-term.

There are currently four major proj-ects underway that are going to make the

inevitable export of United States natural

gas to Canada happen, Schaefer notes.

Those projects combined should allow

for enough U.S. natural gas to get into

Eastern Canada so that no Western Cana-

dian natural gas will be needed. This will

mean that the Northeast United States

will have gone in just a few years from

being almost fully dependent on Canada

for natural gas, to having the ability to ex-

port natural gas to Canada and fill allof eastern Canadas needs. Meanwhile, a

portion of Western Canadian natural gas

production will need a new home, with

Canadian natural gas prices therefore fac-

ing some stiff headwinds.

EVOLVING ENERGY SOURCING

The recent political situation involving

Ukraine and Russia is stirring up calls

for Europe to start looking hard for en-

ergy alternatives to Russian fossil fuels.

U.S. President Obama told the EuropeanUnion in April 2014, that while it can

look to the United States to help it reduce

dependency on Russian energy (the U.S.

has already agreed to relax restrictions

on gas exports to Europe, for example),

it must also look beyond. The EU cur-

rently relies on Russia for about a third

of its oil and gas needs. The 28-member

association is indeed stepping up efforts

to diversify its energy sources, and some

of those include biomass. Several Euro-

pean countries, including Germany andEngland, already have bio-energy plans in

place, which is great news.


28/32

Pellets to Europe are presently 9 million tonnes for power

plus 10 million tonnes for commercial, residential, and institu-

tional heating annually, says Murray. Both sectors continue to

grow rapidly. Most experts predict that Europes market will be

50 million tonnes by 2020, with South Korea and Japan each

at about 5 million tonnes. He notes that the Northeastern U.S.

biomass heating market is also growing rapidly as a result of high

oil prices, the introduction of European heating appliances andthe cost savings of using bulk pellet deliveries over bags.

RISING FUEL COSTS

We can all count on the fact that fossil fuel prices will continue

to rise. This is tough on biomass companies, which need to gath-

er forestry residues and other feedstocks, transport and process

them and in some cases, ship finished products such as pellets

as well. At the same time, however, high electricity and fossil

fuel prices are prompting more Canadians and beyond to look

at biomass.

Murray notes that only 45 per cent of Canadian homes are

served by natural gas, which represents a huge opportunity forpellets to be used for heat and hot water production but that

getting there will require significant marketing effort. In most

provinces, pellets are cheaper than oil, electricity, propane. We

need to educate Canadians about the modern automated pellet

appliances that are commonplace in Europe.

CARBON CREDITS

The European Union has an Emissions Trading System where

large emitters must buy emissions allowances, and various coun-

tries in that region also have carbon taxes. However, Canada has

no national meaningful carbon reduction policy, which hinders

the growth of biomass use for energy. In Murrays view, the Ca-

nadian governments focus on continued development of the oil

sands means there will not be any federal carbon-controllingmechanisms introduced anytime soon.

On a provincial level, Dan Fraleigh notes that B.C. has a car-

bon tax and Alberta has a voluntary cap-and-trade system for

large carbon emitters, as does Quebec (which trades with Cali-

fornia companies). He expects something in Ontario in the next

five to 10 years, but nothing is certain, and like Murray, Fraleigh

expects nothing nationally in the foreseeable future. The volun-

tary carbon offset market is whats most active in North America

buying credits for marketing purposes, says the Chief Oper-

ating Officer of Carbonzero, a firm which aids organizations in

assessing, reporting, and reducing their emissions.

In its new vision and action plan released in April, Evolu-tion and Growth: From Biofuels To Bioeconomy, the Canadian

Renewable Fuels Association states that Globally, more than 40

countries have or are in the process of putting a price on carbon.

In so doing, they are effectively monetizing carbon benefits that

accrue through the use of sustainable products, like biofuels.

However, while Fraleigh acknowledges that biomass projects are

now eligible for credits, he expects that to end within the next

decade or so. Offsets are a mechanism to encourage change, he

notes, so when an offset-eligible activity such as biomass use

becomes prevalent, offsets become unavailable for it (but then

become available for other carbon-reducing activities that need

support due to growth).

GOVERNMENT INCENTIVES, POLICY AND SUPPORT

The biomass industry has long called for stable government

policy that supports the nation to use more biomass for energy.

Kevin Kerschen, a senior project manager for Black & Veatchs

global energy business, echoes the sentiment. Black & Veatch

has had a significant role in planning, evaluating and providing

engineering services for many of the recent biopower projects

under development in the U.S., including standalone biopower,

co-firing biomass in coal plants and repowering coal plants with

biomass fuel.

In a recent Black & Veatch article, Four Key DevelopmentsNeeded to Boost Global Biomass Industr

canadian biomass setoctu 2014.pdf

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