Canadian Biomass • Summer 2021 • Final Thoughts

How using bioheat can help decarbonize the Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector

There are many uses for heat on farms and in other agriculture and agri-food businesses – from space heating in rural households and buildings to horticulture (greenhouses and nurseries), to feed and grain drying. Process heat in the form of steam and hot water is also used to ensure the maximum quality of food and beverage products and adhere to strict regulations for food safety. The biofuel industry also uses process heat to produce biofuels such as ethanol, and pre-treat/refine feedstocks for biodiesel, renewable diesel and biojet production.

Globally, using bioheat from locally produced forest and agricultural biomass has been at the forefront of decreasing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with agriculture and agri-food processes and biofuel production. This has largely been accomplished through the adoption of biomass boilers and the rise of anaerobic digestion on farms. There are many successful installations of boilers using local biomass resources to produce heat in modern combustion systems in Europe. As of June 2020, the AgroBioHeat consortium has identified 126 agrobiomass heating facilities all over Europe. Among the European countries, Denmark is recognized as the leader in the production and use of bioenergy from agricultural biomass. In fact, in 2018, straw consumption amounted to 17,606 TJ (more than 1.2 million tons), contributing to 2.25 per cent of Denmark’s gross energy consumption and 10.2 per cent of the renewable energy production (Source: AgroBioHeat, 2020).

In addition to the primary agriculture and agri-food sector, the biofuel industry can benefit from the use of bioheat. Low-carbon fuel standard policies in California and British Columbia have encouraged biofuel producers to search for low-carbon intensive process heat and steam fuel sources such as dairy biogas/biomethane and agricultural and forest residues. Ethanol plants in the Canadian Prairies would certainly benefit from the use of biomass for process heat – there would be a 20-30 grams of CO2 equivalent per megajoule (gCO2eq/MJ) reduction in the carbon intensity of ethanol production. The under-developed federal Clean Fuel Standard also recognizes actions that reduce the carbon intensity of the fossil fuels throughout its lifecycle to meet the compliance requirements.

Using bioheat can also help agri-food businesses meet their corporate sustainability goals in light of increased customer awareness demanding sustainable food and beverages products. There is increasing recognition that sustainability (and documentation of a sustainable and low-carbon supply chain) can be a competitive advantage, both domestically and internationally. Bioheat can promote multiple values for farm communities:

1.Hedging against the increasing price of fossil fuels in light of the implementation of policies such as carbon pricing/tax.

2.Maximizing the value derived from forest and agriculture biomass resources by using stranded and underutilized biomass resources.

3.Promoting economic stability in rural communities by generating economic activities and employment in the upstream biomass logistics and technical supports for biomass boiler plants.

Displacing fossil fuel end-use on farms and throughout the agri-food and biofuel industries to produce low-carbon bioheat presents a proven, cost-efficient and lowrisk solution, particularly because local heat demand and feedstocks can be linked. Bioheat can reduce the carbon footprint of food, feed and fuel production while generating socio-economic values for farm and rural communities. Economic stability and an entrepreneurial environment where young people in local communities can see a bright and prosperous future is critical to encourage local talents to contribute to the sustainable development of agriculture and agri-food sector in Canada.

To raise awareness of the potential use of bioheat in rural and farm communities, the Biomass and Bioenergy Research Group (BBRG) at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Canadian Biomass are teaming up to engage Canadian farmers and the local agri-food businesses and biofuel producers to share their success stories and aspirations on the use of bioheat produced from local biomass resources.

The first success story will be published in the next issue of Canadian Biomass on the displacement of coal with oat hull pellets and wood pellets in a chicken farm near town of Preeceville, Sask.

If you are a crop or animal producer, a food or beverage producer or a biofuel plant and want to share your story about transitioning from fossil fuels to locally produced biomass resources for bioheat generation, we would like to hear from you. Please contact Ellen Cools ([email protected]) or Mahmood Ebadian ([email protected]).

Mahmood Ebadian, Ph.D., is research associate at Bioenergy & Biomass and Bioenergy Research Group and Forest Products Biotechnology and Bioenergy Research Group at the University of British Columbia.