BioMASS update alBerta invests in Biochar development Vermilion, AB – The development of biochar technology received a boost from a collaborative initia-tive that includes federal funding of $900,000 to Lakeland College to acquire two mobile pyrolysis units to test, evaluate, and dem-onstrate biochar products for agricultural and environmental markets. Additional support towards this project in-cludes a contribution of $450,000 from Al-berta Innovates Technology Futures (AITF). “Today’s investment will provide the tools needed to test, develop, and commercialize innovative biochar technologies that lead to new products and applications for the global market,” said MP Leon Benoit. in Brief... n Edmonton, AB The province of Alberta has commit-ted $444 million over the next three years to encourage Albertans to devel-op bioenergy alternatives using waste such as manure and wood chips. n London, UK Scientists at Imperial College London have demonstrated that a key part of biomass processing could be made 80 percent more energy-efficient by tak-ing advantage of the slippery proper-ties of fluids called ionic solvents. n CALgAry, AB Mustus Energy Ltd. will work with Lockheed Martin to build a 41.5 megawatt biomass power plant in La Crete, a forest community in north-ern Alberta that will provide enough power for over 30,000 homes. n EngLAnd Sources say that the biomass power plant at Tilbury in Essex that shut down due to a fire will likely not start up until the end of July. n VAnCoUVEr, BC The B.C. Bioenergy Network an-nounced a $1.5 million grant to Fraser Richmond Soil and Fibre to support the development of a waste to energy plant that plans to divert approximately 27,000 metric tons of organic waste from landfills. n PErPignAn, Fr German utility Eon will build the largest biomass-fired power plant in France, planned to be online at the end of 2015, after receiving approv-al for the 150MW facility from the French government. n rUSSiA Japanese wood products firm Arkaim is constructing a 250,000 t/yr wood pellet plant in the Khabarovsk region of far east Russia to exclusively serve Asian markets. Biochar is the carbon-rich residue produced by pyrolysis, a process of burning organic mat-ter such as agricultural and forestry waste in a low oxygen environment. The substance can be used to improve soil texture and crop pro-ductivity, as well as accelerate re-vegetation of uncultivable lands. Further, preliminary studies also indicate that biochar has the potential to clean up wastewater in the petroleum sector. Biofour to test Biomass incinerator Saint-Alexis-de-Monclams, QC -The Honour-able Christian Paradis, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture), announced an investment of up to $126,400 in Biofour Inc., through the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP), to test an incinerator for agri-cultural biomass combustion. “This project offers producers new opportu-nities and will generate positive economic ben-efits while reducing both greenhouse gas emis-sions and the contamination of the water table and soil,” said Minister Paradis. Biofour Inc. will use this investment to test a boiler incinerator that burns biomasses other than those derived from forest products. The goal is to verify its effectiveness and its economic value in the sector’s daily applications. This trial will attempt to evaluate the energy potential of various biomasses. The project will supply a poultry house and will allow for use of the in-cinerator in a heating network supplied by crop residues and poultry litter. alBerta gets Bio-refining money Edmonton, AB -Three companies in Edmon-ton’s nascent bio-refining sector are receiving a $4-million boost to help take products devel-oped from crop and forest biomass and munici-pal waste to the marketplace. Ceapro Inc., Radient Technologies Inc. and TerraVerdae BioWorks beat out about 30 other Alberta companies to receive grants from Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions (AI Bio) according to a report in the Calgary Herald. The provincial gov-ernment agency funds science and technology in energy, health, environment, agriculture and forestry. The funding over the next three years will as-sist commercialization efforts, including produc-tion and technological scale up. “These companies are ones that are using unique kinds of technologies to produce the kinds of products that expand the portfolio of bio-products,” said AI Bio CEO Stan Blade. Canada’s forest biomass sector changes daily. Keep up at www.canadianbiomassmagazine.ca, through our weekly Bio-Blast enews, and on Twitter @canadianbiomass. 6 Canadian BIOMASS MARCH/APRIL 2012
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