Forestry industry looks to biofuel

Innovative use of wood for fuel within the Rotorua region was showcased at a BNZ Forestry Industries 2011 Technology Clinic at Rotorua's Energy Events Centre yesterday.

Scion's Peter Hall, pictured, made a presentation on the potential for using forestry and other wood residues to create biofuels, saying liquid fuels were the big challenge.

"Wood is by far the largest biomass resource New Zealand has and it is getting bigger."

Hall estimates 200,000 tonnes a year of landing residues could be converted to biofuels, but it would not be economically viable to use cutting over residues from steep harvesting areas.

There are many different ways these residues can be turned into heating fuel, power fuel and liquid fuels to replace petrol and diesel.

"At the moment, the vast majority is burned for heat. Research is being done around the world to turn wood into liquid fuels such as ethanol, butanol and diesel, but it is a huge step from where the technology is at the moment to commercially viable operations."

Scion is part of that research to tap into this resource. A local success story for wood as an environmentally friendly solid fuel is Solid Energy's Nature's Flame, which manufactures pellets from sawdust and wood chips at plants in Rotorua, Taupo and Christchurch.

Key account manager Gavin Higgins told clinic delegates the product was already being exported to Europe and Japan and discussions were ongoing in Korea and Australia.

"We now have 100-plus agents in Italy, France and the rest of Europe and have shipments to the United Kingdom, Holland and Japan. We are increasing operation to satisfy increasing demand."

And the domestic market is also growing, with Nature's Flame pellets sold through 163 retailers throughout the country and in bulk to commercial operators.

Higgins said burning pellets instead of coal reduced greenhouse gas emissions and boiler maintenance and increased efficiency. Converting the steam boiler at Waiouru Military Camp reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 10,000 tonne a year.

The company opened a new bagging plant at the Taupo site on Monday to complete the automation of that site.

"This year we are producing 40,000 tonne per annum and we plan to increase that to 100,000 tonne by the end of 2012."

When operating at full capacity, the three plants should be able to produce 180,000 tonne of pellets a year. Production for 2011 is estimated at 40,000, which is expected to increase to 100,000 tonne per annum by the end of next year.

Bulk pellet sales are largely for heat generation. Higgins said long-term supply contracts enabled the company to offer long-term contracts and the Rotorua and Taupo plants were well situated in the Central North Island forestry region, where there was a good supply of wood residue from forestry and processing.