Innovative approaches for mobilization of forest biomass for bioenergy

Increasing global demand for energy, a push by governments and industry to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG), and a desire to increase energy independence are driving the demand for renewable alternatives to fossil fuels. As a source of renewable carbon that can be used in the existing energy infrastructure, forest (woody) biomass is an attractive feedstock for the production of bioenergy (meant here to include biomass-based energy carriers in solid, gaseous and liquid forms) for production of heat, power and liquid biofuels.

Based on the definitions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, forest biomass feedstocks include:

   - Unutilized (or surplus) forest growth that have no taker by conventional forest industries;

   - primary residues i.e. by-products of harvesting and silvicultural operations;

   - secondary residues, i.e. low-quality by-products of the industrial processing of wood;

   - tertiary residues, i.e. post-consumer material such as demolition wood and scrap pallets.

Due to various logistical, social, market and policy challenges, these biomass resources are often left behind in forest value streams of various jurisdictions around the world: they usually end up in open burning, landfill or burned up in boilers with low efficiency for heat and power generation, or left on forest sites. However, they represent opportunities to increase production of bioenergy and therefore contribute to the global energy transition towards renewable sources, and also opportunities to revitalize and diversify regional industrial networks in forest regions.

This report builds on knowledge on the valorization of forest biomass for bioenergy (including heat, power and biofuels) with the aim of providing insights and recommendations for the development of pathways to maximize the value from often underutilized sources of forest biomass. It is presented around case studies that deal with supply, logistics, conversion, social, environmental, market and policy aspects of forest biomass mobilization. It is presented around case studies that deal with supply, logistics, conversion, social, environmental, market and policy aspects of forest biomass mobilization.

Some key recommendations can be drawn from these case studies:

A compilation of the developed knowledge from case studies indicate how taking advantage of modern technologies and innovations in supply chain management can help to valorise underutilized biomass resources. Commercial quantities of underutilized woody biomass resources are available that are currently left behind in the forest, such as the degraded woods in Quebec, or burnt inefficiently by the local sawmills and pulp mills for heat and power generation, as seen with the processing residues in the Vancouver region. These biomass resources traditionally have not been considered as feedstock for biofuels and bioproducts markets due to a combination of logistical disadvantages (high procurement costs) and quality issues (e.g. high moisture content and ash content). Supply chain development, such as the use of adequate pre-treatment technologies for biomass, or a closer integration of forest biomass supply chains within larger forest management systems, can create significant new opportunities for the utilization of this material.

A key element of successful biomass deployment is to connect the right biomass to the right value market is based on supply chain management and pre-processing to value add the biomass for energy production. In the case presented from Vancouver, very low-quality biomass that could be sourced locally and did not competing uses, was preference to have a secure cost-effective supply that could be managed through a well-planned supply chain to meet energy production needs. In the Italian case, more mature bioenergy markets had been established and local small-scale supply was matched to the local market where the advantages of the location and supply form existing land management used novel supply chain technology and design to meet the specific local market need.

A combination of pre-processing solutions can contribute to upgrade the value of the underutilized woody biomass resources, through managing moisture content, limiting contamination and creating a consistent particle size for energy production systems. These strategies around storage and mixing of resources were used to bring low quality biomass sourced for the Vancouver gasification case to a level that they provided a consistent and reliable energy production, while the Italian case used specific chipping technology as an effective solution at small scale to meet a high-quality biomass supply demand. Pre-processing solutions will add to the cost of biomass delivered to the downstream users and therefore needs to be carefully considered and integrated in the supply chain management. The selection of the pre-processing solutions depends on understanding the feedstock specifications of the bioprocessing technology and biomass characteristics. Fractionation, size reduction, drying, densification, torrefaction, blending and washing are examples of the pre-processing solutions.

The location of the upgrading operations is critical to reduce the cost of inbound and outbound transportations and ensuring the right qualities are created and delivered to the bioenergy use of greatest value. In the Italian case logistics were reduced with localised pre-processing of microchips to displace imported pellets; a pre-processing technique that unlocked a local supply. Multiple transportation modes (i.e. road, rail and water) can significantly reduce the biomass delivered cost and where possible it can be most effective to introduce value adding pre-processing operations where these modes of transportation intersect. The Alberta case of pellets for co-firing in coal power energy generation added value to the feedstock through palletisation and then used the now point sources of higher value biomass to leverage logistic cost benefits of rail trainsport to access more biomass at a acceptable cost. Where multiple modes of transportation are not required pre-processing will be better placed either at the point of harvest (road side storage to reduce moisture, infield chipping and grinding, etc.) or within the facility of the final energy producer (active drying with waste heat, palletisation, torification, etc.)

Agility and flexibility are important to the efficient execution of supply chain plans. The reality in the forest sector, and more so in forest biomass supply chains, is that there is a continual need to adapt to changing conditions (e.g. mill closings/openings; natural disturbances). An agile and flexible biomass business case will be able to adapt to multiple sources of feedstocks, and continually move up the technological learning curve through learning-by-doing, as seen in the example of the gasification plant in Vancouver.

Forest biomass supply is inherently complex, so success requires right biomass is directed to the right use and trying to force what has worked in one region in an area that does not have the same opportunity or conditions increases the risk of failure. In the Quebec case, wood that was otherwise going to be residues on site and create future land management costs and challenges was captured through effective integration with other forest-based supply chains to meet local market at a relatively low cost. In British Columbia the case uses small scale gasification and novel supply management strategies to its advantage to source true low value residues and waste wood as a low-cost supply that other competitors would rather not use; as case that may not work with bigger projects or regions where this low-quality biomass is not readily available.

The priority is to displace currently inefficient energy solutions where a biomass feedstock is local to an otherwise remote site. Where the situation does not a provide clear cut advantaged for bioenergy production and use it is important to work to the identified strengths of bioenergy such as direct heat production and capitalise on other benefits such as regional development, improved forest management outcomes and reliable local energy source. All these strategies for successful biomass supply are enhanced supportive policy and legislation underpin changes in the current forest management practices, organizational behaviour and business models of the forest companies towards supplying a bioenergy industry.

Integration of supply to existing industry and land management needs is key to success. The biojet project in British Columbia relies heavily on integration with forest supply chain to source biomass suited to the specific need as well as downstream supply chain integration to get to market, using already in place and reliable infrastructure to get to market. In Colorado the recovery of pine beetle killed wood was a key tool in the integrated land management strategy to direct as much of the wood that was suitable to high value timber markets but provide viable market to energy use so all the material could be removed and promote regeneration of the forest on site. In Alberta the traditional energy source of coal is a very low-cost solution so high levels of integration with existing supply chains and supply chain infrastructure like rail were needed to deliver at acceptable costs as a renewable component of the co-firing solution.

While biomass supply chains remain, complex and challenging the key elements for success can be quite simple. The first element is to understand the biomass supply including the amount, locations and quality. It then falls on the supply chain to realise the best value by connecting that biomass to the right market and use, while adding the right value at the right place along the supply chain with pre-processing, amalgamations and volume efficiencies. Scaling and integration with existing supply chains that both leverages expertise and creates synergistic efficiency is often the difference between success and failure.