Wood-based Bioenergy: An Update for North America with a Focus on Pellets

Over the past decade, renewable energy has accounted for approximately nine percent of the energy usage in the United States. Of this, biomass has consistently been about 50 percent of this, or 4.5 percent of the nation’s total. In Canada, the contribution of renewable energy has been much less with hydro-power being the primary power source. In recent years, the landscape has changed, not so much in domestic demand for wood-based energy, but rather in the arena of manufacturing of wood pellets for export. To a lesser degree, wood-based agricultural-based cellulosic biofuels have become a prominent part of North American policies, programs and even mandates. Wood-based bioenergy is potentially an important integral part of renewable energy portfolios in the U.S. and Canada. The growth of this sector globally has been driven by demand in Europe, Japan, and other countries. European policies have been the driver for a change in the global pellet sector. The goal in Europe of creating a 20 percent renewable energy share of energy consumption by 2020 has created a burgeoning wood pellet manufacturing sector in many countries. The U.S. and Canada have increased pellet production capacity to over three billion tons. The sector is concentrated in the Southern region of the U.S. Demand, again, primarily in Europe, has been driven by the desire to transition to non-fossil fuel energy. However, the reality has been a mix of great anticipation as well as disappointment with where wood fits into the renewable equation. A number of European countries are revising their incentives and subsidies that have allowed the pellet industry to flourish. The incentives are costly and have resulted in high consumer electricity prices in these countries. Currently, the underpinnings of the global renewables sector, particularly wood-based energy, is in a state of instability. This presentation will cover an overview of where wood currently stands in addition to a discussion of successes, challenges, pitfalls, and the overall reality of the future.Keywords: Renewable energy, Bioenergy, Wood pelle

An Analysis of the U.S. Wood Products Import Sector: Prospects for Tropical Wood Products Exporters

The U.S. has dramatically altered its wood product imports and exports during the past few years,and at present, it is the second largest wood product importer in the world. Hence, an understanding ofmarket structures, factors in selecting foreign suppliers, and the emphasis placed on environmentalissues/certification are critical to understand from the perspective of wood products importers in the U.S.This study provides an analysis of the U.S. wood products import sector with special emphasis on currentand future opportunities for tropical wood products exporters to the U.S. market.In this study, 158 wood products importers in the U.S. were surveyed using a mailingquestionnaire. The adjusted response rate was 40.6 percent. Results indicated that most of the respondentswere small to medium scale firms, but major importers of wood products. According to respondents,wood products to the U.S. mainly come from Brazil, Chile, and China. From the importers’ perspective,Brazilian wood products ranked first for its quality followed by wood products from Chile and Finland.Product quality, long term customer relationships, on-time delivery of orders, fair prices, and supplierreputation were the factors deemed important in selecting overseas suppliers. Majority of respondentswere importing certified wood products. FSC, SFI, and ISO 14000 were the mostly accepted certificationprograms. However, certification was not a major factor in foreign supplier selection criteria. Whenconsidered the U.S. wood products importers’ tendency to diversify their products and species imported,attractive opportunities exist for wood products suppliers from tropical countries

Potential of using poultry litter as a feedstock for energy production

The United States is the world's largest poultry producer and the second-largest egg producer and exporter of poultry meat. The annual poultry meat production in the U.S. totals over 43 billion pounds (USDA, 2009). In this 20 billion-dollar industry, about 80% of the production consists of broiler meat while turkey meat accounts for most of the remainder (USDA, 2010). According to the USDA 2007 Census of Agriculture, there are over 320,000 documented poultry farms nationwide, and each year millions of tons of poultry litter/manure are generated through these facilities

U.S. home-center retailer attitudes, perceptions and behaviors regarding forest certification

Forest certification continues to generate promise, discussion, and debate. In this study, we surveyed the top 500 home-center retailers in the United States to ascertain their participation in certification, perceptions of current and future forest certification trends, as well as certification systems they deem acceptable and preferable. One hundred and 32 companies responded resulting in an adjusted response rate of 26 percent. All respondents sold wood products in 2004. The top-rated criteria in selecting wood products suppliers were price, quality, delivery, and availability. Certification/eco-labeling was ranked last. One-third of respondents sold certified wood products at the time the study was conducted and an additional 13 percent said they planned to do so in the future. The most cited reasons for purchasing/selling certified wood products were that they were the only products available and to improve the company's image. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification was reported to be the most accepted and most preferred scheme, followed by Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certification

A History of Forestry Certification

Public concern for the environment has grown remarkably during the last few decades, both in developed and developing countries and, as a result, environmental issues are beginning to take more of a center stage in global economic and trade policies. The emergence of “ecolabeling”; a process that attempts to provide an indicator of how well a product is environmentally adapted, is a contemporary example of how consumer interests have driven information processes aimed at differentiating the environmental appropriateness of goods and services. Eco label provide information on environmental characteristics of a product, giving consumers the opportunity to use their purchasing power to promote environmentally friendly products. Relying on this market driven mechanism, the world's first eco-labeling program “German Blue Eco Angel” was created in 1977 (Rametsteiner, 2000). Ever since eco labeling has gained momentum giving rise to number of different eco labeling schemes operating throughout the world at present

Product attributes affecting consumer preference for residential deck materials

In many countries, restrictions on the use of traditional preservative treatments have resulted in efforts to develop wood products for outdoor use that are durable, environmentally friendly, and appealing to consumers. In the present study, consumers’ preferences for wooden deck materials were investigated using sensory analysis. The analysis included an analytical sensory profiling of five deck materials, conducted by a trained sensory panel, as well as a hedonic preference study conducted on Norwegian customers. Eighteen visual and tactile attributes were identified, and statistical analysis indicated that these attributes were sufficient to discriminate between the different deck materials. The results imply that consumers prefer deck materials with a homogeneous visual appearance and moderate color intensity. The study demonstrated a successful application of sensory research on wood products and implies that sensory analysis is an appropriate tool to study relationships between hedonic judgments and product characteristics. The study was carried out on wooden deck materials, but the results are probably also relevant for other wood products

Motivational and behavioral profiling of visitors to Forest-based recreational destinations in Sri Lanka

The tourism industry plays a key role in regional and destination development. As negative environmental and socio-cultural impacts of mass tourism become more common, the appeal of alternative forms of tourism, especially ecotourism, continues to increase. With rising demand, ecotourism operators are facing the task of meeting expectations of diverse consumers of ecotourism products. Accordingly, the need to define and distinguish ecotourists from other types of tourists has become important. The importance of using a behavioral approach to distinguish ecotourists from other types of tourists is emphasized by tourism scholars. This study developed distinct motivational and behavioral profiles of visitors to forest-based ecotourism sites in Sri Lanka. Results identified four different types of tourists based on their behavioral and motivational characteristics: ecotourists, picnickers, egoistic tourists, and adventure tourists. Broad implications of visitor profiling are also discussed. This approach can help ecotourism operators to better tailor marketing strategies and increase visitor satisfaction

Conocimiento, aceptaci?n y pre-condiciones para la implementaci?n de la certificaci?n forestal: los casos de Costa Rica y Honduras

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What do Louisiana and Mississippi Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners Think about Forest Certification?

Nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners own the majority of timberlands in the southern United States. As forest certification becomes more prevalent, it is important to understand the implications for NIPF landowners. This study, conducted in 2005–2006, reveals how well NIPF landowners in Louisiana and Mississippi understand forest certification, willingness to pay to become certified, and general perceptions about the certification process and implementation requirements. We surveyed 1,200 randomly selected NIPF landowners from each state that owned 10 ac or more of timberland in 2005. A total of 591 usable surveys resulted in an overall adjusted response rate of 30%. Forty percent of respondents believe certification is necessary on public lands. However, their lowest level of agreement is with the need for certification on private forestlands. Respondents believe certification in the United States is driven by environmental nongovernmental organizations rather than by demand in the marketplace. Private landowner organizations and approved professional foresters are the most trusted entities to administer and monitor certification. Results also suggest that respondents are generally not averse to having certifiers monitor their forest management activities; however, a majority are unwilling to bear the cost of certification

Wood residues in the Moratuwa Woodworking Industry cluster of Sri Lanka: Potential for sector synergies and value-added products

The Moratuwa Woodworking Industry Cluster (MWIC) is a geographically concentrated cluster of over 1,600 small-to-medium scale wood-based manufacturing and retail facilities in Sri Lanka. Firms include furniture manufacturers, carpentry shops, sawmills, and integrated sawmills. The concept of industrial symbiosis explores the synergies between industrial facilities to exchange energy, water, by-products, and waste to achieve a higher efficiency in resource utilization. This research was undertaken to address the lack of quantitative information on wood residues generated within the MWIC. A survey of 180 primary and secondary wood product manufacturers was undertaken to quantify MWIC firm by-product production and consumption of wood residues to establish a baseline for possible end use and waste synergies. The total population of enterprises generating wood waste is 730; retail facilities are not included. Sawmills produce approximately 66% of the 6,490 MT of MWIC's monthly wood residue generation, with the balance produced by carpentry and integrated enterprises. Teak (Tectona grandis) and mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) are the dominant species used in the MWIC, accounting for most of the wood waste. Three main types of wood waste were identified in the survey: sawdust (76.5%), boards with significant wane (16.5%) unusable for further products, and offcuts (6.9%). Only 55% of the wood waste generated in MWIC is currently used; the remaining 45% is taken to landfills or disposed of in other ways, such as discarded in waterways or other nonapproved locations. Improved wood waste sorting by type at the mill level and aggregated wood waste within the MWIC was determined to increase the usability of wood waste as potential inputs in other wood manufacturing sectors in the MWIC