SBP REFORM RESEARCH AND TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT WPAC has continued to be engaged in the governance reform of the Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP). WPAC president Vaughan Bassett has joined the board of directors, while I have been ap-pointed as a member of SBP’s standards committee. WPAC will host the next round of SBP meetings in the fall when we will be visiting forest operations, sawmills and pellet plants in B.C.’s southern interior. We are also working on SBP regional risk assessments for B.C. and New Brunswick. When those provinces are complete, Nova Scotia and Alberta will be next. WPAC is making progress on a computer information system to manage the wood pellet chain of custody through Westview and Fiberco terminals in compliance with PEFC and SBP. PROMOTING SAFETY On April 1, Dr. Fahimeh Yazdan Panah replaced director of re-search and technical development, Staffan Melin. Fahimeh has continued WPAC’s participation with ISO Technical Committee 238 on developing international standards for mechanical and chemical testing and the safe handling of wood pellets. Fahimeh has also started a new research project in response to concerns expressed by the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Marine Organization, which involves examining potential condi-tions under which wood pellet off-gassing may become flammable and thus hazardous to ocean shipping. Finally, WPAC and the University of British Columbia Biomass and Bioenergy Research Group successfully applied to Agriculture and Agrifoods Canada for $1.8 million in funding over four years to research biomass densification issues. 2019 AGM AND CONFERENCE In January, WPAC prepared and publicly released a 2019 safety work plan. Since then, we have held monthly safety committee con-ference calls as we implement the work plan and monitor progress. WPAC’s safety committee’s work has gained an international rep-utation. In February we accepted an invitation to give presentations on the Canadian wood pellet safety journey and on combustible dust management at the Nordic Pellet Conference in Sweden. WPAC also planned and executed a workshop on silo fire pre-vention and response in February and the Wood Products Safety Summit in June. In June, the safety committee also met with Work-SafeBC for one of our biannual sector safety performance reviews. We are looking forward to this year’s AGM and conference, which will be held at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa during the week of Sept. 22. We are including a golf tournament, pre-con-ference workshops on quality and sustainability certification, as well as biomass research; a two-day conference, the AGM and a board meeting; and a two-day tour of pellet plants, sawmills, forests, and port facilities in New Brunswick. You won’t want to miss our opening party, featuring Nova Scotian sisters Cassie and Maggie MacDonald’s blend of traditional and Celtic music. It’s going to be fun! I hope to see you all there! • WOOD PELLETING PLANTS The latest pellet mill type 65 – 1500 with 630 kW drive power reaches up to 12 t / h high quality level. It is the largest industry proven wood pelleting press in the market today. AMANDUS KAHL USA Corp. Hembree Park Drive, Suite L Roswell, GA · USA · [email protected] · akahl.us AMANDUS KAHL GmbH & Co.KG SARJ Equipment Corp. Golfview Blvd · Bradford · Ontario LZ A, CANADA ---· [email protected] CBM_Amandus Kahl _Summer19_CSA.indd 1 Canadian BIOMASS 2019-07-02 8:55 AM 9
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