world news - 01.11.2007
Experts look to timber as next generation energy source
But some say there's
a vast untapped energy resource in Minnesota's northern forests.
Industry experts say emerging technologies will someday allow trees and
wood waste to be converted into ethanol and other chemical products. Bemidji, Minn. —
Making ethanol from trees is nothing new. Wood ethanol was used
extensively to fuel vehicles during World War I. But today, U.S.
ethanol production is mostly based on corn, because it's cheaper. Scientists haven't figured out a
cost-effective way to make ethanol from most other plants. They're
lower in starch and have something called cellulose, which is more
difficult to convert to fuel. But experts say that technology is coming. Shri
Ramaswamy heads the department of bioproducts and biosystems
engineering at the University of Minnesota. He predicts it will happen
within the next five to 10 years. Ramaswamy says the new technologies
will have a huge impact on Minnesota's forest economy. "As we move into the future, as
more and more of us start to use ethanol, whether it is 10 percent, 20
percent or more, we need more resources to supply that," says
Ramaswamy. "The wood products industry has a tremendous potential to
offer for cellulosic ethanol. This technology is coming, and it's going
to happen." The transition will require a
radical change in the way Minnesota manages its forests. Experts say
right now there's lots of waste. When loggers cut down trees, more than
a million tons of limbs and treetops are left to rot on the forest
floor each year. Bill Berguson, director of the
Duluth-based Natural Resources Research Institute, says there are other
sources of unused forest biomass that could be tapped for energy. The
NRRI conducted a study of what's available in the forests for ethanol
production. Berguson says aspen and red pine
plantations could be thinned to recover trees that would otherwise die
back. Landowners could plant fast-growing hybrid poplar trees on idle
agriculture lands. Loggers could even harvest the state's shrub lands. Berguson says there's potentially enough forest
biomass in Minnesota to replace 20 to 30 percent of the gasoline used
in the state. "There could be as much as, on the
outside, let's say 10 million tons of material," says Berguson. "That's
probably the top end. More realistically in the three to five million
tons. So it's not a trivial amount. It could be a very significant
industry." Environmentalists are concerned
that removing all that material could be harmful to forest ecosystems.
But industry experts say it can be done sustainably. Dave Zumeta is director of the
Minnesota Forest Resources Council. The organization has developed
first-in-the-nation guidelines for harvesting forest biomass. Zumeta
says it will require new training for loggers and forest managers. "As we take more material off the
land, woody biomass, we have to make sure we do that in a way that is
sustainable, that tends to impacts on water quality, wildlife habitat,
biodiversity, soil productivity in particular," says Zumeta. "We want
to make sure we are retaining the fertility of our soils for future
forests and future generations." The future business model
envisioned by forest industry leaders is simple -— attach biorefineries
onto existing paper mills and wood products plants in northern
Minnesota. The model goes beyond just
producing ethanol. Such facilities could produce a synthetic gas that
can be converted to hydrogen, electricity or a range of high-value
chemicals. Right now, the wood products
industry is struggling. Global competition and a construction slowdown
have meant layoffs and temporary shutdowns at northern Minnesota mills.
Zumeta says new biotechnologies
will make the industry more profitable and create new jobs. He says
it's going to take huge capital investments to make it a reality. "The state has a unique
opportunity to send signals to the energy industry, the biomass
industry as it grows, and the forest products industry, to have them
work in concert with one another, to look at the opportunities for
collaboration and for joint ventures," says Zumeta. Last month, Gov. Tim Pawlenty
announced the formation of a forestry subcabinet. Part of its focus
will be to push development of biofuels in the wood products industry. State officials are working to
develop capital incentives for pilot projects that will test next
generation bio-energy technologies. 
Record oil prices
and worries about global warming have spurred a growing interest in
biofuels. Much of the focus for these renewable fuels has been on the
agriculture sector. Minnesota is the country's No. 4 producer of
corn-based ethanol.
See also:
- — Continued price increases for Swedish forest land
- — Is the party over for Swedish sawmills?
- — Belarus has increased volumes of wood export
- — Canada:Strong dollar has negative impact on value of wood products
- — World’s oldest trees grow in California
