MINIMAL MOISTURE One advantage of using strictly planer mill shavings to produce pellets is that the production process does not require a drying system, which cuts down on costs. “With the shavings coming from the planer they’re close enough to being dry that the pelletizing process leaves a mois-ture content of less than seven per cent,” explains Stevens. “We measure the mois-ture and don’t bag the pellets unless we’re on target.” The shavings are collected from the planer mill and blown into a dry silo then are sent to a hammermill to be processed before being fed into one of the mill’s two pelletizers. The pellets then travel along a conveyor that is split into two paths. One path sends the wood pellets to a silo for bulk storage, while the other path sends the pellets over to the bag line where the pellets are bagged and sealed. CO-FIRING OPPORTUNITIES The wood pellets that the plant produces service the residential heating market in northern Alberta as well as the oil and gas sector. Although the market for wood pellets for the oil and gas sector has been on a decline due to lower oil prices, the potential use of wood pellets in another part of the prov-ince’s energy portfolio has pellet producers in the province excited about the possi-bility of a new major domestic market. There have been talks about the pos-sibility of using biomass, including wood pellets, for co-firing in coal plants to help the province reach its future emis-sions targets without stranding expensive infrastructure assets. One challenge for Foothills Forest Products when it comes to co-firing is its remote location. The sawmill and pellet plant is nestled in the Alberta Foothills, about a two-hour drive north of Jasper and a four-and-a-half hour drive west of Edmonton. “Distance is a challenge for us since we’re far from the major urban centres,” Stevens says. “Co-firing opportunities are not as close as would be ideal, but on a larger scale they could go into northern Alberta and B.C.” By finding a productive use for its planer mill shavings through the genera-tion of pellets, Foothills Forest Products is positioning itself well for a potential biomass boom related to co-firing while keeping its operations diverse. A winning combination for sure. • For more wood pellet news, visit www.canadianbiomass.ca. Canadian BIOMASS 13
Canadian Biomass November December 2016: Page 13
