PRINCE GEORGE, CANADA industry-derived material include paints, health care products and energy extraction devices. With support from AITF , hemp is now being used to make insulating, breathable building materials which meet or exceed the functional properties of current building materials and insulation. Hemp is also being investigated for use in plastic composites. In addition, AITF is supporting Quebec-based firm Logistik Unicorp (a manufacturer of uniforms for police and emergency services personnel) to test AITF-grown hemp as a textile fibre. The agency, in conjunction with the Alberta Biomaterials Development Centre, is also helping Alberta-based firm Stemia establish North America’s first hemp fibre processing plant near Lethbridge. Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (AARD) supports many ongoing biomass projects. One of note involves the fractionation of cereal grains and pulses to separate proteins and starches. Fractions not used in food products have a variety of uses in the production of ethanol, plastics, films and cosmetics, says AARD Program Manager Carol Sauchuk. Another project, called “Waste Reduction and Utilization,” involves matching Alberta companies with agricultural byproducts in higher-value applications such as energy, fertilizers and materials. This initiative has recently included the testing of oat hulls (a byproduct of the milling process) for energy applications, and value-added applications for biodigestates (manure biodigester residuals). british Columbia FPInnovations is involved in forestry and biomass research projects in several regions of Canada. In B.C. (although the company is doing similar work in Quebec as well), staff is currently looking into how to establish better bioenergy supply chains. For example, the integration of chippers is being investigated to help boost chips as a use for biomass alongside products like hog fuel and pellets. Dr. Dominik Roser, an FPInnovations research leader in the company’s forestry feedstock division, says this project is very important as there is a large disconnect between current B.C. wood chip production and the market demand in Europe. The company is also looking at how harvest residues can be used in pellet production. In addition, Roser and his colleagues are also looking into how to remove salt contamination from B.C. logs that have floated in sea water. He notes that residues from these logs have the potential to be used for pyrolysis, pellets, hog fuel and more if the salt can be removed. ontario One biomass research project of note funded by the Agricultural Adaptation Council and recently implemented by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) was focused on developing an innovative agricultural biomass value chain. OFA spokesperson Charlie Lalonde says this project enabled farmers to much better understand how to process straw and other materials to fill the needs of existing biomass companies, such as ethanol and pellet manufacturers, and how to best process materials for future use, perhaps in automobile manufacturing, biochemical production and more. The project, in turn, also allowed companies to better understand what biomass materials Ontario farms have to offer. A second specific technological study looked at how farmers should be positioned to enter the pyrolysis (biochar) market. Lalonde says this project found that mobile on-farm charring looks to be the best bet. The Biomass Innovation Centre at Nipissing University in January/February 2014 RegisteR now! bioenergyconference.org Where the bioenergy world meets. Contact us for more information Event Manager, Cam McAlpine [email protected] +1-250-961-6611 Radio THECITIZEN PRINCE GEORGE 26 Canadian BIOMASS
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