september 2012 biomass magazine

September 2012

Power on the Rise

A Retrofi t Project Restores Economic Order In A

Struggling Paper TownPage 24

Plus:Bringing Algae To Iowa's Ethanol CountryPage 22

Insight from an Upstart Biomass Supplier Page 32

And:Biobased Syngas Technology Goes ModularPage 38

www.biomassmagazine.com

SEPTEMBER 2012 | BIOMASS MAGAZINE 3

ALGAEAlgae Blooms on Iowa's West CoastPerspective from a leading algae cultivation and harvesting company.Interviewed by Tim Portz

RETROFITFrom Paper to PowerA New Hampshire biomass power retrofi t project provides a blueprint for successful site renovation, repurposed equipment and job creation. By Anna Simet

SUPPLYCommitted to Cofi ring An upstart supply and procurement company talks about breaking into biomass and why cofi ring facilities will help their company grow. By Luke Geiver

DISTRIBUTED ENERGYDemonstrating Portable EnergyComing soon: modular syngas production technology for on-site, on-demand bioenergy. By Erin Voegele

COFIREConquering Cofi ring Flow ChallengesA thorough discussion of potential hurdles associated with cofi ring biomass with coal, and how to prevent and overcome them.By Jayant Khambekar and Roger A. Barnum

INSIDE¦

SEPTEMBER 2012 | VOLUME 6 | ISSUE 9

FEATURES

CONTRIBUTION

DEPARTMENTS04 EDITOR’S NOTE

Necessity Is Not the Only Mother of InventionBy Tim Portz

06 INDUSTRY EVENTS

07 POWER PLATFORMCommunities Across the Country Embrace BiomassBy Bob Cleaves

08 ADVANCED ADVOCACYAdvanced Biofuel Industry Gaining MomentumBy Michael McAdams

10 ENERGY REVIEWAdvanced Biofuels, a Transformative IndustryBy Bruce C. Folkedahl

12 FEEDSTOCK FOOTNOTESThe Fearless Emergency of NowBy Todd Atkinson

14 BUSINESS BRIEFS

16 BIOMASS NEWS

46 MARKETPLACE

24

22

32

38

42

ADVERTISER INDEX¦

2012 Algae Biomass Summit 47

2012 National Advanced Biofuels 48Conference & Expo

2013 International Biomass Conference & Expo 45

Algae Biomass Organization 11

Amandus Kahl GmbH & Co. KG 44

BBI Consulting Services 21

Biomass Magazine 4

BRUKS Rockwood 29

Centre for Research and 41 Innovation in the Bio-Economy

Clariant Produckte (Deutchland) Gmbh 37

Continental Biomass Industries, Inc. 14

CPM Roskamp Champion 6

Detroit Stoker Company 35

Dieffenbacher 19

Fagen Inc. 15

Haldor Topsoe A/S 9

Himark bioGas 2

ICM, Inc. 31

KEITH Manufacturing Company 40

Keller and Heckman 17

Millard Maritime 20

National Biodiesel Board 36

Pellet Mill Magazine 46

Pittcon 13

PRODESA 5

Retsch, Inc. 34

ThermoEnergy Corporation 18

Twin Ports Testing 26

West Salem Machinery 27

Wolf Material Handling Systems 16

Biomass Magazine: (USPS No. 5336) September 2012, Vol. 6, Issue 9. Biomass Magazine is published monthly by BBI International. Principal Offi ce: 308 Second Ave. N., Suite 304, Grand Forks, ND 58203. Periodicals Postage Paid at Grand Forks, North Dakota and additional mailing offi ces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Biomass Magazine/Subscriptions, 308 Second Ave. N., Suite 304, Grand Forks, North Dakota 58203.

18

September 2012

Power on the Rise

A Retrofit Project Restores Economic Order In A

Struggling Paper TownPage 24

Plus:Bringing Algae To Iowa's Ethanol CountryPage 22

Insight from an Upstart Biomass Supplier 2

And:Biobased Syngas Technology Goes ModularPage 38

www.biomassmagazine.com

ON THE COVER: A shuttered Paper Mill in Berlin, New Hampshire will begin operation as a biomass power plant starting in 2013.PHOTO: MARK R. DUCHARME

4 BIOMASS MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2012

Necessity Is Not the Only Mother of InventionRegardless of what opponents or skeptics of biomass-derived energy might say about our indus-

try, they certainly cannot argue with our opportunistic nature. I suppose this is the result of building an entire industry within the margins or shadows of “conventional” power, heat, fuel and chemical markets.

As biomass professionals we have to be opportunistic. Our feedstocks are typically the coprod-ucts and castoffs of other agricultural or industrial processes, our conversion technologies are often initially optimized for other inputs, and our energy products face massive and deeply entrenched competitors, yet we continue to force the issue while pursuing and winning real market share.

Every time a biomass input is converted into an energy product, it occurs because someone saw an opportunity for biomass and engineered their way over the hurdles that continued to fall into their path.

With a focus on cofi ring, co-location and repowering, this month’s issue of Biomass Magazine is an examination of the kind of opportunism I fi nd so exciting about our industry. In Anna Simet’s piece “Paper to Power,” she examines how a shuttered paper mill in New Hampshire is being recast as a stand-alone biomass power facility, consequently putting local residents back to work and add-ing value to the area’s abundant biomass supply. Luke Geiver examines the opportunity created for a small Minnesota trucking company that paid attention to local industrial sites that began to fold cofi ring into their operational strategy. Their knowledge of available biomass and ability to guarantee on-time delivery has their business growing. Finally, in a Q&A with BioProcess Algae Senior Scientist Toby Ahrens, we learn about the opportunity he and his organization see in carbon dioxide exiting the stack of a host facility, and their plan to capture and convert it into a valuable biomass stream.

An argument could be made that the projects outlined in this month’s issue aren’t necessary. The paper mill in Berlin, N.H., could remain shuttered, the steel operation in Minnesota could operate exclusively on coal and the Green Plains ethanol facility in Shenandoah, Iowa, could continue venting CO2 into the atmosphere without wondering about the lost opportunity. But, you are reading about them today because our industry is populated by folks listening for even the faintest rap of opportu-nity at their door.

TIM PORTZVICE PRESIDENT OF CONTENT & EXECUTIVE [email protected]

¦EDITOR’S NOTE


EDITORIAL

PRESIDENT & EDITOR IN CHIEFTom Bryan [email protected]

VICE PRESIDENT OF CONTENT & EXECUTIVE EDITORTim Portz [email protected]

CONTRIBUTIONS EDITORAnna Simet [email protected]

FEATURES EDITORLuke Geiver [email protected]

NEWS EDITORErin Voegele [email protected]

COPY EDITOR Jan Tellmann [email protected]

ARTART DIRECTOR

Jaci Satterlund [email protected]

GRAPHIC DESIGNERElizabeth Burslie [email protected]

PUBLISHING & SALESCHAIRMAN

Mike Bryan [email protected]

CEOJoe Bryan [email protected]

VICE PRESIDENT, SALES & MARKETINGMatthew Spoor [email protected]

EXECUTIVE ACCOUNT MANAGERHoward Brockhouse [email protected]

SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER Jeremy Hanson [email protected]

ACCOUNT MANAGERSMarty Steen [email protected] Bob Brown [email protected]

Andrea Anderson [email protected] Austin [email protected]

CIRCULATION MANAGER Jessica Beaudry [email protected]

ADVERTISING COORDINATORMarla DeFoe [email protected]

SENIOR MARKETING MANAGERJohn Nelson [email protected]

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

TM

Please recycle this magazine and remove inserts or samples before recycling COPYRIGHT © 2012 by BBI International


Algae Biomass SummitSeptember 24-27, 2012Sheraton Denver Downtown HotelDenver, ColoradoAdvancing Technologies and Markets Derived from AlgaeOrganized by the Algal Biomass Organization and coproduced by BBI International, this event brings current and future producers of biobased products and energy together with algae crop growers, municipal leaders, technology providers, equipment manufacturers, project developers, investors and policy makers. (866)746-8385www.algaebiomasssummit.org

National Advanced Biofuels Conference & ExpoNovember 27-29, 2012Hilton Americas - HoustonHouston, TexasNext Generation Fuels and ChemicalsProduced by BBI International, the National Advanced Biofuels Conference & Expo is tailored for industry professionals engaged in producing, developing and deploying advanced biofuels, biobased platform chemicals, polymers and other renewable molecules that have the potential to meet or exceed the performance of petroleum-derived products. Early bird registration rates expire October 16.(866)746-8385www.advancedbiofuelsconference.com

International Biomass Conference & ExpoApril 8-10, 2013Minneapolis Convention CenterMinneapolis, MinnesotaBuilding on InnovationOrganized by BBI International and produced by Biomass Magazine, the International Biomass Conference & Expo program will include 30-plus panels and more than 100 speakers, including 90 technical presentations on topics ranging from anaerobic digestion and gas-ifi cation to pyrolysis and combined heat and power. This dynamic event unites industry professionals from all sectors of the world’s in-terconnected biomass utilization industries—biobased power, ther-mal energy, fuels and chemicals. (866)746-8385www.biomassconference.com

¦INDUSTRY EVENTS

International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & ExpoJune 10-13, 2013America’s CenterSt. Louis, MissouriWhere Producers MeetNow in its 29th year, the FEW provides the global ethanol industry with cutting-edge content and unparalleled networking opportunities in a dynamic business-to-business environment. The FEW is the largest, longest-running ethanol conference in the world—and the only event powered by Ethanol Producer Magazine.(866)746-8385www.fuelethanolworkshop.com

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No doubt most Biomass Magazine readers are familiar with the Wall Street Journal biomass story that ran in late July. While the story presented evidence of regulatory noncompliance at a few facilities—some due to standards that have been nothing less than a moving target—it revealed scant evidence that when done right, biomass is not a clean, renewable source of energy.

The story failed to capture examples of the many proud, compliant facilities in our industry. The very same week the WSJ article was published, many exciting bio-mass developments took place across the country. These projects are not only signifi cant for breaking new ground, they are also noteworthy for the recognition and favor-able media coverage they are generating on a local level. It is truly encouraging to see local communities embrace the positive impact of biomass.

Here are just a few examples:• New York – ReEnergy Holdings held Demo Day

at its facility based in Lyons Falls, N.Y. Local sawmill loggers were invited to tour the facility and enter into contracts to sell ReEnergy the low-grade woody waste material they would typically leave on the forest fl oor. Ac-cording to the Watertown Daily News, the innovative event attracted more than 100 participants, and resulted in at least 13 new suppliers for the facility. The story included a quote by a local supplier on the ReEnergy offer: “I’ve been in this business for 30 years. I’ve never had any company offer me the deal ReEnergy has,” said Ronald G. King Jr., shortly after deciding to join the program.

• Texas – On July 25, the largest biomass facility in the country offi cially began producing power on the grid. This 100 MW facility, operated by Southern Power in Na-cogdoches, Texas, will power 70,000 homes in Austin and the surrounding areas. Next year, this facility is expected to share the largest-in-country distinction with a facility in Gainesville, Fla. A local newspaper, the Jacksonville Daily Progress, reported that the “facility is expected to burn about a million tons of wood fragments, which will be purchased from local landowners and businesses within a 75-mile radius from the plant… it will burn non-mer-chantable wood products from saw mills and other wood production waste, forest waste, precommercial thinning of cultivated trees and other noncommercial tree spe-cies.”

The Daily Progress quoted Texas state Rep. Chuck Hopson on the facility’s local benefi ts, who said, “They are going to buy all these wood products that we are now scrapping or we are having to burn and they are going to buy these products from 75 miles away. So for the people who are raising timber, it's another way that they can get some more money out of their product. It takes away a lot of biomass that we have left laying on the ground before and it's jobs for east Texas.”

• Tennessee – The U.S. DOE recently dedicated a new biomass steam facility at its Oak Ridge National Laboratories in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Local newspaper the Oak Ridger reported in a story about the new plant, “The biomass gasifi cation technology and elimination of four fossil-fuel boilers reduces greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of 4,500 automobiles per year and models a sustainable solution to the nation’s energy needs.” The Oak Ridger included a quote from Johnny Moore, ORNL site offi ce manager who said, “This project demonstrates that public institutions and private companies can partner to supply innovative clean-energy technologies on a large scale. The biomass plant will also provide an opportunity for researchers to gather important data from a large-scale biomass process.”

• Ohio – A Veterans Affairs medical center in Chillicothe, Ohio, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its brand new biomass plant, which will provide steam heat and electrical power. According to the Chillicothe Gazette, the facility—the fi rst operational biomass plant in the VA system—“is expected to create fi ve to 10 jobs in the community, as well as reduce the VA’s carbon footprint by about 4,060 pounds per year.” The VA received federal stimulus money to assist in the building of the plant, which is expected to save the center more than $100,000 per year.

Finally, in an effort to aid communities in taking full advantage of all that biomass has to offer, in late July the U.S. Forest Service announced nearly $4 million in grants for 20 wood energy projects across the country.

We are looking forward to even more positive bio-mass news in the coming years.

Author: Bob CleavesPresident and CEO, Biomass Power Association

[email protected]

Communities Across the Country Embrace Biomass

POWER PLATFORM¦

BY BOB CLEAVES


On Aug. 2, the advanced biofuels industry had its best day in a long time. Both the Senate Appropri-ations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee passed bills containing provisions that move the ball forward for the industry.

In what has been a diffi cult battle, the discussion surrounding the memorandum of understanding be-tween the U.S. Department of Defense, the USDA and the U.S. DOE has spurned great controversy between key Republicans, Secretary of the Navy Ray Maybus and his supporters on Capitol Hill. To give credit where it’s due, Mabus, Sen. Inouye, D-Hawaii, Sen. Cochran, R-Miss., and Sen. Murray, D-Wash., led the effort to provide the funding to advance the program. In the end, the committee provided the full $170 million in funding, $70 million more than the DOD's own request.

This essentially ignores an effort by Sen. McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Inhofe, R-Okla., to place provisions in the defense authorization bill that would render the program virtually inoperable. When Congress re-turns, it is expected that the defense authorization bill will be brought to the full Senate fl oor for consider-ation. Given the less-than-stellar provisions support-ing the authorization in the House version of the bill, it is essential that the Senate provisions are stricken or signifi cantly modifi ed in order to provide a strong base for the program moving forward. The bipartisan Senate Appropriations Committee vote was a good start, however.

This effort drew many supporters, including a group of more than 50 organizations that came to the defense of these provisions. Virtually all of the organizations that support biofuels, along with the airline industry and a number of defense-related or-ganizations, actively supported the effort to fully fund

the MOU. This is a model that will have to be rep-licated to defend the renewable fuel standard (RFS)moving forward.

In the fi nance committee, a bipartisan group vote of 19 to 5 approved a number of key provisions sought by the advanced biofuels industry. The com-mittee extended the cellulosic production tax credit through the end of 2013 and added algae-based fuels to the credit. Additionally, the committee extended the biodiesel, renewable diesel and the alternative fu-els tax credits until the end of 2013, and the Section 168 fi rst-year depreciation allowance for cellulosic property was expanded to include algae, and extend-ed until the end of 2013.

The House has not taken action on any of the above provisions and has no schedule to do so as of this writing. Expect this to be an issue that, if it gets addressed, will take place following the election in a lame duck session. For those of you already produc-ing gallons, with the exception of the alternative fuels mixture credit, all of the other provisions are retroac-tive back to Jan. 1.

As I have written before, elections have conse-quences, and those of you in the biofuels space need to be actively engaged and remind all politicians that advanced biofuels should be part of a portfolio ap-proach to our nation's energy policy. It should not be a partisan issue. Make your voice heard, and in every conversation remind them that the RFS is the bed-rock of our nation's renewable fuels policy. It must and should be supported for our nation moving for-ward.

Get ready for an active fall.

Author: Michael McAdamsPresident, Advanced Biofuels Association

www.advancedbiofuelsassociation.com

Advanced Biofuels Industry Gaining MomentumBY MICHAEL MCADAMS

¦ADVANCED ADVOCACY

Renewable drop-in diesel, jet and naphtha fuels

Capitalizing on bio-oils

Haldor Topsøe has developed licensed process technology – HydroFlex™ – and specialized catalysts for producing drop-in renewable fuels from a large variety of second-generation feedstocks such as:

- animal fat - waste cooking oils - tall oil (paper and pulp industry) - other glyceride oils - various renewable crude oils

We are currently involved in more than a dozen plants producing renewable drop-in diesel, jet or naphtha. Topsøe’s renewable fuels catalysts are optimized to provide substantially better product yields of both diesel and jet improving the profi tability for our clients.

Contact us to learn more about how Topsøe technology may benefi t your company.

W W W. T O P S O E . C O M


At the recent U.S. DOE-sponsored Biomass Conference 2012: Confronting Challenges, Creating Opportunities, much of the focus was on liquid fuels from biomass. Several presenters, including U.S. Sec-retary of Energy Steven Chu, mentioned butanol as a highly-regarded advanced biofuel.

As part of the ongoing research at the Energy & Environmental Research Center, we have been developing a catalytic pathway to convert ethanol or mixtures of methanol and ethanol to higher alcohols, including butanol, through Guerbet condensation reactions. Simply stated, cellulosic biomass such as wood chips can be converted into a mixture of gases in a gasifi er, and the resulting syngas can be passed over a catalyst and converted to alcohols like ethanol. The goal of EERC’s research is to alleviate one of the major challenges and costs involved with cellu-losic ethanol production, which is the coproduction of undesired quantities of methanol with the ethanol product. Current biorefi nery processing technology and associated commercial catalysts render the pro-duction of unwanted concentrations of methanol unavoidable. Methanol production is undesirable, as it is not an ideal gasoline additive because of its wa-ter affi nity, corrosive nature, volatility-raising impact when blended with gasoline, and low volumetric en-ergy content versus gasoline. Two potential solutions to the methanol problem are to limit its production, and/or separate it from ethanol. Both of these po-tential solutions present economic challenges.

Rather than fi ght methanol production during the syngas conversion process, the EERC is develop-ing technology to capitalize on it. Utilizing an easily-produced, mixed-alcohol product from a biomass-de-rived syngas—about 60 percent methanol, 30 percent ethanol, 10 percent higher alcohols—as feedstock to a condensation reaction yields a mixture of branched alcohols, or isoalcohols, comprising at least 65 per-cent isobutanol and signifi cant quantities of higher isoalcohols including isohexanols and isooctanols.

According to the Argonne National Laboratory, use of cellulosic ethanol to displace gasoline reduces greenhouse gases (GHGs) by 85 percent. By exten-

sion, the use of cellulosic isobutanol and higher isoal-cohols to replace gasoline should reduce GHGs by a similar amount. Because isobutanol offers gasoline compatibility advantages versus ethanol, gasoline–isobutanol blends may be transportable via pipeline, which would further reduce GHG emissions.

The EERC technology will maximize the yield of mixed alcohols and subsequent isobutanol from biomass while also generating replacements for high-value, normal alcohol- and isoalcohol-based chemi-cal intermediates and solvents currently derived from fossil fuels.

The fl exibility to produce fuel and higher-value normal alcohol and/or isoalcohol chemical interme-diates represents a commercial advantage that should serve as an offset to the fi nancial risk of building a cellulosic fuel plant. Propanol, butanol, isobutanol and isohexanol have broad markets, carry a higher price, and are renewable in derivation, making them eligible for various credits and incentives worldwide. Of course there is the added branding of lower-car-bon-footprint fuel and chemicals that can displace ap-preciable volumes of their petroleum-derived coun-terparts.

Additionally, this technology could take ethanol produced in current grain-based plants and react it with higher alcohols, commanding a greater return when compared to fuel-grade ethanol, enhancing profi tability at these plants.

David Danielson, U.S. DOE assistant secretary for energy effi ciency and renewable energy, believes that building a substantial and clean renewable energy industry in the U.S. will be transformative, and once again prove that the country is capable of anything. The EERC plans to be part of that transformative industry.

Author: Bruce C. FolkedahlSenior Research Manager

(701) [email protected]

Advanced Biofuels, a Transformative IndustryBY BRUCE C. FOLKEDAHL

¦ENERGY REVIEW

www.algaebiomass.org | [email protected] | (877) 531-5512

In addition to creating most of the planet’s oxygen, algae are now creating tremendous opportunities in

markets for sustainable fuel, food and other products.

If you are in the algae business, or plan to be, there is no better place than the Algae Biomass Organization to gain access to new markets, a voice on policy, and new

connections for business opportunities.

AlgaeThe first wonder of the world


Since the 20th century, scientists have worked to cure cancer. They have yet to succeed.

Many researchers develop hypotheses that end in disappointment, with the death rate from cancer remaining a challenge. Yet the public sector contin-ues to invest billions of dollars toward a cure.

That’s because Americans don’t give up. De-spite the costs, the stakes are too high. But most important, from each setback along the journey blooms multiple avenues of discovery, generating possibilities that we ask doctors to implement at once, especially when the prognosis is dire and time is running out. My point is when Americans try, Americans achieve, moving the needle forward, and bringing the fi nal destination within reach.

That confi dence in American ingenuity is absent in recent efforts to block the U.S. Navy from acquiring biofuels for our military fl eet with the notion that biofuels are too expensive, and thus questionable to pursue.

Unsurprisingly, researchers often argue that more study is needed. But sometimes there is a time to think, and a time to act. Yes, federal invest-ments in energy technologies entail risk, and that’s the point. It must strike that sweet spot between what the public will tolerate and what banks can-not, sometimes getting it wrong. Even one isolated misstep can unleash a swarm of criticism that can sting decision makers into stasis.

But the time has expired for blocking Ameri-can innovation that will pull our country into the future.

Microwaves, cellphones, GPS devices and digital photography, all once unaffordable national security technologies originating with the military, today are affordably commonplace among civilians. Are domestic biofuels less important to national se-curity, or somehow impervious to cost reductions?

Five years ago, the leadership of the 110th Congress created the updated renewable fuels standard to add 20 billion more gallons of biofuels by 2022 than is in the marketplace today, plus the Biomass Crop Assistance Program to begin grow-ing the non-food crops for these fuels. Now these groundbreaking policies, too, face opposition, while special breaks for century-old, mature fuel indus-tries continue.

Biofuels are too expensive? Pew Charitable Trusts reports the Pentagon spent $8 billion on 130 million barrels of oil in 2005, a cost that doubled in three years for the same volume. Discontinue federal efforts on biofuels, and we’ll learn more about real fuel costs.

The American people have little appetite for inaction. That’s why USDA keeps moving forward on domestic bioenergy investments because success is achieved only when the “impossible” is pressed into service. We’ll never catch lightening in a bottle if we refuse to stand in the rain.

Author: Todd AtkinsonSenior Energy Advisor, USDA Undersecretary of Farm and

Foreign Agricultural Service202-720-2797

[email protected]

The Fearless Emergency of Now

¦FEEDSTOCK FOOTNOTES

BY TODD ATKINSON

Attending Pittcon, the world’s largest annual conference and exposition for laboratory science, gives you the power to get a hands-on look at innovative equipment, learn about industry trends and discover new applications and methodologies used in the biomass industry. Technical sessions related to fuels and energy include the latest in mass spectroscopy, separation sciences, LC/GC and more.

For more information on technical sessions, exhibitors and short courses, visit www.pittcon.org.

follow us Scan this or go to www.pittcon.org to save 50% on registration.

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BIFUEL

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DISCOVERY


PEOPLE, PRODUCTS & PARTNERSHIPSBusiness BriefsReEnergy assigns facility managerReEnergy Holdings LLC appointed William M. O’Reilly as facility manager for ReEnergy Black River, which is located at Fort Drum, near Watertown, N.Y. O’Reilly has more than 20 years of experience in the power generating industry. In his new position, he will be responsible for overseeing the operations of the facility. ReEnergy Black River was acquired by the company last year after being idled by its former owner. The power plant used to take in coal as its primary fuel. ReEnergy is investing more than $30 million this year to convert it into a biomass-fi red power plant. Once operational, the facility is expected to produce 400,000 MWh of power per year.

GE Energy engines power Cambodian projectGE Energy signed a contract with the Cambodian industrial conglomerate Soma Group to supply two engines that will be installed at a new biomass gasifi -cation facility. Soma Group’s Hak Se mill biomass gasifi cation project is located in Kamphong Cham, a rural rice mill-ing region. India-based Ankur Scientifi c Energy Technologies Pvt. Ltd. is devel-oping the facility, which will gasify rice to power two GE VHP 5904 Waukesha engines. Once operational, the facility will generate approximately 1.5 MW of electricity. A portion of the power will support the rice mill’s operations, while surplus electricity will be sold to the lo-cal grid.

UK establishes bioenergy research hubThe Supergen Bioenergy Hub was founded in the U.K. through a €3.5 million ($4.3 million) grant awarded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council as part of the Research Council’s U.K. Energy Program. Organi-zations participating in the hub include six research universities and 10 industrial partners. The hub is expected to initially take on 10 research projects, including those related to biomass combustion, torrefaction, biogas, biomass gasifi ca-tion, fast pyrolysis, and biofuels. The collaboration is directed by Patricia Thornley of the Tyndall Centre for Cli-mate Change Research at the University of Manchester.

Metabolix, Antibioticos partner for bioplastic productionMetabolix Inc. signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Antibioticos S.A. for the production of Mirel biopolymer resin. Antibioticos will produce the material at its manufacturing facility in Leon, Spain. Under the terms of the LOI, the two companies will immediately begin con-ducting a series of validation production runs to demonstrate fermentation and recovery of Mirel biopolymer resin on full production-scale equipment at the Leon facility. Matabolix and Antibioticos plan to enter into a defi nitive contract manufacturing agreement following the

validation production runs and comple-tion of economic and engineering feasi-bility studies.

NAABB selects division leaderDonald Danforth Plant Science Cen-

ter Executive Director José Olivares was selected to serve as division leader of the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts’ Bioscience Divi-sion. The NAABB is a consortium of leading scientists and engineers from universities, private industry and national laboratories that is led by the Danforth

Center. The Bioscience Division of the alliance is based at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In his new position, Olivares will lead a team of 180 researchers and staff within the disciplinary groups that include genome science, biosecurity and public health, bioenergy and environ-mental science, and advanced measure-ment science. The Bioscience Division executes a portfolio of more than $70 million in research each year.

BUSINESS BRIEFS¦

SHARE YOUR INDUSTRY NEWS: To be included in the Busi-ness Briefs, send information (including photos and logos, if available) to Industry Briefs, Biomass Magazine, 308 Sec-ond Ave. N., Suite 304, Grand Forks, ND 58203. You may also email information to [email protected]. Please include your name and telephone number in all cor-respondence.

José Olivares has considerable experience in algal biofuels research.

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BiomassNews

Advanced biofuels were an integral com-ponent of the U.S. Navy’s Rim of the Pacifi c training exercises in July. As part of a two-day demonstration, the Great Green Fleet success-fully demonstrated the use of 50/50 blends of advanced biofuels via both air and sea platforms.

Louisiana-based Dynamic Fuels LLC and California-based Solazyme Inc. provided algae-based fuel for the demonstration. “One point I want to make is that absolutely no modifi cations were required or made of any of the engines that were burning biofuels,” said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.

The Navy has been criticized over the high cost of the biofuel used in the demonstration, which cost approximately $26 per gallon. “If we only looked at cost, we still wouldn’t be buying nuclear subs,” Mabus said. He has also stressed that the cost of advanced biofuels will come down in the future.

Navy’s Great Green Fleetexhibits advanced biofuels

California-based OriginOil Inc. has shipped its fi rst production model of the Algae Appliance harvester to Ennesys, its urban algae joint venture in Paris. Ennesys is utilizing OriginOil’s entry-level Algae Appliance unit, the Model 4. The system can process up to 4 liters (1 gallon) of dilute algae water per minute into an algae concentrate, without the use of chemicals.

The company also received an order for two of its test-scale units

from the U.S. DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory. One of the units, an Algae Appliance Model 4, is designed to de-water algae on a continuous basis us-ing very low amounts of energy. The other, a Solids Out of Solution Model 2K, is capable of removing contami-nants from frack water. The order will be completed via an in-kind transac-tion under the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between OriginOil and INL.

OriginOil supplies systems to Ennesys, Idaho National Laboratory

Comparison of algae dewatering processesMembrane Centrifuge Chemical Mechanical OriginOil's

Single Step Extraction

Chemical-free yes yes no yes yesLow-energy yes yes yes no yesContinuous-process yes no yes yes yesLow-cost no no no no yesDewatering + cell-rupture no no no no yes* Information sourced from OriginOil Inc.


BIOMASSNEWS¦

The nation’s largest biomass power plant began operations this summer. Southern Co. announced that its 100 MW Nacogdoches Generation Facility began putting electricity into the Texas grid in July. Austin Energy is receiving energy from the plant through a power purchase agreement.

The plant occupies a 165-acre tract in northeast Texas near Sacul and represents a capital investment of approximately $500 million. The facility will take in non-merchantable wood waste as feedstock, primarily saw mill and wood mill production waste, forest waste, pre-commercial thinning of cultivated trees, and diseased and other non-commercial tree species. Southern Co. also notes there is potential to utilize urban wood waste, tree limbs and branches produced by storms, and other non-commercial logging-derived biomass in the future.

The Nacogdoches Generating Facility is owned and operated by Southern Co. subsidiary Southern Power, which acquired the project from American Renewables LLC in 2009.

A new benchmark for the cellulosic biofuel sector has been reached by Kior Inc. The U.S. EPA granted the company the necessary permit to sell cellulosic gaso-line in the U.S. market.

“KiOR’s gasoline is the fi rst renew-able cellulosic gasoline that the EPA has registered for sale in the United States,” says Fred Cannon, the company’s president and CEO. KiOR’s biofuel will be fueling American cars this year.

The Clean Air Act requires importers and refi ners of gasoline and diesel to regis-ter fuel set for sale with EPA before it can be sold. Fuel manufactures are required to analyze combustion and evaporative emis-sions, survey existing scientifi c information and, in some cases, conduct tests to screen for potential adverse health effects. With the permit now in place, KiOR can sell fuel produced this year at its plant in Colum-bus, Miss.

ACROSS THE GLOBE, AROUND THE CLOCK

KELLER AND HECKMAN LLP

• Environmental liabilities and indemnifications fortransportation, distribution and blending services

• Nationwide audits of oil storage and distributionfacilities

• RFS and RFS2 regulations, registrations, and RenewableIdentification Number (RIN) transactions

• Managing chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing

• Environmental Protection Agency premanufacturenotification requirements for fuel production strains,fuel intermediates, and fuels

• Clearance needs related to uses of biomass andprocessing aids

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COUNSELING RELATED TO:

Southern Co. brings 100 MW biomass power plant online

KiOR permitted to sell cellulosic gasolineRenewable Fuel Standard cellulsoic biofuel requirements (in billions of gallons)

20102011 20122013201420152016201720182019202020212022

0.10.250.511.7534.255.578.510.513.516

0.00660.00865

Volume established in original regulation

Volume fi nalized by EPA yearly rulemaking


¦BIOMASSNEWS

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The U.S. Coast Guard and USDA’s Forest Service are collaborating on efforts to reduce heating costs at the Coast Guard’s larger Alas-kan facilities by converting from heating oil to wood pellets.

Under the agreement, Coast Guard engineer and agency biomass expert Robert Deering, along with Dan Parrent, USFS Wood Biomass and Stewardship program manager, will work closely with the USDA’s Southeast Alaska forest products and renewable energy workgroups, the Alaska Division of Forestry, Alaska Southeast Conference and the Alaska Energy Authority.

Deering is tasked with developing a strategy and action plan to facilitate conver-sion of oil heat to biomass. He will also initiate implementation of priority projects identifi ed in the plan.

Illinois-based Coskata has shelved plans to pursue cellulosic biofuel produc-tion. Instead, the company will focus on the production of synfuels using natural gas feedstock. In addition, Coskata has elected not to complete an initial public offering (IPO) at this time.

Regarding the move to natural gas-based synfuels, Coskata CEO Bill Roe says his company made the decision due, in part, to lower risks and lower production and capital costs. “We made this decision because we see an enormous opportunity to upgrade natural gas into higher value transportation fuel,” he says. “Natural gas is a huge opportunity owing to its abundant supply and historically low price, and we are uniquely positioned to take advantage of it with our syngas fermentation technology.”

Roe also notes that Coskata isn’t entirely abandoning the potential to use biomass feedstock in the future. “We still intend to build a biomass facility in the future if the economic and regulatory conditions are right,” he says. The company is also leaving open the opportunity to complete an IPO in the future.

Coast Guard looks to replace heating oil with pellets in Alaska

Coskata shifts focus to synfuelsUnveils process; announces partnership with General Motors

Demo plant celebrates startup

Shelves biofuels, IPO plans

Selects Madison, Pa. for demo plant

Files registration statement for proposed IPO

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

BIOMASSNEWS¦

Germany-based Weltec Biopower GmbH is building a 370 kW biogas plant in Bure, Swit-zerland, for Bio.Etique.Energy SA. The facility is expected to begin operations in November. Once the plant is running at capacity, it will feed approximately 3 GWh of electricity into the grid per year and supply 2.6 GWh of excess heat to military barracks.

The facility will take in agricultural waste as feedstock, including liquid manure, dung, green waste and grain waste. Weltec said that the plant will utilize a wet fermentation process, which is suitable for processing heterogeneous wastes. The biogas facility will feature a 3,994-cubic-meter fermenter, a 45-cubic-meter solid matter dosing feeder, and a gas-tight storage unit with a capacity of 4,078 cubic meters.

Weltec also recently announced that its client Fernbrook Bio won the 2012 UK AD & Biogas Association’s Best Biogas Project award for its 1.5 MW biogas plant in the U.K.

The U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change has published level of fi nancial support that will be available for large-scale renewable power generators from 2013-’17 under its Renewables Obligation subsidies program. An altered defi nition of biomass conversion and cofi ring will increase incentives for existing plants to use more biomass.

Under the new subsidy levels, support for the conversion of coal-fi red plants to biomass-fi red plants has been maintained at one Renewables Obligation Credit per MWh. The subsidy for cofi ring has been modifi ed to stepped levels that more accurately refl ect the cost elements of different cofi ring levels, and what is afford-able for both enhanced and standard cofi ring.

Existing plants are able to gain credit for cofi ring and conversion on a generating-unit basis, which allows more fl exibility for generators to move to full conversion over time.

It is estimated that the revised banding levels could spur between £20 billion ($31 billion)and £25 billion of new investment between 2013 and 2017.

Weltec develops biogas plant in Switzerland

UK announces Renewable Obligation subsidy levels

U.K. Installed biomass power capacity (in MW)2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Dedicated biomass power 211 219 300 330 1,159Cofi ring, biomass portion 201 180 208 266 338*Data sourced from U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change

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Q&A

BioProcess Algae Senior Scientist Toby Ahrens notes that while carbon diox-ide may not yet be an offi cial liability, any CO

2 exiting up the stack of an industrial

facility is, at the very least, a missed op-portunity. Pointing also to the high cost and diffi culty of sequestering carbon, Ahrens and BioProcess Algae seek not to sequester carbon dioxide but to utilize it to create a biomass stream that can be converted into high-value feed, fuel and specialty coproducts. This month, we catch up with Ahrens and inquire about his history with algae, the advantages of algal cultivation and BioProcess Algae’s progress at its pilot facility in Shenan-doah, Iowa.

You grew up on an island in Maine. How did this experience shape your in-terest in marine science?

I certainly spent a lot of time on the water. I loved growing up on the coast. But before we get too romantic about my island life, a bridge connected us to the mainland because Maine’s largest fossil-energy power generation facility is on the island as well. I also believe it was the last oil-fi red generating facility commis-sioned in the US. Maybe the CO2-to-algae seeds were planted in my brain earlier than I thought.

Can you recollect the fi rst time you thought about, or studied algae?

Well, macroalgae was hard to miss growing up, especially when my mother made us haul it from the beach up to her garden. My fi rst introduction to microalgae must have been when my Uncle Bert gave us a microscope―I must have been fi ve or

six at the time. That was really cool, but rotifers (essentially miniature buzzsaws with big appetites) were far more popular with me then than they are now! I also spent a few days at the Maine’s Department of Marine Resources in high school learning about monitoring for harmful algal blooms,

and that was probably the fi rst time that I really got hooked from a scientifi c perspective. I worked in Dr. Peter Siver’s phycology laboratory at Connecticut Col-lege and he was my fi rst true mentor in research science.

During a portion of your education, you studied conventional production agriculture, nutrient usage by wheat, I believe. In that context, why are algae such a good fi t for production agricul-

ture?

Nutrients are an expensive input to any agricultural system, and I always liked the 4R’s concept: the right source, at the right place, at the right time, in the right amount. In conventional agriculture, logistics (and economics) prevent you from applying every day in small doses as the plants need them. As a consequence, applications are grouped throughout the season and some nutrients are lost to the atmosphere, in surface runoff or leached through the root-ing zone. Algae is unique in that nutrient delivery can be monitored and maintained in real time as the crop needs it. Nutrient-use effi ciency can be extremely high.

What does a typical day at work look like for you?

Typical? Not sure I know what that means―I haven’t had one of those in a long time!

Algae Blooms on Iowa’s West CoastBioProcess Algae’s Toby Ahrens refl ects on the algae of his youth and the role algae may play in everyone’s energy future.


Q&A ¦

Fair enough. Let me rephrase. What responsibilities at BioProcess Algae take up the lion’s share of your time?

Making sure R&D priorities are aligned with commercialization efforts, but that is a broad umbrella. I work closely with the biology group to make sure strain selec-tion and bench experiments match product demand. I also work a lot with downstream partners. Various animal feeds have taken up the bulk of my time in recent weeks.

BioProcess Algae has been paired with Green Plains Renewable Energy in Shenandoah since its beginning. What makes that corn ethanol facility such a great venue for continued R&D and the company’s continued commercialization efforts?

The ethanol industry understands how to scale biological cultures as well as the importance of coproducts in making biofuels economically viable. We certainly share that sentiment. From a commercial-ization standpoint, it also means that we have access to very high-quality CO2, waste heat in the winter. Commercializing in the Midwest has also given us access to some of the premier research groups in the coun-try for traditional food crops and oilseeds processing.

At the heart of the BioProcess Algae cul-tivation technology is a biofi lm where the algae grow. What advantages does this approach offer?

The three biggest advantages are light penetration, high-density harvests and ef-fi cient gas transfer. Our substrate has an enormously high surface area on which the

algae attach, which lets us maintain much more biomass per unit area in thin biofi lms that minimizes shading and translates into higher productivity. We can then harvest more biomass into less water, so the culture coming out of the reactor are several times more dense than is typical. This means lower-cost dewatering―smaller systems and lower operating expenses. The gas trans-fer is an interesting one. CO2 can be one of the most expensive nutrients in liquid cultures, but in our system, the CO2 can be added directly to the headspace as a gas. This is a big cost savings by not having to get it into solution.

Whenever commercialization challenges in the algae industry are discussed, har-vest and dewatering seem to come up pretty quickly. What makes those two so diffi cult and how is BioProcess Algae tackling them?

A typical harvest is more than 99 per-cent water. We are harvesting at concentra-tions two to eight times more dense than typical systems, which means we have to handle two to eight times less water during dewatering. This translates to lower capital costs for smaller dewatering systems and less energy to run them. BioProcess Algae grew out of a wastewater treatment com-pany, so we have great in-house experience removing suspended solids from water.

What has to happen for algal protein to become regularly included in livestock rations?

We have had great early results from poultry trials suggesting that the algae we tested was highly digestible, rich in protein and high in the appropriate amino acids.

Studies on palatability, inclusion rates and any regulatory concerns need to be ad-dressed before the product can be commer-cialized. We are working with groups on all of these fronts, as we speak.

You have two offtake products, as I un-derstand it: oil and dried powders. Is it possible to optimize your system and strain selection in order to pursue one more diligently over the other?

One of the nice things about our production system is that it is highly fl exible and we can dedicate different reactors to grow up material for different markets at the same time. The strains themselves can always be improved, and our biology group works closely with downstream partners to make sure we are selecting strains and opti-mizing for product quality as well as robust culture characteristics for mass production.

It's been an incredibly hot summer. Cli-mate scientists are reminding the general public that carbon emissions are altering the planet’s climate and the carbon cap-ture and sequestration has never been greater. Is algal cultivation amongst our best chances to begin to tackle carbon emissions and turn the ship around?

From an environmental standpoint, CO2 mitigation is certainly a huge service provided by algae farms, but the farms also score well in terms of resource-use effi -ciency, including nutrients, energy and, last but not least this year, water. But even in a resource-constrained future, these benefi ts are meaningless unless the technology is profi table, socially acceptable and equitable.

TOBY AHRENSINTERVIEWED BY TIM PORTZ


¦RETROFIT

INNOVATION THROUGH RENOVATION: Burgess BioPower is being constructed at the former site of a Berlin, N.H., landmark.


RETROFIT¦

The closure of the last paper mill in Berlin, N.H., was devastating, but its ongoing transformation into a biomass power plant is revitalizing the region. BY ANNA SIMETPHOTOS BY MARK R. DUCHARME

From Paper To Power


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Tucked into northern New Hampshire’s lush forests along the Androscoggin River lies the city of Berlin, a picturesque

town that was once thriving as a result of the early twentieth century pulp and paper indus-try peak. Nestled in a heavily-wooded area

near a plentiful water source, the town was an ideal location for mills, and became home to several during the mid- to late 1800s.

Though the paper industry boom has long since dwindled, the town of roughly 10,000 still proudly embraces its tagline “the

city that trees built.” At times that may have been more true than some residents would prefer, particularly those who became jobless when the last paper mill—the largest source of employment in Berlin— was shut down several years ago.

WALL IN BERLIN: Construction workers at the Burgess BioPower site have begun erecting steel walls.


RETROFIT¦

But things have turned around since then, and a tree-based business will soon serve as an employment and economic boon to the town. Berlin’s paper mill is alive again, undergoing a major transformation into a wood-fi red biomass power plant.

Something Old to Something New Originally part of Berlin Mills Company,

the mill was renamed Brown Company dur-ing World War II because of anti-German sentiment. It changed ownership multiple times over the years, last operating under ownership of Fraser Paper, according to Al-exandra Ritchie of Cate Street Capital. For many years, it was the biggest job and rev-enue source in the area.

Cate Street Capital, an investment fi rm focused on fi nancing green projects, acquired the mill in 2008, acting on the opportunity to convert the existing infrastructure into some-thing else—something the city and region could both benefi t from. “It [the 2006 mill closure] was a devastating blow to the area, because there were so many people employed there,” explains Ritchie. “During the [early] development process, we were able to see fi rsthand what happens when a mill closes, as another area mill temporarily closed.”

Fortunately that mill has since re-opened, but Ritchie points out the trickle effect these kinds of closures have on the

HEADS UP: Burgess BioPower is requiring a substantial amount of new construction, but Cate Street Capital is utilizing much of the former paper mill's existing infrastructure.


¦RETROFIT

area economy. “In these towns, the restau-rants feel it, the grocery stores feel it, every-one is affected.”

Because Cate Street Capital expressed interest in purchasing the property, the ex-isting infrastructure narrowly escaped de-construction as it was temporarily owned by

a dismantling company. What remained at the heart of the facility was particularly ap-pealing to Cate Street: a Babcock & Wilcox black liquor recovery boiler that had strong retrofi t potential. “We realized that would improve the economics and timeline associ-ated with the project,” Ritchie says.

Babcock & Wilcox, which was awarded the engineering, procurement and construc-tion contract, installed the boiler in 1993, replacing two black liquor recovery boilers that needed retirement after a few decades of operation. “So it [the boiler] wasn’t that old,” Ritchie says, adding that it is currently

BACK IN THE GAME: Locals who may have lost their jobs when Berlin's paper mill closed its doors in 2006 are fi nding work again at Burgess BioPower.


RETROFIT¦

being converted into a bubbling fl uidized bed boiler. “It is saving us dollars and time, and it’s an added bonus that Babcock was familiar with the existing infrastructure,” she says. Existing boiler conditions will be upgraded to 575,000 pounds of steam per hour, a near 40 percent increase in steam fl ow when compared to the original boiler capacity, and the superheater will be com-pletely replaced and upgraded from the original 825 degrees Fahrenheit to 925. Boiler outlet steam pressure will increase from 850 pounds per square inch to 900 psig.

Other systems needed to transform Burgess BioPower into a fully functioning biomass power facility included a new tur-bine/generator, cooling towers, electrical switchgear with associated supporting aux-iliaries, state-of-the-art air quality control systems, and a new wood yard.

About 100 truckloads of fuel will be delivered to the wood yard each day as woodchips, dumped into a fuel storage system that sends fuel directly to a boiler via underground reclaimers. “We might ex-plore the option of chipping on site down the road, but the contract we have in place delivers fuel to the site via truck as chips,” Ritchie says.

Aside from attractive existing infra-structure, replacing jobs that were elimi-nated with the demise of the area’s pulp and paper industry was another appealing aspect of the project.

Jobs And Public PerceptionThe 75 MW plant will be one of the

largest biomass power facilities in the coun-try when complete, and one of the most important components required to stay on time during the construction of a project of that caliber is manpower. “Yesterday [Aug. 10] there were 275 workers on site, many of them local hires,” Ritchie says. “We’re not at peak numbers yet—that’ll be closer to the 400 mark—but we’re inching up there every week. It’s a very active construction site.”

Not only are hundreds of area con-struction jobs being generated, but the

750,000 tons of biomass fuel that the plant will require annually represents an incred-ible amount of jobs in the woods for log-gers, foresters and truckers who have seen work opportunities dwindle over the years, Ritchie says. Berlin is situated in the middle of a 6 million-acre wood basket within a three-hour radius of the site, she points out, and it has an established, motivated and highly-skilled workforce that has been involved in paper production for years.

A subsidiary of Delta Power Services LLC, a Babcock & Wilcox company, has

been awarded a six-year contract worth more than $19 million to provide op-erations and maintenance services to the plant, and they will take charge of hiring and training required workers. “There will be a lot of synergies with jobs,” Ritchie says, “but Delta will be taking applications in early 2013 to assemble an operating team for when it goes online later in the year.” That team will consist of about 40 full-time, benefi tted workers.

Cate Street put forth all efforts to com-municate its plans to the public during the


¦RETROFIT

development process, an essential, but of-ten tumultuous and time-consuming piece of a successful project. Ritchie says how residents have reacted has been very fortu-nate. “It’s three-plus years in the works, and we have been really lucky to have a great core support system, people who under-stood the vision.”

They [area residents] have been depen-dent on paper production for many years and have seen it start and stop so many times. They could see that this was a new and via-ble industry that would operate on long-term offtake agreements to provide some stability in terms of employment and revenue gener-ated.”

The education process not only included listening to citizens and understanding their concerns, but getting to know local offi cials, including the town mayor.

PPA’s, Financing and the Future Berlin Mayor Paul Grenier, a champion

of the project who was recently elected for a

MORE AND MORE MANPOWER: At peak construction, there will be over 400 workers on the site of Burgess BioPower.

COMING SOON: Burgess Biopower has been under construction for over one year, and is due for commissioning during fall of 2013.


second term, has voiced his strong support throughout development of the project, de-scribing the city of Berlin as a regular, blue-collar-folk community that would prosper from the plant’s development. “The fortunes of this property will dictate the strength of the city,” he said during a tour of the plant site. “This property will never be a beautiful housing project; this property will always be a means of putting people back to work, so we can prosper as a blue-collar community again.”

Grenier was a driving force for the project and saw what it meant to the area, according to Ritchie. He played a role in helping Burgess BioPower secure a 20-year power purchase agreement with Public Ser-vice New Hampshire, which was a tempo-rary hiccup in development. A handful of independent biomass power producers in the area were afraid the new plant would prevent the PSNH from purchasing their power due to the way the state’s renewable portfolio standard is set up, but the issue was

collectively resolved through an agreement between the power producers, PSNH and Cate Street. The facility itself will use about 10 MW for operations; the remainder will be sold to the PSNH.

Further demonstrating the solid eco-nomics of the project, Cate Street was able to secure what is known as an investment grade rating (BBB-), which is challenging to obtain in today’s market. “It’s a very complex, $275

million fi nancing package and it incorporates the use of senior debt, New Market Tax Cred-its and also the Section 1603 [cash grant ex-change] program,” Ritchie says. “We capital-ized on the different tools available to us to assemble a really unique package that would get us funded and across the fi nish line.”

While the plant still has roughly one year of construction left before its operat-ing, great progress has been made, and it’s continuing every day. “We’re fi nishing up foundation work, and steel and boiler work

is being done right now,” Ritchie adds. “It’s a busy, bustling site.”

Author: Anna SimetContributions Editor, Biomass Magazine


RETROFIT¦

'This property will

never be a beautiful

housing project; this

property will always be a

means of putting people

back to work, so we can

prosper as a blue-collar

community again.'


¦SUPPLY

OPEN FOR BUSINESS: Russ Anderson spearheads Advanced Biomass Solutions' day-to-day operations that include locating biomass for power producing customers. PHOTO: ADVANCED BIOMASS SOLUTIONS


SUPPLY¦

The Anderson brothers broke into the biomass supply industry by contracting with power production facilities in search of short-term contracts. The company hasn’t stopped profi ting since. BY LUKE GEIVER

A Strategy for Supply


Somewhere in Northern Minnesota, timber residue slash piles litter the grounds at a logging operation. Russ

Anderson, president of Advanced Biomass Solutions knows about it. Across the border, hundreds of miles away on the Canadian prairie, a mound of oat hulls is accumulating at a crushing mill. Anderson knows about that, too. As part of the Advanced Biomass Solutions team based in Greenbush, Minn., his job is all about fi nding biomass (woody, crop residue, even ground-up railroad ties) and fi nding the end-user who wants to buy it.

A self-proclaimed farm boy who “knows how to get stuff done,” Anderson’s offi cial title in the world of biomass would be more along the lines of biomass pro-curement and supply offi cer mixed in with logistics manager and contract negotiations specialist. With the help of his brother Reed and a few others, Anderson has made the small northwestern Minnesota town a profi t center off of one-time and short-term bio-mass supply contracts combined with some impressive long-term deals, serving both the animal ingredient markets and the competi-tive, growing biomass-infused power gen-eration markets.

After a few years in the biomass supply game, the team has unique perspectives on the 50-mile radius rule, the key to forming new supply agreements, and, whether the practice of biomass cofi ring for power pro-duction will create a positive fi nancial atmo-sphere for the industry and for Advanced Biomass Solutions at a time when natural gas prices are tough to beat. (Here’s a hint: the small company is already hiring).

Mode of OperationRuss may be a farm boy at heart, but

he works a desk job. Each day he calls el-evators, mills, logging operations and other facilities, looking for movable biomass. After dabbling in the cattle business, the small-time manufacturing business and even the wheat screening business, he’s found what it takes to survive with bio-mass. Reed, Mark Melby, Rod Thompson and Russ have created a supply network consisting of nine trucks, 15 trailers, seven staff drivers and an always expanding rolo-dex of industry contacts. “My day consists of sitting on the phone and fi nding loads,” he says. “Some are long-term, others are day-to-day loads.”

Ask anyone on the team about their

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ABOVE AVERAGE FLEET: The logistics portion of Advanced Biomass Solutions' hauling arm is made up of paid-for, used-a-bit trucks, that help create a profi table business.

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A BROTHER'S PERSPECTIVE: Reed Anderson believes his Northern Minnesota company can grow through power-producing customers the team is already in talks with.

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immediate success with biomass and they will point out their abil-ity to enter into short-term, sometimes one-load contracts. Because the team has operated nearly debt-free and lean from day one, has purchased used trucks and even started hauling with rented trail-ers, Russ explains that the team can afford to enter into short-term deals because the obligation to pay down truck debt (they don’t drive brand-new Kenworths according to Russ) or other lingering operat-ing expenses just doesn’t exist. “We have a processing plant out in Western North Dakota,” he cites as an example of their sporadic load schedules. “It can be up to 8 loads per day. They give us about a day’s notice and we just have to be there. Does every load make us money? No it doesn’t,” he adds, “it is more about the service and the long haul.”

It’s the long-haul vision for the team that has made providing biomass to power production facilities a goal and in some cases a reality for the company. “We are delivering to power plants now on a consistent basis,” says Reed Anderson, CEO. The team’s ability to do so offers a glimpse into how others like the Andersons, people trying to build a business in the supply market, can do the same, and why there might also be the fi nancial opportunity to do so in the future.

The fi rst thing to know about supplying biomass to a cofi ring facility is that the industry is competitive and secretive. “It is such a secretive business,” Russ says, regarding the source of a biomass load and where that load eventually ends up.

“It is competitive enough that if I tell you that we are bringing biomass into location A, people will know where we are getting it,” Reed says. Other companies in the biomass cofi ring market through-out the same region also share the sentiment of the Andersons.


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Courtney Boone, public affairs specialist for U.S. Steel, a steel production company that is cofi ring biomass at two different taconite mine and steel production facilities in Min-nesota, can attest. The use of woody biomass fuel to power either facility can make or break the company’s bottom line, Boone says, so the subject of biomass, although important, is tough, due to the company’s stake in the use of the renewable fuel.

The team from Greenbush has been in contract negotiations for a long-term sup-ply agreement with a regional power produc-tion facility for over a year, Reed says (and of

course, he won’t tell you which facility). Those negotiations prove out, the Andersons believe, the diffi culty of profi ting from those who co-fi re. But, Reed and Russ also believe they’ve found a successful path to meet the supply requirements of cofi ring, regardless of their current negotiations.

Insider PerspectiveThe simple answer from Russ on how to

establish a fi nancial relationship with a cofi ring facility is to talk the talk, then walk the walk. That means when he tells an oat hull supplier in Canada he can have a truck there in the

morning, the truck will be there, for example. For forming long-term contracts, Russ says, it’s a proving game. By proving out the abil-ity of the company to perform well in other operational settings outside of a cofi ring op-eration looking for biomass, Russ believes Advanced Biomass Solutions has been able to grab the attention of cofi ring facilities. And, by diversifying its supply agreements with various biomass feedstock acquisitions and numerous contract lengths ranging from day loads to daily loads, Russ says a biomass sup-plier trying to break into the cofi ring world can survive the tough times and the waiting game with smaller revenue streams coming in more frequently.

According to Reed, the power produc-tion facilities the team has worked with have been good once the contracts are formed. Making phone calls and plant visits in addi-tion to formal applications for advertised bio-mass contracts has worked for the company in securing its supply agreements. But to stay profi table during the waiting period typically linked to a cofi ring facility, diversity is the key. That means hauling nearly every possible form of biomass and disregarding the notion that a load is ever out of range. “I fi nd it kind of funny about this 50 or 75 mile radius,” Reed says in reference to the distance a power facility should acquire cofi ring feedstock. Reed lives in Florida, a huge biomass produc-ing state he notes, and he is currently working to secure a long-term supply contract. In his experience, a procuring agent at a cofi ring fa-cility will look past that the distance factor if the supplier is dependable, the feedstock is at the right price, the moisture content is within their specifi cations (typically below 15 percent moisture) and the supplier can, as Russ says, “walk the walk.”

As for the Biomass Crop Assistance Program or any other federal- or state-based aid, Reed says his team stays away from it all. “It is more hassle than it is worth to us.” The do-it-yourself attitude also extends to their maintenance and logistics. Mark Melby, chief operation offi cer for the company, lines up the routes for drivers, arranges pick-up and drop-off times, and when the trucks return he performs maintenance to keep the fl eet healthy. Rod Thompson, CFO, analyzes the numbers of each load Russ fi nds, but he does


SUPPLY¦

it a bit different than most. First, Thomp-son and the team discuss the potential that a single load might have for the future. If a load doesn't create a profi t the fi rst time, or appears to be too far away, the team may still form a contract with the hope of a long-term relationship.

All operations might not have a Mark Melby, but Russ says along with having a strong resume of biomass supply, those look-ing to bust into the cofi ring industry need to understand the basics of the power produc-tion facilities. “There are companies like ours because they don’t do it (procure biomass). It is out of their services, they are busy run-ning their power plants,” he says. Through negotiating and completing contracts with power production facilities, the Andersons say they’ve learned that a company cofi res to comply with state-based renewable energy mandates or because it has chosen to play the green angle, and has actually advertised that they are looking for renewable energy alterna-tives (the Andersons have worked with cofi r-ing advertisers).

But, even without a state-mandate re-quired to meet a renewable portfolio stan-dard, a company looking to go green, or as Boone says at U.S. Steel where biomass can save money in production costs, Reed says the biomass cofi ring market is legitimate. “This is something that can hold its own, it is a legiti-mate power source.” Russ agrees.

“No doubt about it,” he says on the idea of retiring on the business of supplying bio-mass to power producers that cofi re. “I don’t think biomass is going away and somebody needs to be buying and selling it.”

That sentiment however, doesn’t come without a catch. “Its tough right now as it sits with natural gas,” Reed adds. “As long as natural gas prices are low, I think it is going to be lean.”

There is no arguing Reed’s point, but the Anderson example highlights the interwoven relationship that exists between people like Russ and Reed who make calls and visits ev-eryday to establish a customer base, people at a cofi ring facility and the general public look-ing for cheaper energy bills. The outlook for biomass-based cofi ring certainly depends on a state-based obligation, individual company agendas to lower greenhouse gases, and the

price of natural gas. But, the U.S. Energy In-formation Agency’s Annual Energy Outlook 2012 shows that economic demand still plays a large role. Although coal-based power facili-ties in the U.S. will be reduced by one-sixth by 2020 due to federal mandates, the economy also plays a role in how much energy comes from boiler-based energy applications. “Eco-nomic growth signifi cantly affects generator retirement decisions by infl uencing electric-ity demand,” the EIA says. When economic growth is strong (and Russ would add winters are cold), the demand for electricity rises and

the fi nancial justifi cation for maintaining op-erations at coal-based facilities is stronger, ac-cording to the EIA. The Andersons however, most likely won't be affected by what the EIA says. They believe biomass cofi ring practices will continue to expand and their company will grow at the same time, at least the new hires the Andersons just brought on to fi nd more biomass might hope so.

Author: Luke GeiverFeatures Editor, Biomass Magazine



¦DISTRIBUED ENERGY

Demonstrating Success: The University of Minnesota Morris hosted a demonstration of the PowerTainer in June. PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA MORRIS


DISTRIBUED ENERGY¦

A modular gasifi cation technology produces on-demand, biomass-based syngas.BY ERIN VOEGELE

Demonstrating Portable Energy


¦DISTRIBUED ENERGY

Portable gas and diesel generators help power many aspects of the global economy. Construction companies

and the remote communities depend on gensets to provide heat and power in areas where connecting to the grid is not pos-sible. They are also used to power outdoor events, concerts, military operations or pro-vide a critical source of power in disaster areas. In the developing world, generators also help to overcome issues associated with unreliable, outdated and non-existent electricity grids.

The vast majority of commercially-available generators are designed to run on fossil fuels. However, a new equipment package could change that by allowing these gensets to be fueled with biomass-based syngas. Funding for the project was pro-vided the the U.S. DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory.

An ongoing project led by the Univer-sity of Minnesota Morris and California-based All Power Labs LLC has resulted in a fully integrated solution that combines All Power Lab’s unique gasifi cation system with a genset, a system housed in a single 20-foot shipping container. The result is the Power-Tainer, a portable system that allows a diesel generator to run on more than 90 percent biomass syngas.

Additional organizations participat-ing in the project include Cummins Power

Generation and the University of Min-nesota Center for Diesel Research, and HGA Architects and Engineers. According to Jim Barbour, a staff scientist at UMM, Cummings provided the genset to the Pow-erTainer project, offered engineering con-sultation services, and participated with the integration of the genset with the gasifi ca-tion system. The Center for Diesel Research helped optimize the operation of the diesel engine on syngas.

Syngas Genset TechnologyThe heart of the PowerTainer is a

multi-staged biomass gasifi cation system developed by All Power Labs. According to Jim Mason, company founder and director, the innovative system is a modifi ed version of a fi xed-bed, down-draft reactor. “We have separated the drying from the pyroly-sis, and drive those off of waste heat from the engine,” he says.

The multistate heat exchange system, Mason continues, functions to return all the waste heat fl ows from the gasifi er and the engine to the appropriate process points within the reactor. “This is how we create temperature conditions that take care of the tar in the reactor,” he says.

The tar treatment method is one ele-ment that makes the gasifi cation system unique. Rather than dealing with tar remov-al downstream, an aspect of operation that

can complicate the system and also requires bulky equipment, the technology deals with tar in the gasifi cation system itself.

“We do that by the separation of dif-ferent process stages within the reactor,” Mason says. The gasifi cation system is overlaid with a highly effective automation system that works with maps of the reactor that specify where tar is and is not gener-ated. The automation system can operate the reactor with a high degree of sophisti-cation to control, within certain parameters, where gasifi cation occurs. The automation system, combined with the heat-exchanger that pushes a large quantity of heat back into the system, allows for tar production to be minimized.

The gaseous fuel that results is pro-duced through an on-demand basis for the genset. The gasifi er responds to the load variations of the engine, Mason says. The syngas produced by the gasifi er is not very energy dense, which makes storing it inef-fi cient.

The syngas can fuel both spark-ignited engines and diesel engines. When the syn-gas is fed into a spark-ignited engine, it can replace 100 percent of the fossil fuel that would normally enter that system. When the syngas is fed into a diesel generator, such as the one contained within the Pow-erTainer, the producer gas must be mixed with a small injection of diesel fuel. Current


evaluations show that it should be possible to replace more than 90 percent of the die-sel with biobased syngas.

Other than changing the speed control of the engine, Mason says that no other changes were made to the Cummins genset that is a part of the PowerTainer.

In addition to the gasifi cation system and Cummins genset, the standard 20-foot shipping container also houses a small fi lter train, a hopper and an electronic automa-tion system. Mason notes that the inclusion of a hopper in a demonstration-scale oper-ation is unique. However, he says the team did not want that component of the proj-ect to be an afterthought. Rather, the goal was to fabricate an entire, compact, fully-integrated system that could encompass all aspects of operation, from fuel-feeding to power-generation.

Regarding feedstock, the PowerTainer has been optimized to gasify corn cobs. All Power Labs has also designed similar gas-ifi ers that are optimized for wood chips. Mason says the gasifi cation system does have some limits regarding how small the biomass can be. Specifi cally, it cannot take in shredded or granular fuels.

The PowerTrainer Goes PublicUMM hosted a demonstration of the

PowerTainer in June. “The engine ran just beautifully,” Barbour says. “It performed well.” Approximately 50 people attended the event, representing a wide variety of interests, from university researchers to in-dustry professionals, farmers and entrepre-neurs.

The two-year project is now in its last six months, and is scheduled to conclude in December. During the fi nal stage of the project work will focus on emissions evalu-ations. The work will be completed using university lab equipment, including gas analyzers. “We also have an instrument that actually measures soot, which is an impor-tant emissions issue with diesel engines,” Barbour says.

UMM Economics Professor Arne Kildegaard will also develop an economic model that will address equipment and op-erational costs, Barbour says. The analysis

will include comparisons to more conven-tional means of small-scale power genera-tion, such as the steam turbine found on campus.

The ultimate goal of the project is commercialization. While specifi c plans for commercialization or licensing haven’t been released, Mason is able to provide cost es-timates for a future commercial version of the PowerTainer. Based on gasifi cation sys-tems fabricated and sold by his company, the estimated cost would be within the $1 to $2 per watt range, most likely between $1.30 and $1.70 per watt. Theoretically, us-ing these fi gures, a 100 kW system could represent between $130,000 and $170,000 in capital expenses.

All Power Labs has been supplying gas-ifi er experimentation kits on a commercial basis for approximately four years. For the past year and a half, the company has also sold larger-scale integrated gasifi er-genset skids, called PowerPallets. Overall, Mason

estimates his company exports 60 percent of the systems it builds.

Regarding the PowerTainer project, both Mason and Barbour stress that the dis-tributed power generating potential of the system is one of the most important aspects of the system’s development. Distributed power generation helps overcome some of the logistical problems associated with bio-mass procurement, shipping and storage. In the form of a portable system, like the Pow-erTainer, distributed power systems that are capable of operating on biomass fuel also offer contractors, farmers, and others more control over the source of power they use. In addition, the use of locally-sourced bio-mass can help insulate those who own the systems from price shocks in the commod-ity market.

Author: Erin VoegeleNews Editor, Biomass Magazine


The forest industry isn’t just about lumber and paper. Wood can also be integrated seamlessly into products that are currently made using oil and other fossil fuels. From car parts to children’s toys, bio-composite materials are helping reshape the forest-based economy in Northern Ontario. By pairing forest materials with innovation, we create a brighter future for the North. CRIBE is proud to support bio-composite research and the commercialization of new uses for wood in Ontario.

Have an idea you’re looking to grow? Find out more at www.cribe.ca

DISTRIBUED ENERGY¦


CONTRIBUTION

¦COFIRE

Conquering Cofiring Flow ChallengesCofiring biomass with coal is an attractive method of meeting renewables goals, but several material flow-related issues may occur during handling and storage.BY JAYANT KHAMBEKAR AND ROGER A. BARNUM

The claims and statements made in this article belong exclusively to the author(s) and do not necessarily refl ect the views of Biomass Magazine or its advertisers. All questions pertaining to this article should be directed to the author(s).

State renewable portfolio stan-dards, limited ability to increase solar, wind or hydro power, and broad public support for renew-

able initiatives have sparked strong interest amongst U.S. utility companies to utilize biomass fuel. While cofi ring biomass may be an appealing way to reduce coal con-sumption, there are challenges associated with handling and storing biomass.

Generally speaking, biomass storage systems can be divided into two groups: gravity-discharge systems and mechanical-reclaim systems. As the name suggests, gravity-discharge systems rely on the force of gravity to promote the fl ow of material, whereas mechanical-reclaim systems use

a mechanism to assist material discharge from storage facility. Depending upon the plant’s needs, this storage facility can be a stockpile, a storage silo or both. Stockpiles have surface reclaimers or gravity reclaim systems, which typically use a bottom screw reclaimer or reclaim hoppers with belt feeders. Biomass storage silos often have a bottom reclaimer for discharging material. Once reclaimed, biomass is conveyed from the storage facility to the boiler-feed bins, which are usually gravity-discharge and meter biomass into the boiler using screw feeders.

Several material handling steps are in-volved in a biomass cofi ring process. If the material storage and handling equipment is

not designed properly, material fl ow issues can occur, some more common than oth-ers.

Common Flow ProblemsA no-fl ow condition can result either

from arching—also known as bridging—or ratholing. Arching occurs when an obstruc-tion in the shape of an arch or bridge forms over the hopper outlet, due to the cohesive strength of the material or the mechanical interlocking of large particles. When mate-rial forms a stable arch above an outlet, dis-charge is prevented and a no-fl ow condition results.

For materials such as milled biomass and sawdust, ratholing may occur as a result


of fl ow channeling. During this condition, material moves toward the outlet through a steep, funnel-shaped fl ow channel sur-rounded by stagnant material. Hopefully, as the level of material in the fl ow channel drops, layers of material from the top sur-face of the stagnant region will slide into this active channel. If this fails to occur, the fl ow channel empties and a stable rathole forms, resulting in a no-fl ow condition.

Whenever stagnant material is present inside a bin or silo, it will result in limited live storage capacity during fl ow. Such stag-nant material can be a result of ratholing or steep drawdown angles; this material will not discharge by gravity, thus occupying valuable storage space.

Another common fl ow problem is the tripping of feeder and bottom reclaim drive motors. When tripping occurs, the device cannot operate, resulting in the inability to discharge material from storage facility. The only way to address this problem, which typically occurs if the material consolida-tion pressures acting on the feeder or re-claimer are not properly calculated, may be to vacuum out the entire contents of the silo.

Other fl ow problems that could occur include transfer chute pluggages, attrition and dusting of pellets, and particle segrega-tion. Equipment wear can also be an impor-tant issue due to abrasive nature of woody biomass, particularly if it contains bark.

In general, when fl ow problems such as the aforementioned occur, valuable gen-eration capacity and production time are lost, excessive maintenance and housekeep-ing costs are incurred, and health and safety issues arise. Flow problems and their solu-tions can be best understood by fi rst learn-ing how bulk solids fl ow.

Flow Patterns, PropertiesAs bulk solids discharge by gravity

from a storage system, two types of fl ow patterns can develop: funnel fl ow and mass fl ow. In funnel fl ow, only a portion of the material is in motion dur-ing discharge, which fl ows toward the outlet through a channel that forms with-in the stagnant material. Funnel fl ow occurs when a hopper is not suffi ciently steep and smooth to en-sure fl ow along the walls, or when the hopper outlet is not fully activated.

In mass fl ow, all of the material is in motion when-ever any is discharged; there is no stagnant materi-al. Mass fl ow occurs when the hopper is suffi ciently steep and smooth to en-sure fl ow along the hopper walls. Shallow valleys—at the intersection of adja-cent hopper sidewalls—cannot be present, and the outlet must be fully active.

The fl ow pattern in which a bulk solid discharges from a storage system strongly infl uences the fl ow problems that may oc-cur.

For the reliable storage and feeding of biomass, the type of handling system used— including its geometry and materials of construction— must be designed to suit the fl owability of the material. Whether it is mechanical-reclaim or gravity-reclaim, char-acterization of fl ow behavior is necessary in order to design features of the system. Vari-ous fl ow property tests can be performed to determine fl owability, which is infl uenced by moisture content, fi nes content and stor-

age time at rest. Flow property tests must be run at representative handling conditions and include the following tests: cohesive strength, interlocking strength, wall friction, compressibility, permeability, chute angle, angle of repose, and drawdown angle (see sidebar).

Achieving Reliable Material Flow When properly designed, the compo-

nents of a handling system will be able to store and reliably feed diffi cult-to-fl ow ma-terials, whereas poorly designed equipment may not be able to do the same, even with

free-fl owing materials. For gravity discharge systems such as

boiler-feed bins, selecting the appropri-ate fl ow pattern is critical for reliable per-formance. Mass fl ow is recommended for fi ne, cohesive materials such as sawdust and milled woodchips; funnel fl ow is suitable for coarse, free-fl owing, non-interlocking, non-degrading materials in cases where particle segregation is not important.

For mechanical reclaim systems such as silos using bottom screw reclaimers, the discharge pattern is almost always funnel fl ow. The key for designing a mechanical reclaim system is selecting the right type of mechanism that will work reliably for the particular application. There are vari-

RATH OF BIOMASS: For materials such as milled biomass and sawdust, ratholing may occur as a result of fl ow channeling.

PH

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GO WITH THE FLOW: As bulk solids discharge by gravity from a storage system, two types of fl ow patterns can develop: funnel fl ow and mass fl ow.SOURCE: KHAMBEKAR & BARNUM

COFIRE¦

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ous types of confi gurations available for mechanical reclaim systems, such as a fl at bottom silo with a rotating screw or sweep arm reclaimer, a revolving screw reclaimer within a conical bottom silo, a fl at bottom silo with a top screw reclaimer, etc. Using fl ow property test results, the right type of mechanism can be selected so that the sys-

tem is not over- or under-designed for the application. The test results can also aid in the design of mechanism features.

The storage system should be designed so as to minimize the consolidation pres-sures acting on the feeder or reclaimer. The compressibility and wall friction informa-tion obtained from fl ow properties testing

Flow Property TestsCohesive strength: Used to calculate opening sizes to avoid fl ow stoppages due to cohesive arching and ratholing. Measured as a function of consolidating pressure in accordance with ASTM Standard D6128. Interlocking strength: Used to calculate opening sizes to avoid fl ow stoppages due to mechanical interlocking of its particles. Characterized by particle size, particle shape and elasticity behaviors.Wall friction: Measured as a function of consolidating pressure in accordance with ASTM Standard D 6128. Information obtained from this test is used to determine critical hopper angles for achieving mass fl ow. The wall material of construction and surface fi nish must match what will be used for design or analysis purposes.Compressibility: Measures the change in its bulk density as a function of consolidating pressure. Used to determine storage capacity of equipment and to calculate material-induced material induced loads; measured in accordance with ASTM Standard D 6683.Permeability: Measure of material resistance to gas fl ow through it, particularly important when material contains a signifi cant portion of fi nes. Data obtained is used to calculate the critical, steady-state, fl ow rate of the material that can occur during discharge as a function of outlet size and consolidating pressure. Chute angle: Determines the minimum (shallowest) required chute angle to maintain fl ow after impact of a material stream with its surface. Angles are measured as a function of impact pressure.Angle of repose and drawdown angle: Measured to help determine the total and live storage capacities of a system; these tests provide no further insight regarding material fl owability for design purposes.

can be used in this regard. Additionally, for gravity discharge systems where mass fl ow is required, the hopper angles must be steep enough to promote fl ow along the walls.

Material handling is a key component to successful biomass cofi ring. Technol-ogy is available for analyzing storage and handling systems to eliminate or minimize fl ow problems in existing facilities, as well as for designing new installations to avoid such problems in the fi rst place. Flow property test data is a key component in the process, as it will ensure the reliable storage and fl ow of biomass materials.

Authors: Jayant KhambekarProject engineer, Jenike & Johanson Inc.

[email protected], (978) 649-3300

Roger A. Barnum Senior consultant, Jenike & Johanson Inc.

[email protected], 978-649-3300

¦COFIRE

APRIL 8-10, 2013Minneapolis, MN

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Network, Learn and Take Your Business to the Next LevelThe International Biomass Conference & Expo is anticipated to be even larger than last year’s successful event. With an anticipated 1,400 attendees, 210 exhibitors, 120 speakers and 60 sponsors, you’ll experience firsthand why the majority of our past exhibitors and sponsors have walked away with valuable contacts and sales leads.

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