Advantages of BioMass
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BIOMASS ENERGY: THE RESOURCE
About 98% of the energy used by mankind today is
derived from biomass; it is solar energy stored in plants by photosynthesis.
Although our most widely used fuel source is nonrenewable fossilized biomass
(coal, oil, natural gas), plants store over 60 times the total energy consumed
by humanity annually. The world's forests are being destroyed at
an alarming rate, with tremendous waste of valuable resources.
With prudent management and the increased use of marginal crop land for
production, biomass can make a large and continuous contribution to our
energy supplies.
The amount of unused biomass waste produced in the
U.S. and Canada is staggering. There is a huge amount of cheap, usable
energy available to us in the form of household and business waste, tree
trimmings, sawdust, hogged fuel, demolition and land-clearing waste, logs,
chunks, pellets, peat, Refuse Derived Fuel pellets, municipal wastes, low-grade
waste paper and cardboard products, and all kinds of agricultural waste
from corn cobs to rice hulls and bagasse. These resources are locally
available in various forms everywhere, inexpensive and often free.
In our throw-away society, biomass waste is becoming
an increasingly costly disposal problem. Governmental agencies are
clamping down on indiscriminate dumping and leaching from existing piles
of wood & agricultural waste. Slash burning from logging operations
is being prohibited totally in more populated areas. Landfills are
filling faster and faster. The US EPA's strict new regulations are costing
$1 Million per acre to open new ones and have forced the closing of half
of the nation's dumps. Well over 1/3 of our Municipal Solid Waste
(MSW) is biomass suitable for fuel, which could replace millions of
barrels of imported oil a year. All fossil fuel prices are
predicted to escalate at an increasing rate, while costs for biomass fuels
are dropping as disposal costs rise. Waste Biomass promises to be
one of our greatest energy bargains for the foreseeable future. Fuel
sources are decentralized and are ideally suited for small commercial wood-waste
furnaces to heat manufacturing and processing facilities, schools, hospitals,
hotels, greenhouses, etc. The energy can be used for processing heat,
steam, hot water or the co-generation of electricity when coupled with
a microturbine generator, Stirling heat-engine generator (such as Sunpower’s
linear Stirling alternator) or thermophotovoltaic collectors such as JX
Crystals.
BIOMASS ENERGY: THE DILEMMA
Until now no one has manufactured a biomass/waste
combustion system that was clean burning enough to pass strict
new emission regulations and also affordable, automated, reliable and
capable of burning the greatest variety of fuels.
NORTHERN LIGHT RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT has spent
25 years solving five major problems in
biomass combustion technology:
1. Burning the great variety of
biomass fuel types, sizes, and moisture content available, all in the same
system;
2. Perfecting the combustion process
for this wide spectrum of fuels to reduce exhaust emissions to well below
the
most stringent
environmental regulations in the world;
3. Increasing overall efficiencies
of biomass energy from 65% to over 90%, even with wet fuels;
4. Optimizing the fuel feed, combustion,
heat exchange and ash removal into a compact, cost-effective,
maintenance-free
system that is automated and simple to operate;
5. Addressing the needs of the
major market: small commercial applications, institutions, rural
communities,
agricultural
uses and a rapidly growing international market.
To date, waste combustion technology has only been
cost-effective in large, complex and expensive 30-300 million
Btu/hr. systems. They have been built mainly for the disposal of municipal
waste and for processing heat and cogeneration in the lumber and paper
industry. No one until now has been able to meet the needs of the
market for smaller commercial
systems, which actually represents the greatest number and best uses
for decentralized biomass energy applications.
BIOMASS ENERGY: THE SOLUTION
Our quarter-century-long endeavor has yielded twelve
prototype biomass energy systems and a patent on the design of the cleanest
burning biomass combustor ever tested. It is now possible to utilize
large quantities of waste materials and biomass of all types, efficiently
converting it into usable energy instead of burying it in costly landfills.
We are presently testing our largest production
prototype, a 800,000 Btu/hr commercial hot-air furnace fired by wood waste
and other biomass fuels. This is a joint project involving the US
Department of Energy, the University of Arkansas, the Arkansas State Energy
Office and the Foundation for Organic Resources Management to heat brooder
houses at the U. of Arkansas poultry research department, burning chicken
litter for fuel. It incorporates automated fuel feed, an automated
ash-removal systems, a patented combustion system that preheats combustion
air above 1000°F in a multi-cavity refractory ceramic heat-exchanger,
a highly efficient down-draft counterflow heat-exchanger that condenses
the moisture out of the exhaust, and automated programmable electronic
controls. Emissions are even lower than from previous prototypes.
Throughout the world there is a great need for clean
conversion of waste to energy in small, decentralized community sites.
Existing systems are prohibitively expensive and unreliable. Because
our technology is so clean and simple and capable of handling such a diversity
of fuels, it is ideally suited for such applications.
Energy users everywhere are looking for ways to
cut costs, reduce waste, and comply with environmental regulations.
There is a large immediate market for this system in situations where biomass
waste disposal is a priority or where the need exists for cheap hot air,
hot water or steam. When we consider the full, long term environmental
costs of fossil fuels, we must look for alternative sources of energy.
Biomass is by far the largest contender today.
THE TECHNOLOGY
EMISSIONS
A prototype residential cookstove developed by Northern
Light R&D was officially tested in 1986 by Omni Environmental Laboratories
for the U.S. Department of Energy/Bonneville Power, burning green sawdust
of 44% moisture content, with no catalytic afterburner or stack cleanup
of any kind. Its particulate emissions were 65 times cleaner than
the best woodstove at that time, several times cleaner than the best pellet
burner, and considerably cleaner than the average oil furnace.
Flue gases were usually so cool that clear water
was condensed out in the heat exchanger. Carbon Monoxide emissions
in the stack gases were 1/7500th of the Federal Auto Emissions standard,
1/100th of the gas industry's standard for "CO-free combustion," and 1/2
of the EPA's standard for acceptable 24 hour indoor air quality.
These emissions are less than half of the most stringent PSAPCA standards
for new wood and refuse burners. (Since this prototype, two improved versions
have been built.) In tests burning RDF (Refuse-Derived-Fuel) pellets,
excess air was brought down to less than 1%, while maintaining low carbon
monoxide emissions (0.02%). This is unprecedented in biomass combustion.
Only large modern gas furnaces approach such efficiencies. Emissions
contain no sulfur and are less acid than rainfall near many fossil-fueled
industrial areas of the world!
HOW IS IT DONE?
Integrated System
For additional information, contact:
Lawrence Dobson
Northern Light Research & Development
7118 Fiske Road
Clinton, WA 98236
(360)579-1763
dancer@stiltman.com
The huge discrepancies between David Pimentel's and
Lester Brown's alcohol cost-analyses show graphically how easy it is to
"direct" the focus and outcome of "scientific" research. I have read
even more devastating figures obtained by deeper ecological cost analysis.
In the alcohol-to-sugar analysis Sugar Cane certainly depletes the
soil fast, requiring significant fertilizer input, whereas biomass in the
wild creates its own nutritional balance. Using only a small percentage
of the total biomass (the sugar) is partially offset by burning it and
converting via steam turbine to electric energy needed to run the processing
plant.
The same arguments apply to the energy balance of
converting waste corn (wasted because of subsidies & brain-damaged
economic rules) to alcohol or burning it for heat. Yet because we
have a short-term need for liquid fuels to run our ubiquitous internal
combustion automobiles, alcohol from biomass may be one of the best immediate
options. It's certainly clean-burning, but how does it compare to
biodiesel from plant seed oil (or algae which can be over half oil!) or
bio-oil made from the destructive distillation depolymerization of biomass,
rubber and other waste hydrocarbons? We should not dismiss any of
these budding technologies because they aren't perfect or on the market
yet. I've heard glowing reports about some new cellulose-conversion-to-sugar
technologies, which could potentially make available a far larger and less
expensive biomass feedstock for alcohol production.
Despite the fact that no current alternative energy
source will soon supply the world's exploding energy appetite, when we
look at the broader picture of sustainable energy conversion of biomass
in general, the picture gets more promising, even encouraging. We
have a sizeable and immediately available fuel source that is too diversified
and decentralized for big business to get excited about, and too associated
with dirty polluting smoke from woodstoves and municipal waste incinerators
for "environmentalists" to embrace. Biomass energy has gotten a bad
rap it needn't be shackled with.
Let me explain. The following is an excerpt from
a 128 page report to the U.S. Department of Energy, "
Biomass Energy, State of the Technology, Present Obstacles and Future Potential"
I wrote several years ago.
"Washington State's forests store far more energy
from the sun annually than all the energy needs of the state, and this
biomass energy is perpetually renewing itself. Depending on conditions,
forests in the Pacific Northwest produce on the average 5 dry tons of above
ground woody biomass per acre per year, and at least that much below ground,
175 Billion BTU of stored solar energy per acre. In some locations
four times that growth has been recorded, and some species suitable for
biomass farming yield 8 times this average.
The 5 northwest states of WA, OR, ID, MT, & AK consumed energy from
all sources (petroleum, coal, gas, electricity, etc.) totaling 3,896 Trillion
Btus in 1988, equivalent to the biomass energy stored annually in 23,000
square miles of Pacific Northwest forest land, or 2.5% of the land area
of these 5 states."
Aside from increased destruction of forests and
ecosystems worldwide, these statistics are probably still close to our
current status. The big changes have been in the area of competing
fossil fuel and electricity costs (& consequently cost-effective biomass
trucking distance), rising waste disposal costs, brush-fire danger and
removal needs, tipping the scales even further in favor of decentralized
biomass energy.
Here's more from that D.O.E. report. I welcome updated statistics on any of this information.
Biomass Fuels
Global Patterns Of Fuel Use
Except for nuclear power, all our energy comes ultimately
from the sun. Our little earth gets only 1/5-millionth of the sun's radiation,
which reaches us in 8 minutes and then mostly reflects off into space again.
Of the solar energy that does penetrating the earth's atmosphere, only
about one quarter of 1% is converted to biomass each year and yet this
small fraction is about seven times the total flow of nonbiomass energy
sources used by
humanity.[9B]1 This biomass flow is equivalent to about 75 TW
(1 terawatt =
1012 watts) or 75 billion tons of coal equivalent in energy per year.
About 10% of this total is directly tapped by humanity in the form of food,
fiber, feed, fertilizer, fuel, or feedstock.2 The remainder, however,
provides critical services for global ecosystems by moderating climate,
recycling water and essential nutrients, and performing myriad other ecosystem
functions. These functions are no less vital to the economy and to
human well-being than those provided by the more obvious societal uses
of biomass.
In addition, humanity has directly or indirectly
co-opted as much as 40% of the pre-human biomass productivity of the world
by disrupting natural ecosystems (Vitousek et al., 1986)."[9B] "The total
energy directly supplied to humanity by biofuel is small compared to that
supplied by fossil fuels although exceeding the energy supplied together
by nuclear power and hydropower. These biofuels are largely used in developing
countries and, within these countries, predominantly in rural areas. They
are the traditional fuels-fuelwood, crop residues, dried animal dung, and
scrub plants-that have supplied human energy needs for tens of thousands
of years (Smil, 1983)."[9B] "Although such fuels today supply a relatively
small fraction (somewhat over 10%) of global energy requirements in terms
of total energy content, they meet the direct fuel requirements of a majority
of the world's population.
Most of the people in the world depend on these
traditional fuels for most of their energy supply. Even more biomass
combustion energy is used in indirect applications, as in clearing land
by fire (Rambo, 1986). In consequence, it is fair to say that most
of the energy used by most of the people throughout history has been in
the form of biofuels, a situation as true today as since the discovery
of fire.'[9B] "Most of this fuel today is used for the same tasks for which
it has traditionally been needed-cooking and space heating-although as
much as one-fifth may be used in industry (Ramsay, 1985). It is estimated,
for example, that about half the world's households cook daily with biofuels
(see figure 1.4). Approximate 30% of urban households and 90% of
rural households in developing countries rely on such fuels for cooking
(Hughart, 1979). Also true today is the observation that it is mostly
women who participate in the biofuel cycle-usually sharing or having primary
responsibility for fuel gathering, particularly when collecting is done
for household use and not for sale. In nearly all cultures, of course,
women do most of the cooking (Cecelski, 1985). In those many developing
countries with relatively small urban industrial centers, biofuels not
only supply the most people, they constitute the largest source of energy
- exceeding in energy content the fossil fuels. Even a country with
as large an industrial sector as India still relies on biofuels for nearly
half of its total energy supply and more than 80% of its residential energy
consumption. Poor countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh, and Botswana
rely on biofuel for close to 90% of their total energy needs (Wood and
Baldwin, 1985)."[9B] Each year over 60 million acres of tropical forests,
an area the size of Florida, are degraded and destroyed and an area the
size of New England changes from forest to desert. [statistics from Trees
For The Future, Inc.] Every year we continue to lose forest lands the size
of New York State and New Jersey combined. (New Forests Project Newsletter)
The Winrock International Institute For Agricultural Development estimates
that biomass energy could provide 10-20% of the new (electric) capacity
needed by developing countries, and could do so relatively quickly. [10,
12/91] "In Britain alone 250 million tonnes of collectable organic wastes
are generated each year from homes factories farms and
forests with a total energy content equivalent to at least 25 million
tonnes of coal or 8% of
(British) energy needs." [45a]
At the Weltkongress Alternativen Und Umwelt, Vienna,
it was proposed that
1/5 of earth's unproductive land (i.e., desert & tundra) can be
made to yield a renewable biomass harvest sufficient to supply most of
the world's energy needs. [98A] "Bioenergy currently supplies 2% to 15%
of the total energy demand in the 11 countries responding to a recent survey.
Finland reported the highest contribution, 15%. The United States
ranked tenth with a 4% contribution.
Trees
Most surveyed countries projected significant growth
in the development and use of biofuels; for example, the United States
forecasts a 14% contribution by 2030." [75] In 1995, Sweden will begin
phasing out the country's 12 nuclear power reactors. To replace this
energy, Sweden is turning to trees. "Already, cull trees removed
while improving forest stands, pruned branches, sawmill waste and bark
account for 60 terawatt hours, or about 13% of Sweden's total energy supply.
But with reduced crop subsidies to farmers and new taxes on industries
that foul the air with SO2, CO2 and NOx, the nation is also finding that
planting and using fast-growing trees can add as much as 35 more terawatt
hours to the electricity grid with far less pollution than most other fuels.
"Energy forests' may soon replace approximately one fifth of the country's
grain production as farmers find trees to be a more economical use of their
land." [National Arbor Day Journal, Jan/Feb, 1992] Economics of Logging
Cleanup Research shows that one forth to one half of the total above-ground
biomass of cut trees is not removed during conventional logging operations.
This is too much biomass to leave on most sites. At the same time,
environmental concerns for clean air dictate no broadcast nor pile burning
in many locations. Here, then, is a huge supply of energy wood, provided
it can be economically accessed.
Using new prototype logging equipment designed for
this integrated harvesting and multiple-product marketing approach, a test
near Port Angeles, WA, showed that whole-tree harvesting can be profitable
at a site that could not have been economically harvested previously.
"In some parts of the country broadcast burning
is avoided through cleanup credits for harvesting excess wood for energy...Dense
brush in forests at urban-forest interface areas is being successfully
harvested for energy, thereby providing a significantly decreased fire
hazard to houses at the forest perimeter."[77] A 1988 study made in eastern
Oregon found that logging residue recovery was quite profitable if done
right. The study suggests that second-growth thinnings could supply
five times the present consumption, given more efficient harvest methods.
And it forecasts that the decline of old-growth logging in national forests
will accelerate change, as equipment is perfected for harvesting second-growth
small trees. In all, the residue supply was judged to be adequate
for doubled or tripled wood-fired energy generation for the next few decades.
"Timber sales contracts require the sale purchaser
to remove logging residue to the land manager's specifications. Contracts
will call for Yarding or Piling of all unmerchantable Material (YUM or
PUM) exceeding a contract-specified size...YUM and PUM requirements significantly
reduce the costs of logging residue to a fuel user. The common perception
that logging residues are too expensive to use for fuel fails to take YUM
and PUM contract requirements into consideration." [77] The volume of wood
fiber available after harvest of a old growth timber sale in western Washington
and Oregon is very large. From a typical 25-acre sale in the Willamette
National Forest in Oregon, 30% of the total wood tonnage logged was chip
culls and wood fiber logs. From this one timber sale, the weight
of chip cull logs and larger wood fiber logs totaled almost 97 green tons
per acre.
Public agencies see advantages in encouraging energy markets for wood
fiber, and are frequently willing to work out desirable contract terms
as long as residue recovery does not delay reforestation.
Some of their perceived benefits of using wood fiber are the following:
Agricultural & Food Processing Residues
Agricultural residues, including hulls, pits, straw and stalks, are
not used in biomass power facilities because they are difficult to burn
and cause problems with deposits in furnaces. [Biologue, 9/91] {Northern
Light combustion systems are specifically designed to burn this vast fuel
resource without the slagging problems.} The most likely wastes from the
food processing industries for fuel use are:
[72]
* Peanut & sunflower hulls; rice and other grain husks; walnut,
almond, pecan and other nut shells; and other dry shells. Moisture
content is generally 4-10%(wet).
* Pit waste from fruits which contain hard pits, such as apricots,
cherries, peach, olives, etc. Moisture content is typically about
50% (wet).
* Bagasse (pressed sugar cane fiber). Generally, quantities of
this waste and process heat needs are much larger than the commercial size
systems we are interested in, although there should be a sizable third-world
market.
Pelletized Fuel
Pelletized biomass fuels have advantages in dryness,
uniformity, increased density, ease of handling and feed, and controllability
of combustion.
Since the pelletizing operation involves extensive fuel preparation
& drying, and expensive equipment and labor in handling, considerable
cost is added to the raw fuel. Pellets have the disadvantage of costing
5 to 10 times as much as lower grade unprocessed biomass fuels. Because
the damp low grade fuels can be burned as efficiently as pellets in a Northern
Light system, there is no reason to pay the additional expense for fuel.
"A detailed account of the failure of a well-financed fuel-pellet venture
in Livingston, Montana, was described (at the 1986 Washington Wood Utilization
Conference held in Bellevue) by Hal Holtquist, managing partner of Mountain
Energy Co. He said the firm made major marketing mistakes; mainly,
'tunnel vision' in not recognizing that dry hog fuel is an attractive alternative
to pellets and should have been offered as a product. 'The institutional
market will grow,' he said, 'and not by pelletizing dried fuel, by selling
it in bulk.' Then he will be able to compete with any fossil fuel."
U.S. Statistics
During the last decade of the eighteen hundreds
in the U.S.A., wood from our abundant forests was the primary fuel used
in our factories, railroads and homes, totaling approximately 60 million
tons per year. [11] "Recent studies (1980) by the U.S. Forest Service have
shown that on an annual basis in the U.S. there are 600 million dry tons
of unused wood available for energy use, enough to replace 1,675 million
barrels of oil {143,000 "AGNI"}. The bulk of this wood exists in
the form of logging residues (160 million tons) and excess tree growing
stock (215 million tons). Timber harvesting systems that utilize
this excess wood represent an ideal opportunity to improve the wood energy
situation in the U.S." [33A] {U.S. Forest Service estimates tend to be
far lower than other estimates.} The Federal Office of Technology Assessment
forecasted in 1984 that this contribution could be increased sevenfold
by the year 2000. Dr. James Duke of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Beltsville Research Facility claims that the U.S. could replace fossil
fuels and be entirely self-sufficient in renewable energy from the biomass
grown on the 62.5 million acres of deteriorated marginal land in this country.
Other studies show that dedicating just 6% of our agricultural land to
sustained yield biomass crops, from hybrid poplar to hemp, could replace
all our present reliance on fossil fuels and nuclear power.
In 1980, less than 200 MW of electricity were produced
from biomass. In 1990, the figure was 7500 MW produced from biomass,
primarily wood. This figure represents about five percent of all
energy used in the U.S. and is comparable to our use of hydropower and
nuclear power. Solar, wind and geothermal now account for 5,800 megawatts
equivalent of energy. [Biologue, 12/91] Wood energy is the single
largest use of wood in the U.S. About 2.7 quads of our energy comes
from 160 million dry tons of wood consumed annually.
[22, '91] {381,000 "AGNI"} This could be increased
to about 10 quads or about 13.5% of our current usage."[77] "According
to a 1989 U.S. Department of Energy study, solar and biofuels account for
87.8% of the economically accessible fuels of the future...Not only does
biomass represent a massive resource base, but this resource base can be
accessed now, not like many of our other alternative energy options that
may have impacts 20 years or more in the future."
"The United States has the potential to easily meet half of our liquid
fuel needs and half of our electricity needs from this diverse resource
that can be derived from direct combustion, gasification and liquification."
"Fast-growing biomass takes up more carbon than
any other process and yields oxygen. In taking into account the total
fuel cycle, several studies show that biomass energy is the only option
that has a net gain over the carbon/oxygen cycle. This net gain has
the capacity to preserve our planet." [Biologue editorial by Scott Sklar,
Sept, 91] Although detailed analysis of all sustainable biomass energy
sources is just beginning to be accumulated, especially from the agricultural
sector, the U.S. Department of energy (DOE) estimates that the sustainable
energy potential of biomass in the U.S. is 42 quads, equivalent to 55%
of total U.S. Energy consumption. [10] {5.7 million "AGNI"} Slash burning
in
Washington State alone wastes 34 trillion BTUs annually (equivalent to
5.4 Million Barrels of oil... $194,000,000 F.O.B. Kuwait, or 2.7 Billion
Dollars of residential heating oil!* 10/90). This wasteful practice
contributes far more acrid smoke to the atmosphere than woodstoves do.
Increasing restrictions on slash-burning, mounting costs of logging clean-up,
and greater efficiencies of residue handling/chipping/delivery systems
are making slash chipping a necessity and wood waste a significant energy
option. The future availability of wood-chip fuel will increase within
areas 50 miles from logging and land-clearing operations. Wood waste
and tree trimmings, along with other yard waste, have typically made up
a third of landfill. Wood waste dumps leach concentrates into the soil
that can contaminate the ground water supply for decades. Increasingly
restrictive environmental regulations and disposal costs are causing tree
trimmers, wood-products manufacturers, etc. to seek other outlets for their
waste. This represents a vast decentralized source of cheap biomass
fuel for energy.
Wood fuel use by the forest products sector has increased markedly
over the last 20 years, and it is generally assumed that the pulp &
paper industry, large sawmills, plywood mills, and other large wood processing
facilities will continue to use their waste for process energy, and that
these fuels will not be available outside these industries.[5] "Public
pressure is forcing environmental regulators to further restrict open burning
as a residue disposal option. If environmental regulations become
more restrictive, land managers will be forced to seek alternative residue
disposal methods including increased utilization. If part of the
removal cost for residues is paid by the user of the commercial timber,
then the cost of logging residues for electric generation should decrease."[6]
The most prevalent type of fuel used by respondents to the National Wood
Energy Survey was: hogged fuel - 24%, chipped mill waste - 22%, sawdust
- 22% slabs from mill waste - 9%, whole tree chips - 7%, logging residue
- 5%, wood pellets - 4%, uncut logs - 2%, other - 5%. [5] Green sawdust
comprises about 13% of the wood waste of a mill. [13] Regional Statistics
Pacific Northwest & Alaska Region "The five western States representing
the pacific Northwest and Alaska Regional Biomass program of the U.S. Department
of Energy, cover about 256 million acres of land and contain approximately
one-third of the Nation's timber resource (U.S. Department of Agriculture
1981). This vast resource is concentrated on approximately 30% of
the total area (80 million acres), referred to as timberland; land supporting
timber that is generally considered to be available for continuing production
of woody fiber. This resource supports a large forest products industry,
accounting for a significant share of the wood products consumed in the
United States. This resource also represents a source of supply for
a potentially significant wood using industry - energy. Energy production
based on woody biomass grew considerably following the fuel shortages of
the mid-seventies. This growth occurred primarily within the forest
products industry and residential sectors of the economy. New legislation,
advancing technology, and the renewable nature of wood provide the basis
for greater reliance on biomass as a contributor to the region's energy
needs in the future."
Nearly 19 quads of potentially available woody biomass
residues have been identified in the bioregion. This is equivalent
to 25 percent of current U.S. energy consumption. Annual logging
residue alone accounts for 0.3 quad, and is now the main source of biomass
fuel.
Washington State's forests store far more energy
from the sun annually than all the energy needs of the state, and this
biomass energy is perpetually renewing itself. Depending on conditions,
forests in the Pacific Northwest produce on the average 5 dry tons of above
ground woody biomass per acre per year, and at least that much below ground,
175 Billion BTU of stored solar energy per acre. In some locations
four times that growth has been recorded, and some species suitable for
biomass farming yield 8 times this average.
The 5 northwest states of WA, OR, ID, MT, &
AK consumed energy from all sources (petroleum, coal, gas, electricity,
etc.) totaling 3,896 Trillion Btus in 1988, equivalent to the biomass energy
stored annually in 23,000 square miles of Pacific Northwest forest land,
or 2.5% of the land area of these 5 states.
The following information in from Biomass Estimates for Five Western
States
[16]:
In addition to woody biomass currently being converted
to energy, primarily in the forest industries and for residential heating,
the forests of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska represent a significant
opportunity to help meet future energy needs. The extent to which these
forests contribute is a function of a complex set of criteria, and varies
considerably from one geographic area to another. Expanding the use of
woody biomass for energy holds promise not only for meeting growing demands,
but may provide an economic incentive for intensifying management of the
region's forests.
Obviously only a small portion of the nearly 19
quads of energy from the sources in this report will be physically available
in any given year. Even less may find its way to markets because of critical
economic factors. But, the amount that does reach conversion facilities
can make a significant and lasting contribution to the region's energy
requirements. Unlike other sources of energy, woody biomass is a
renewable resource.
There are other sources of forest biomass not addressed
by this report. The largest such source is biomass occurring on what are
frequently referred to as non-commercial forests. Juniper stands
in eastern Oregon and Washington are examples of this type of forest.
There are just over 25 million acres of "other forest land" in the 5-State
area. Much of this land is covered with trees that are not generally
considered to be of commercial value - Eastern Oregon alone has over 3.6
million acres of other forest land, most of which is occupied by non-commercial
species (Farrenkopf 1982). The very definition of these stands indicates
that few products are removed from trees growing on these sites.
In some cases products such as posts, poles, and firewood are taken from
these forests. Large scale removal of biomass from these forests
may not be reasonable for a number of reasons. They do, however,
represent a potentially large source of biomass, particularly for products
that do not require high quality wood--such as energy.
The logging residue produced annually in the Pacific
Northwest bioregion, about 0.3 quad, is almost 10 times the energy output
of the Trojan nuclear plant operating at 80% of capacity. [16] The annual
logging residue production in Washington is 315 trillion tons [90]
The Washington State Biomass Data Book [90A] estimates a realistic availability
of 143 trillion Btu annually, at competitive energy prices.
Washington's industrial sector uses 200 trillion Btu of fuel per year.
The Biomass Energy Project Development Guidebook
[13, 1989] compares the logging residues generated to the amount that can
be chipped & delivered to a site 50 miles away for less than $3.30/MBtu,
for possible electric power plants in WA, OR, MT, & ID, from the present
to 2010. The amounts generated are 4 to 9 times greater than the
amount economically available close to a potential power generating facility.
This leaves a current logging residue, uneconomically located for power
generation in the 4 state region, of 184 trillion Btu/year, declining to
117 trillion Btu {16,027 "AGNI"} by the year 2010.
To get an idea of the market potential of this
fuel source, using the average of these two figures and assuming that all
potential power plants have been built and are using the surrounding wood
waste for fuel, and only 10% of the remaining residue is potentially available
to decentralized commercial boiler installations, 15 trillion Btus of logging
residue would still be available, enough to fuel 2,055 AGNI sized boilers.
Agricultural Field Residues
According to the Biomass Energy Project Development
Guidebook [13, 1989], the average amount of energy from agricultural field
residues available for fuel in the Pacific Northwest Bioregion is 132 trillion
Btu per year. This is a tremendous energy potential {18,000 "AGNI"},
equivalent to the energy available from logging residue in the 4-state
region.
However, it is not as desirable for fuel because
of its higher delivery cost, lower bulk density, and generally higher ash
content (with lower ash-slagging temperature). Some residues also
have value as green manure fertilizer. Costs of collection and delivery
within 50 miles averaged $33/ton, or $2.20/MBtu. This is still half
the price of natural gas.
To put this in perspective, compare the total annual
average quantity of residues generated in Washington (315 trillion Btu)
{43,000 "AGNI"} with Washington's total industrial fuel use for 1986 (284
trillion Btu)" [6] One study of potential power plant siting in Washington
found 8,000 acres of fruit orchards in one area, which could supply 17,500
tons of tree prunings within a 50 mile radius of the proposed plant site.
"Residues from orchards have two particularly desirable characteristics.
They are most available during the winter months when logging residues
are scarce, and recovery costs are generally very low."
[13] Typical Installations In Washington Greenhouse
heat is an ideal application for the Agni-size system, and I have found
considerable interest from that sector. Many of the existing facilities
use hot water heat circulating through tubes in the benches, so conversion
is simple. Those in outlying areas use oil or propane rather than
natural gas, so the conversion economies are very good, and heat is a large
part of their expenses. Their greatest concerns are dependability
and up-front system costs, since many seem to be operating on a tight budget.
Mountain View Greenhouses in Woodenville is a typical
conversion candidate, replacing a 1.5MBtu/hr natural gas hot water boiler.
The owner has heard too many horror stories of unreliable wood-fueled boiler
installations to trust a prototype installation, but he is eager to know
when it will be manufactured. Briggs nursery in Olympia is very interested
in heating with hog fuel, as they have a large and expanding operation
and a ready supply of fuel. Their major concern is meeting the strict
Olympia air emissions standards, and are particularly interested in getting
emissions data on cofiring polyethylene plastic and lunchroom waste with
the hog-fuel.
Tim Newcomb, of Seattle City Light Energy Management
Services Division has been very supportive in my earlier endeavors to find
a site for the Agni prototype. City light produces about 6 "AGNI"
of chips annually from their transmission line right-of-way tree trimming
operations. They would be interested in some cooperative deal to
deliver their chips to several centrally located facilities.
M.J. Macdonald, Deputy Superintendent, Engineering and Utility Systems
of Seattle City Light, stated in a letter to me (6/90) that, although City
Light has determined that large-scale wood-fueled power plants are not
practical due to decentralized fuel sources, "Wood might prove to be an
attractive alternative source of heat for other applications requiring
smaller supplies if emissions are minimized by your concept. To the
extent that such applications might replace electrical energy and nonrenewable
resources, City Light would be interested and might pursue a demonstration
project at some time in the future."
Of the 143 Washington State facilities listed by the State Energy Office
in 1987, one third of them (47) have heating systems of 5 MBtu/hr or less,
most of these are low pressure hot water or steam systems, fueled with
#2 diesel oil @ $4.88 - $6.48/MBtu (5 yr. old figures). Many of these
facilities are rural and would be good potential customers.
The State Energy Office has just recently cataloged
hundreds of potential wood-energy users, from the wood products industries
and other likely industries. Secondary wood processing facilities
in the state offer a large potential customer base. There are 37
public schools in rural Skagit County alone, 16 of them with an existing
low pressure hot water heating system. There are 34 hospitals in
the state with heat needs from 1 to 6 MBtu/hr. These are predominantly
small rural hospitals that would be most likely to have the space for fuel
storage and a cheap local source. The State Energy Office is interested
in promoting the use of bioenergy in hospitals and schools, and there may
be state funds to assist the conversion.
The great potential for bioenergy applications lies
in the diversity of likely customers, from a fish-processing plant in Anacortes
to the Glue Extender Company in Marysville. Seattle Disposal has
tons of low-grade paper fines that are costly to landfill, and several
large warehouses and other facilities to heat. The Whidbey Island
Naval Air Station has begun an extensive recycling program that is including
the city of Oak Harbor. Since their landfill will be closing in July,
all refuse must then be trucked to Oregon, so they are serious about optimizing
recycling and including waste-to-energy as an efficient way to heat their
various buildings as well.
They will soon be collecting 400 to 500 tons/month and purchasing a
chipper to process their woody yard-waste. They also collect a lot
of low-grade waste paper that they want to burn. (CLIP)
I have the technology to harness this biomass energy cleanly and
efficiently. I'll send you more info via email if you request it.
~ anyone know green investors eager to bring this technology
to the market?
Larry Dobson
dancer@stiltman.com
360-579-1763
7118 Fiske Rd
Clinton, WA 98236
From childhood Larry was fascinated with fire and
carried out extensive seat-of-the-pants research in bombs and
rockets. After exploring work in research chemistry with Monsanto
and other companies, Larry switched to Political
Science and went off to India in the Peace Corps. Eventually
however, Larry continued private research into alternative
energy applications; solar, wind, biogas, hydronic, air, and integrated
residential systems. In 1977, Northern Light R&D
was started by Larry Dobson for the purpose of researching waste to
energy systems, combustion technology, alternative
energy, appropriate technology, and a variety of other systems relating
to the recycling and utilization of the growing
quantities of resources entering the waste streams.
For the past 3 years Dobson has been working on
the development of a hot air furnace for heating poultry houses
burning chicken litter. This is a joint project with the U.S.Department
of Energy, the Arkansas Energy Office, the University of Arkansas, and
the Foundation for Organic Resources Management.
Dobson's expertise includes:
·
3D Solid Modeling component design
·
Optimization of gas flow, temperature, heat transmission, throughput, fuel
handling
·
Utilization of recent advancements in refractory materials, oxygen sensor
and controls systems
·
Designing of integrated controls and coordinating software development
·
Development of new approaches to ceramic component design and manufacturing
GRANTS AND OTHER ASSISTANCE TO RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
R Alternative Sources of Energy Magazine, grant, 1977
R Washington State Energy Office, grant, 1987-88
R Vaagen Timber Products Company, assistance in prototype
development, 1988
R US Department of Energy, Energy-Related Inventions Grant,
1989-1991
R US Department of Energy, Commercialization Ventures
Program, 1998 to present
PUBLISHED RESEARCH
R Proceedings of the Weltkongress Alternativen und Umwelt,
Vienna, 1980, A High Efficiency Home Energy System Burning Biomass
R Alternative Sources of Energy Magazine, 1980, The Grendle
Report
R The Mother Earth News Guide to Home Energy, 1980, An
Amazingly Efficient Sawdust Stove
R International Bio-Energy Directory and Handbook, 1984
R Proceedings of the 1986 International Conference on
Residential Wood Energy, High-Tech Non-catalytic Woodstove Design
Considerations
R Proceedings of the 1988 Washington Wood Utilization
Conference, A State of the Art Woodchip Boiler
R Biomass Energy - State of the Technology, Present Obstacles
& Future Potential, U.S. Department of Energy, Conservation and
Renewable Energy, Office of Energy Related
Inventions, 1993