Gear News z BriNg peLLet miLLs to North ameriCa r News z BriNg peLLet miLLs to North ameriCa act act is pleased to announce an alliance between it and Promill-Stolz to manufacture, supply, and service et mill equipment in North America. Comact now offers turnkey projects for sawmills and pellet mills. mill-Stolz from Serville, France, was founded in 1951 and is known as a leader in the pellet industry in thern and southern Europe. More than 200 Promill-Stolz pellet mills have been sold. Features include simplified die installa- tion, sturdiness and reliability, minimized vibration, and use of standard industry components. The mills have about half the maintenance costs compared to gear-box-type pellet mills. These pellet mills are intended for the manufacture of all kinds of pellets: fodder, compound feeds, wood pellets, cereal by-products, urban waste and animal slurry, and fertilizers and soil additives, conforming to health requirements, norms, and safety requirements. www.comact.com, [email protected], 418-628-2888 BeLtraN iNtroduCes CogeN gasifiCatioN system for Biomass T he Beltran Cogeneration Biomass System, developed by Beltran Technologies, not only eliminates waste, it also generates vital elec- tric power and heat. The system can be used for the gasification of wood and agricultural waste. The system consists of highly engineered machinery working in unison to reduce waste and create valuable energy. Wood and agricul- tural waste is placed on a conveyor, which feeds the waste directly to the gasifier. The waste is gasified with a specific amount of controlled oxygen to ensure a usable flow of gas. The gas is channelled to a cy- clone, where large particles, called char, are removed. The gas stream is then sent to a wet electrostatic precipitator, where it is cleaned at the sub-micron level, then to a dryer to reduce its saturation, and finally to the engine. The engine produces electric power for operational use or sale to the grid. The system also produces heat, which can be used for various purposes. [email protected], 718-338-3311 Show F Report Biomass takes hoLd at wood week iN queBeC City aced with one tough year in the forest sec- tor, the organizers of Wood Week 2009 wisely combined two key events and three sectors to allow the show to go on. Although Wood Week included exhibitors and visitors from forestry, sawmilling, and biomass, it was biomass that in many ways stole the show when it came to new gear and visitor interest. That interest came from myriad sources, from sawmills looking for an outlet for fu- ture mill residues to shuttered plants looking for a way to start up and loggers searching for another revenue stream or market out- let for off-species. In fact, several high-level sawmilling and pulp and paper executives suggested that in several Canadian regions, biomass and bioenergy projects will assume some or even most of the role currently played by the traditional pulp and paper sector. “Look at the equipment you see 30 canadianBIOMASS here, in booths where you would have seen traditional gear – grinders, pellet mills, fi- bre dryers. Look at the number of loggers and sawmill owners looking for this sort of solution. Why? Because in some areas, it’s already clear: this will be the future outlet for sawmillers and loggers looking to market lower grade material and residues, so they’re figuring it out.” That is how one top-level national sawmill executive summed it up on the first day of Wood Week. Canadian Biomass spoke with organizers or their suppliers about projects and start- ups in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario, with only the show location preventing us from hearing about biomass projects in the rest of Canada. We also spoke with landowners who were considering investment in high-yield, short- rotation crops. We even heard of a pending $15 million roundwood-to-pellet operation building steam in La Tuque, Quebec; only finalizing the Crown fibre supply remains to be done. Here’s a brief look at what some of these emerging biomass players came to see and discuss: • Comact pellet mills: This well-known sawmill machinery supplier is now of- fering turnkey pellet mills thanks to a partnership with Promill Stolz Technol- ogy in France. There are over 200 of these mills sold, but Comact was able to announce its first sale here in Can- ada at Wood Week. Northwest Wood Preservers of northern British Colum- bia hopes to have its unit operational by early 2010. The mills bring several advantages over others on the mar- ket, Comact says, including half the SepteMBeR/OctOBeR 2009
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