FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
George Couch
(608) 231-1361
E-mail: george@forestprod.org
Rebecca Wallace
(608) 231-9275
E-mail: rwallace@fs.fed.us
Researchers
Urge Use of Forest and Agriculture Materials to Create Sustainable,
Environmentally Friendly Global Economy
MADISON, Wis.— Four research scientists
from the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) have proposed an approach
to meeting global energy needs and creating a sustainable, bio-based
economy that would reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, reduce
dependence on oil and other fossil fuels, and enhance the health
of the world’s forests.
In a journal article published last month (June 2008), the four
scientists state, “As society embraces the reality of a global
economy, we as a society must commit ourselves to promoting renewable,
recyclable, and reusable materials. To do that, we must develop
the fundamental and applied science and technology necessary to
provide improved value, service life, and utility to meet the needs
of consumers.”
Writing in the current issue of Forest Products Journal, they propose
an approach called “integrated biomass technologies,”
or IBT, that provides a roadmap to a bio-based economy founded on
the systematic use of renewable forest-based and agricultural resources,
including residues, to produce high-value products, including energy,
liquid biofuels, chemical feedstocks, advanced biocomposites, and
advanced structures. (http://www.forestprod.org/features.html)
“This paradigm switch to sustainably meeting user needs for
energy and materials will lead to a bio-based society using renewable
materials and environmentally benign technologies rather than a
society based on the use of nonrenewable, nonsustainable resources,”
they say.
The IBT approach would also help forest and land managers improve
forest health and condition by creating an industrial market demand
for low-value biomass to offset the costs associated with managing
forestland.
According to the authors, the IBT approach would permit the production
of both traditional and new high-value materials with enhanced performance
properties from renewable resources. Opportunities are now on the
horizon for using forest and agricultural biomass to cost-effectively
produce electricity, transportation fuels, chemical feedstocks,
nanocrystalline cellulose, and syngas, which in turn can be used
to produce hundreds of high-value products.
The IBT framework identifies the needs, opportunities, and research
necessary to implement the concept. These include development of
technologies such as:
- initial value assessment and sorting procedures during biomass
harvesting and collection;
- direct conversion of biomass into energy;
- biorefining some components into bio-based transportation fuels;
- biorefining other components into chemical feedstocks;
- processing residuals and other component materials into engineered
composites, such as particleboard, fiberboard
and strandboard, and paper, paperboard or advanced composites using
varying combinations of biomaterials, nanomaterials, inorganic materials,
and synthetics.
The IBT approach calls for each of the component technologies to
fully integrate within existing process technologies for converting
a variety of biomass types (e.g., agricultural waste or timber)
into food and traditional wood products, as well as fuels/energy
and a variety of new high-value materials and products.
According to the authors, a critical part of the IBT concept is
that the mix of new products should be more valuable than the product
mix from existing processes. For example, in traditional kraft pulping,
lignin and carbohydrates that are not included in the pulp are combusted
to produce energy. Redirecting some portion of these two potential
chemical feedstock materials to higher value products, such as liquid
transportation fuels, pharmaceuticals, plastics, or resins, could
improve the profitability of the entire process.
One important tool to develop advanced biocomposites is the new
science of nanotechnology to manipulate and control materials and
processes. In the near future, nanocrystalline cellulose could likely
compete with carbon fiber for use in a variety of innovative, high-strength
biocomposite materials.
Coincidentally, last month (June 25 to 27) in St. Louis, forest
products producers, researchers, and others gathered to report on
current research involving nanotechnology and forest-based materials.
Another important technology identified by the authors relates to
the way buildings and other structures are designed and constructed.
“As we move further into the 21st century, the performance
demand and complexity of structures are increasing. In the past,
structures were designed primarily based on safety issues. Today,
structures are designed considering safety along with functionality,
environmental impact, service life, ease of maintenance and renovation,
and economics and affordability,” they write.
The four authors are all senior researchers at FPL. Lead author
Jerrold E. Winandy, Ph.D., is supervisory research forest products
technologist of the Engineered Composite Science unit. Alan W. Rudie,
Ph.D., is supervisory research chemist of the Chemistry and Pulping
research unit. R. Sam Williams, Ph.D., is supervisory research chemist
and project leader. Theodore H. Wegner, Ph.D., is assistant director
of the laboratory in charge of the Wood, Fiber and Composites research
units.
The Forest Products Journal is a monthly journal containing
mostly peer-reviewed articles reporting on research involving forests
and forest products. It is published by the Forest Products Society,
an international professional membership organization with headquarters
in Madison, Wis.
The U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory was established
in 1910 in Madison, Wis., with the mission to conserve and extend
the country’s wood resources. Today, FPL’s research
scientists work with academic and industrial researchers and other
government agencies in exploring ways to promote healthy forests
and clean water and improve papermaking and recycling processes.
Through FPL’s Advanced Housing Research Center, researchers
also work to improve homebuilding technologies and materials. Information
is available at FPL’s Web site: www.fpl.fs.fed.us.
# # #
Top of Page
|