FOREST-BASED BIOPRODUCTS INDUSTRY NEWS
Jet fuel from forest residues C
anada, which has extensive sustainably- certified forests, has long used mill and forest residues to make wood pellets that are used to generate electricity. A consortium that includes Boeing, Air Canada, WestJet, Bombardier, the University of British Columbia (UBC) and SkyNRG, together with other stakeholders, is collaborating to turn leftover branches, sawdust and other waste generated by the forest industry into sustainable aviation biofuel using thermochemical processing. “Sustainable aviation biofuel will play a critical role in reducing aviation’s carbon emissions over the long term,” said Julie Felgar, Managing Director of Environmental Strategy & Integration, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “Canada is in a terrific position to leverage its sustainable forests to make environmental progress for its aviation industry and other transport sectors.” A Boeing-sponsored study by UBC in 2015 found that aviation biofuel made from forest waste could meet 10% – about 46 million gallons or 175 million litres – of British Columbia’s annual jet fuel demand. These efforts could also supply biofuel to ground and marine vehicles, saving about 1 million tons of CO2 emissions per year on a life cycle basis across the transportation sector, the study found.
“Air Canada believes that developing a reliable supply of sustainable aviation biofuel in Canada will play a role in achieving our emission reduction goals,” confirmed Teresa Ehman, Director, Environmental Affairs, Air Canada. “By utilising Canada’s strong forestry research expertise and the knowledge of industry collaborators, this project will contribute significantly to understanding the viability of forest residue-sourced biofuel.” Geoff Tauvette, Director of Fuel and Environment, WestJet, added: “WestJet has invested billions of dollars in fleet renewal
to reduce our fuel consumption and to ensure we are doing our part towards responsible growth and environmental sustainability. WestJet’s social responsibility mandate is to extend our culture of caring beyond our aircraft doors and we are proud to support initiatives such as these that reduce our carbon footprint through the research, development and production of aviation biofuels in Canada”. This project, announced during the 2015 Canadian Bioeconomy Conference in Vancouver, was recently awarded funding by the Green Aviation Research and
Waste bark and wood chips at a plywood plant near
Kamloops, British Columbia (picture courtesy of Nexterra Systems Corp).
Development Network (GARDN) of Canada as part of a portfolio of investments in technologies to reduce aviation’s carbon emissions.
The consortium is led by UBC and NORAM Engineering and Constructors Ltd of Vancouver. Project partner SkyNRG, which is based in The Netherlands, is the global market leader for sustainable jet fuel. More information from
www.boeing.com/environment
Construction materials Innovation Award
Indoor air quality and emissions from building materials have been a major challenge for scientists, industry and consumers over the last few decades. Traditional construction materials contribute to contaminants such as VOCs, formaldehyde, particulates and fibres. However, new eco-innovative building materials are able to provide a healthier indoor environment, both by substituting sources of contamination and by elimination of contaminants from other
indoor sources.
As part of a proposal by OSIRYS, a holistic solution for facades and interior partitions will be developed based on forest-based biocomposites with different functionalities able to meet the strictest requirements of the Building Code. This will be ready to be applied when retro-fitting buildings and in new construction to improve indoor air quality.
More information from
www.osirysproject.eu
For the ninth year in a row, the ‘Bio-based Material of the Year’ Innovation Award will be awarded to the young, innovative bio-based material industry, finding suitable applications and markets for bio-based products. The winners will be elected at the International Conference on Bio-based Materials in Cologne, Germany, from 5-6 April, 2016. This year, six bio-based
materials and products have been nominated for the Award by the advisory board – out of more
than 20 submitted products. The nominated companies are from the United States, Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Sweden.
The ‘Top Six’ candidates are: Amyris Inc (United States); Covestro Deutschland AG (Germany); Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH (Germany); Orineo BVBA (Belgium); SIP Ltd (United Kingdom); and Tetra Pak International SA (Sweden). More information from
www.bio-based.eu/conference
11 Spring 2016 11
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20