Demonstration of a portable fast pyrolysis unit in southwest Oregon in August 2009

[John]

A group of partners is co-hosting a series of demonstrations for fast
pyrolysis. Below is information about the demos. People can hop a
ride on the all-day bus tour or meet us on site in time to see the
machinery operating before the 1 p.m. shutdown and then hear the
presentation at 1 p.m. Please share this information with potential
investors in the fast pyrolysis process and people who are looking for
ways to use woody biomass.

For technical information about the Lemolo, Glide or Merlin
demonstrations, contact Jim Archuleta, Diamond Lake Ranger District:
541.498.2531; jgarc...@fs.fed.us.
For information about the tours, contact Dave Kvamme, OFRI Director of
Communications, at 971-673-2948, or kva...@ofri.com. I will be out of
the office until August 7th. Thanks. Cheryl


What is fast pyrolysis? Fast Pyrolysis is a thermal process that
rapidly heats woody biomass to a controlled temperature (500 degrees
C), and then quickly cools the volatile products to yield bio-oil
(~60%) bio-char (~20%) and syngas (~20%). The syngas either is
recycled into the combustion chamber to keep the process going or it
can be collected. The bio-oil and bio-char are collected and trucked
off-site for later use.

The Umpqua National Forest and Douglas County are sponsoring the
demonstration of a portable fast pyrolysis unit in southwest Oregon in
August 2009. The unit, along with a Rotochopper, will be at Lemolo
sand shed on Umpqua National Forest land processing mixed conifers on
August 18 & 19, at Glide on private land processing cedar and oak on
August 22, and at Merlin on Josephine county land processing madrone
from state lands on August 26. The unit will be in Heppner on August
31.

Tour Schedule
August 19, 22 and 26
Times: Machinery operating between 8:30 – 1 p.m.; presentation at 1
p.m.
Length: Plan on 15 to 30 minutes to view the machinery; 1 p.m.
presentation will last an hour
Location:
--August 19 – Lemolo Sand Shed on Highway 138 at MP 72 (0.1 mile from
Lemolo Rd. junction) on the Umpqua National Forest
--August 22 – Swanson Mill site in Glide
--August 26 – 1749 Merlin Road, Merlin
Check in: Meet at the site; parking is limited
Cost: Free

One additional tour is set for August 31 in Heppner. Info: Carrie
Spradlin, timber management assistant for the Umatilla National
Forest, 541-676-2153

Group Tours
--August 19, meet at the Douglas County Library, 1409 SE Diamond Lake
Blvd, Roseburg, OR, at 8:30 a.m. for a bus trip to the Lemolo Sand
Shed

--August 22, meet at the Douglas County Library, 1409 SE Diamond Lake
Blvd, Roseburg, OR, at 8:30 a.m. for a bus trip to Glide

--August 26, meet at the National Guard Armory, 666 Brookside, Grants
Pass, OR, at 8:30 a.m. for bus trip to the Merlin site

Length: Tours last from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with transportation
and lunch provided
Reservations: On-line registration required through
www.oregonforests.org/toursandevents/eventscalendar.html
Cost: Free

Demonstration Partners:
City of Grants Pass, Douglas County, Douglas Soil & Water Conservation
District (DS&WCD), Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS),
Oregon BEST, Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon Forest Biomass
Working Group, Oregon Forest Resources Institute (OFRI), OSU Forestry
Extension, Renewable Oil International, LLC, Rocky Mountain Research
Station, Rose Ranch, Gilbreath Family Trust, Swanson Group, Umpqua Bio-
Alternative Coop (UBAC), Umatilla National Forest, Umpqua National
Forest, University of Idaho, University of Montana

Cheryl Caplan
Public Affairs Officer, Umpqua National Forest
office -- 541/957-3270; cell -- 541/430-5124
fax -- 541/957-3495; cca...@fs.fed.us

Find us at www.Twitter.com/UmpquaNF

Mission: To sustain the health, diversity and productivity of the
Nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and
future generations.

[maxd]

The Fast Pyrolysis Demo in Southern Oregon had about 160 people in
attendance yesterday. It pressed three main points on me:

* the energy market is expected to drive biochar production

* biochar byproducts are best disposed of in the forests where they
are made

* the economics and marketability of biooils are certain

It sure seems like the idea of making biooil from forest resources
captured the imagination of government and the public more than the
mere making of biochar for climate change. There were many convincing
economic arguments for using mobile pyrolysis units in the forest and
transporting only the oil. With the economic analysis of production
and sales validated by so many credible sources, it sure sounds like
biooil will be a boon for jobs and the rural economy.

Jim Archuleta's passion for improving the health of forests using
biochar was well demonstrated. They deserved their rounds of applause.
It was a good day for Southern Oregon.

[Stanley Petrowski]

What impressed me most about the demo was the very broad spectrum of
culturally different paradigms present. There were voices in opposition
but by and large most sensed that their passions overlapped to some
degree and that common ground could be found.

I personally appreciated the U of Idaho presentation on soil enrichment.
It is good that the benefits of biochar are being quantified on that scale.

My main concern is for clear post biomass extraction standards to be set
for public forests. The goal must include high ecological standards for
extraction techniques and for forest conditions after extraction.

Stan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
O O o o ° ° . . >< )))(°>
------------------------------------
Stanley Petrowski
President/Director
South Umpqua Rural Community Partnership
34620 Tiller Trail Hwy.
Tiller, OR 97484
sta...@surcp.org

[woodutilization]

I would hope that public opinion on the "driver" for biochar isn't
cast in stone. After attending the sessions at Boulder I have gained
a tremendous respect for soil scientists and their abilities. I also
think that the value of biochar as a component of soil amendment
complex is greater than any oils or syngas produced. There's also the
issue of carbon sequestering. Here in Nevada we could sure use the
biochar and don't need to burn for energy. I think the common ground
will allow multiple uses with science leading the way...

On Aug 21, 7:43 am, Stanley Petrowski <stan...@surcp.org> wrote:
> What impressed me most about the demo was the very broad spectrum of
> culturally different paradigms present. There were voices in opposition
> but by and large most sensed that their passions overlapped to some
> degree and that common ground could be found.
>
> I personally appreciated the U of Idaho presentation on soil enrichment.
> It is good that the benefits of biochar are being quantified on that scale.
>
> My main concern is for clear post biomass extraction standards to be set
> for public forests. The goal must include high ecological standards for
> extraction techniques and for forest conditions after extraction.
>
> Stan
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>      O O o o ° ° . . >< )))(°>
> ------------------------------------
> Stanley Petrowski
> President/Director
> South Umpqua Rural Community Partnership
> 34620 Tiller Trail Hwy.
> Tiller, OR 97484

> stan...@surcp.org

>
>
>
> maxd wrote:
> > The Fast Pyrolysis Demo in Southern Oregon had about 160 people in
> > attendance yesterday. It pressed three main points on me:
>
> > * the energy market is expected to drive biochar production
>
> > * biochar byproducts are best disposed of in the forests where they
> > are made
>
> > * the economics and marketability of biooils are certain
>
> > It sure seems like the idea of making biooil from forest resources
> > captured the imagination of government and the public more than the
> > mere making of biochar for climate change. There were many convincing
> > economic arguments for using mobile pyrolysis units in the forest and
> > transporting only the oil. With the economic analysis of production
> > and sales validated by so many credible sources, it sure sounds like
> > biooil will be a boon for jobs and the rural economy.
>
> > Jim Archuleta's passion for improving the health of forests using
> > biochar was well demonstrated. They deserved their rounds of applause.

> > It was a good day for Southern Oregon.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Kent Knock]

Utilization of all products of pyrolysis at it's respective highest value will be required to make the process economical, I think. Even at that it is not something that appears to deliver really high returns in money terms. Otherwise, there would be no funding problem-- big money would be rushing in to build and operate plants.

The improvement of soil is certainly a very "sexy" selling point. Unfortunately, "mining" soil has been very common in agriculture. The cost of even maintaining soil health is often not included in product cost. To get a financial return for improving soil health will be a challenge. Maybe char can be sold for garden soil improvement. To use the char for soil improvement on government owned forest land would be good. But who pays to operate the process if the char goes back to the soil? (My opinion is that the owner of the land- the government (us) should be paying to maintain the land. That might be a tough sell, however.
Kent Knock

--- On Fri, 8/21/09, woodutilization <dusty...@gmail.com> wrote:

[max derungs]

The personal highlight of the demo for me was Mark Coleman's talk about biochar in forest soils and the forest soil studies being performed by the University of Idaho. Mark also presented at the PNW Biochar Conference last May in Richland. His talk here on the soil science was lucid.

The focus of this demo was mainly on Federal forest lands identified by a study for their potential for biomass energy (biooil) production. The forest lands of the Oregon Coast range and the Cascades along the Willamette Valley were excluded. So, in effect, this demo was a proposal for economic development of government forests that might be good for energy, jobs and the environment. Private forest land holders will have less of a political agenda, and more creative options and market opportunities will likely come from their initiatives.

While there are many opinions about which is the more important market pull - energy or climate change - I feel good knowing both are  becoming more viable. It is even quite likely both will help cleave the way for change in the Northwest equally.

[John-- PNW Biochar]

Here is a news article on the demo

http://www.nrtoday.com/article/20090820/NEWS/908209980/1063/NEWS&ParentProfile=1055