PINNACLE BOOSTS PORT OF PRINCE RUPERT GROWTH Pinnacle Renewable Energy Group, a major pellet producer in B.C., is responsible for the majority of the Port of Prince Rupert’s success in 2016, accord-ing to port representatives. Michael Gurney, manager of corporate communications for Port of Prince Rupert, told The Northern View that the port’s Westview Wood Pellet Terminal moved 896,257 tonnes of cargo last year, an increase of 22 per cent from 2015 numbers, and the most volumes the terminal has ever moved. “[It’s] such a great made-in-B.C. success story, with Pinna-cle Renewable Energy Group producing the wood pellets from essentially waste products,” Gurney said. Pinnacle Renewable Ener-gy Group owns and operates seven pellet plants across British Columbia. TORREFACTION PLANT INAUGURATED irex Energy officially inaugurated its biomass torrefaction plant, located in the La Prade industrial park in Bécancour, Que. in late February. The industrial-size demonstration plant, which required around $10 million in public and private investments for its de-sign, construction, and start-up, showcases biomass torrefaction technology CarbonFX. This technology, designed by Airex Energy, significantly reduces greenhouse gas emis-sions for many industries still using coal or coal by-products. Airex Energy’s torrefaction process transforms biomass residues into biocoal pellets, a clean and renewable fuel that can replace coal and oil. Biocoal’s unique properties allows it to easily disintegrate, so it can be ground up and combined with bituminous coal in thermal power stations producing elec-tricity, without major changes to existing systems for handling, storing, and grinding coal. The CarbonFX system also produces biochar, a product with a high carbon content used for soil remediation, liquid filtration and metal reduction. Biochar, when mixed with compost or peat moss, promotes plant growth. Biochar also helps reduce metals and enables rehabilitation of A former mining sites. Airex Energy’s business model is to export its CarbonFX systems worldwide. The entire forest industry, including sawmills, pulp and paper, and wood pellet producers, is Airex’s primary market for the CarbonFX systems. The processing of wood residues into value-added products can allow companies in the sector to increase their profitability while diversifying their sources of income. And because of its simple design and small footprint, the CarbonFX technology is cost-competitive. Since December 2015, Airex Energy has conducted a gradual commissioning of the plant’s equipment and performed several tests to optimize the process. The company started commercial biocoal and biochar production with the goal of producing 15,000 tonnes annually from residual bio-mass such as forest residues, sawdust, bark, and recycled wood for current and future clients in Canada and the U.S. Canadian Biomass recently published a full-length feature on Airex Energy’s bio-mass torrefaction plant titled, “Airex Ener-gy poised to scale up biochar technology.” To read the full-length feature online at www.canadianbiomass.ca or check out the January/February digital edition. HAMILTON BIOSOLIDS PROJECT CHOOSES BUILDER Harbour City Solutions (HCS) consortium has been selected as the preferred proponent to build the Hamilton Biosolids Management project in Hamilton, Ont. The announcement was made by Maple Reinders Group Ltd., which has a 50 per cent interest for design, construction and capital works of HCS. The project is being delivered through a public-private partnership (PPP) using the design-build-finance-operate-maintain model, with a 30-year contract operations term. The Hamilton Biosolids facility will treat all of the city’s biosolids processed by their wastewater treatment system using an advanced thermal drying process, the first of its level of quality and reliability in the province. The new facility will produce ‘Class A’ pellets which will be sold to the agricultural community as a slow release organic fertilizer, or to coal burning industrial facilities as a renewable fuel replacement for coal. This technology will also greatly reduce the number of transport trucks required to remove solids from the plant on a daily basis, greatly improving air quality in the area. “A large number of the civil projects that Maple Reinders has constructed in our 50-year history have been in the water and wastewater sector,” said Reuben Scholtens, Maple Reinders’ director of infrastructure development. “As an established leader in the design, construction and commissioning of these types of treatment facilities, we welcome the growing popularity of the PPP model to deliver projects in this sector. The City of Hamilton’s leaders and their advisors were able to transfer risk from the municipality, while retaining cost certainty and maintaining ownership. They should be commended for making this project a reality for their citizens.” The Hamilton Biosolids project is the third municipal biosolids-focused public-private partnership project in Canada and the second to secure federal funding from PPP Canada. HCS plans to reach financial close in March of this year and immediately upon notification thereof will commence with design and construction. Source: Maple Reinders Group. Canadian BIOMASS 7
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