K1-Is there an opportunity for pelletizing agricultural biomass in eastern Ontario?

topic proposed by Shelagh MacDonald

-its huge

-doesn't have to be only ag residues

can be diapers, old used currency, etc. in mixture

variable composition of pellets gives 5000 to 18000 BTU's

the Irish have a whole database for fuels in this context, including hemp (found on ELORIN website)

switchgrass is hard to establish but maintains when established

return/acre is $75/acre and 200 to start

Missouri coop pays based on BTU value (old hay, other residues)

estimate 30-40% hay currently not used due to quality

chlorides in crop are a problem for ash content

need C4 crops left over winter to leach out the chlorides

lots of Ontario can do this but will not over take food crops

this has to be done in small trucking distance

have to ensure the market is there

wood pellets are getting hard to come by due to oil price in past

need consistent product

company in Austria makes biomass burners

actually two commodities here, biomass heat value and carbon credit value (sequestration in soil and offset for coal generation)

when biosolids are pelletized pathogens can be destroyed

need infrastructure to support this that is scaled to make money, not pilot

current govt funding programs are too complicated, limited in funding and limited in scope (ie. no govt understanding of real business case)

sceptical over switchgrass in long term due to number of hurdles encountered so far by some pioneers

can this industry lead to a greenhouse industry coming to Eastern Ontario