Lignin for saLe Two Canadian ventures have begun selling lignin for research and development purposes. British Columbia-based Lignol Energy Corporation is selling tonnage quantities of high-performance lignin (HPL) to development partners for industrial production trials. Its pilot-scale biorefinery and inventory of HPL position it as a supplier to companies looking to incorporate the renewable material in their product lines, says president and CEO Ross MacLachlan. This is a significant step in developing a commercial biorefinery to produce HPL and cellulosic ethanol, he says. In Ontario, partners FPInnovations, the Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio Economy, Natural Resources Canada, and AbitibiBowater are producing the first batches of operational lignin for Canadian researchers. The partners are developing an evaluation centre in Thunder Bay, Ontario, for black liquor And lignin byproducts of the pulping process at AbitibiBowater’s nearby kraft pulp mill. The lignin demonstration plant ties directly into the black liquor stream and will produce up to 100 kg/day of lignin when fully operational. Lignin can be used as A renewable alternative to many petroleum-derived substances such as fuels, resins, rubber additives, thermoplastic blends, and nutra- and pharmaceuticals. Pine beetLe on the move Alberta researchers have determined that mountain pine beetle is using jack pine as a host. The beetle was suspected to be invading hybrid tree species in addition to its usual host, lodgepole pine. However, DNA testing indicated that the beetle and associated blue-stain fungus are invading pure jack pine. “Our research team used molecular markers to conclusively show that the latest pine species to be attacked are indeed jack pine,” says lead researcher Catherine Cullingham. This has raised concerns that the beetle could move further east across the boreal forest, as jack pine ranges east from Alberta all the way to the Maritimes. biomass to gas, jet fueL Biomass-to-gasoline developer Core Biofuel has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a renewable energy project developer. The MOU provides for the development of four Core licensed biorefineries following a review of the Toronto-based company’s technology and pilot production of bio-gasoline. Meanwhile, company officials are checking out potential locations for biorefineries, including Houston, Terrace, and other forestry-based communities in northern British Columbia, according to several local news reports. The name of the project developer has not yet been revealed. Biomass-to-jet fuel developer Rentech has accepted an Ontario wood supply offer of 1,146,000 cubic-metres/year of wood fibre for its proposed Olympiad Project, to be developed in White River, northern Ontario. The company would use the wood to produce about 85 million litres/year of low-carbon, biodegradable, synthetic jet fuel and 43 million litres/year of renewable naphtha, which can be used to produce biodegradable plastics. The proposed Olympiad Liquid Fuels Plant would also produce approximately 40 MW of renewable electricity from forest biomass. Rentech expects the plant to be completed in 2015. in brief... District heat funded A biomass-fuelled district heating system will be developed, tested, and commercialized in Sherwood Park, Alberta. The Canadian government is investing $1.5 million towards the Resource Industry Suppliers Association and Strathcona County for the project, with the latter two organizations each contributing $675,000. Testing torrefaction BioEnergy Inc., Cape Breton University, and Target Hydraulics and Machine Works have been awarded $1.7 million in funding to construct, test, and commercialize torrefaction technology. Torrefaction creates a solid, hydrophobic product that weighs less than the original biomass and has physical properties more similar to coal. Plans for biomass industrial park EcoTech Energy Group has acquired the primary site for the ecoTech McBride eco- Industrial Park and its planned biomassfuelled, combined heat and power (CHP) plant. The site is located northwest of McBride, British Columbia, and the finished eco-Industrial Park is expected to have a variety of tenants from initiatives requiring reliable and adequate heat and power services from the planned CHP plant. World’s largest pellet plant Russian pulp and paper company Vyborgskaya Cellulose exported its first shipment of wood pellets in mid-March 2011 from its 900,000-tonne/year production plant in Vyborg, western Russia. The pellets were destined for a Swedish utility. Shipments of several thousand tonnes are expected to occur almost weekly.