Canadian Innovation in Bio-energy

1 Canada’s forest products industry has a long history of using mill and forest residues. First used to heat facilities, residues such as bark, sawdust, wood chips, branches, and tree tops are now becoming feedstocks for sophisticated steam and electricity... More

1 Canada’s forest products industry has a long history of using mill and forest residues. First used to heat facilities, residues such as bark, sawdust, wood chips, branches, and tree tops are now becoming feedstocks for sophisticated steam and electricity cogeneration facilities, lumber drying kilns, and new bio-energy products such as wood pellets, syngas, cellulosic ethanol, bio-diesel, and bio-oil. Industry Transformation Leads to a Wealth of Opportunity Forest biomass already supplies more than 60 percent of the fuel used to generate heat and electricity in some Canadian pulp and paper mills. This figure will no doubt sharply increase as governments, institutions, and industry recognize the need to replace fossil fuels with more efficient and renewable energy sources. Many kraft pulp mills are already installing condensing turbines to generate more electricity from cogeneration from black liquor, sludge, and harvest residue combustion. According to the Future Bio-Pathways Rep Less