RURAL DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE KNOWLEDGE BRIEF | SUMMER 2018

Biomass Utilization

What is Biomass Utilization?
Biomass, for this research study, is defined as the by-products of forest harvesting and
management, including all woody parts, such as tree tops, branches, bark, stumps, needles, and
leaves.1,2 Biomass is the wood waste left behind after logging or thinning, as well as residues
from the manufacturing process, and from forests damaged by wildfire, insects, disease, or other
natural disasters. Biomass can also come from organic municipal, industrial, and agricultural
processes and wastes, and energy plantations.3
Biomass utilization is the “harvest, sale, offer, trade or utilization of woody biomass to produce
bioenergy… and bio-based products”.2 With rising fuel costs, increasing uncertainty of resource
supplies and energy markets, and concern over climate change, utilizing wood waste has become
a more attractive and feasible endeavour.1 Biomass utilization has the potential to reduce
dependence on non-renewable energy, reduce energy costs and increase self-sufficiency, reduce
wildfire risk, offset greenhouse gas emissions, develop new opportunities for the forest sector,
enhance rural economies, and improve forest health and sustainability. 1,4 Several jurisdictions,
including BC, NWT, Yukon, Alaska, and many European countries, have biomass utilization
strategies and have made investments and advancements in modern biomass energy systems
and innovations.4,5 The International Energy Agency reports that “bioenergy is expected to
account for 17% of all energy by 2060, up from 4.5% today”.6 While biomass utilization, simply
put, is the use of organic matter – something humans have been doing for thousands of years,
the use of wood “waste” has become a topic of considerable interest, investment, and
innovation around the world in recent years, with a variety of usages being explored and
employed.7

Feasibility Factors
There are a number of factors that affect whether biomass utilization is feasible. From policy and
regulation, to procurement and processing, technology, transportation, and marketing, utilizing
biomass requires research, planning, and financing, and is context specific. The US Forest Service
has created a “Woody Biomass Utilization Scorecard” to discern whether biomass utilization is a
viable endeavour.8 The scorecard outlines a number of considerations, such as need – does
woody biomass need to be removed to restore and maintain ecosystem health? And if so, what
type and size of species exist, is it accessible, and are there benefits to its removal? It also
considers availability, with particular attention to whether the wood waste removal will be short
term or long term, and estimating the supply over time. An initial biomass inventory is important
for determining volume and type of wood available. 5 The overall environmental sustainability of
acquiring the wood is also a caution, particularly in light of an already stressed forest resource
base.9
Factors also relate to the technology, equipment, and infrastructure required to process and
produce the end product. The volume and type of wood will inform the potential products that
could be generated10 (see more in Utilizations section below). Transportation is a key
consideration, particularly in rural and remote areas, and may influence the cost-competitiveness
of the product. Consumer attraction and marketing are also essential aspects of assessing
biomass utilization potential.10,11 Will the product be used on site or destined for domestic or
export markets, and what markets exist to support production? The workforce and expertise to
acquire, produce, distribute, and promote the product is also essential to the feasibility
equation11. Biomass utilization requires significant capital, and if capital is limited, then the
options for bioenergy or bio-based product development are reduced.10 The potential for
partnerships is another factor which can contribute to the success of biomass utilization projects,
including industry partners, as well as government, Indigenous, and academic support.

Utilizations
There are a variety of uses – from low value to high value-added products, where wood waste
can be utilized. These include lumber, composites, furniture, housing components, paper and
pulp, chemicals, ethanol and other liquids, as well as wood waste as an energy feedstock. The US
Forest Service shares a number of biomass utilization success stories on their website. 12 Many
include wood waste for energy use, such as replacing the use of coal with wood chips at a power
plant in Colorado, and using the slash from fuel treatment projects for heating homes and
schools in Montana. Most of Canada’s and British Columbia’s biomass energy is in solid form
(such as hog fuel, chips, and pellets) and liquid form (such as ethanol), and the pulp and paper
industry has historically been the largest industrial consumer of bioenery.5,9 Wood for heating
homes, community buildings and district energy systems, and fueling industrial processing are
common uses of solid form biomass energy.9,13
With the depletion of fossil fuels and a need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally, there
is considerable research and effort focussed on a shift from petroleum based fuels, like coal and
oil, to bio-based fuels, like ethanol and methanol.14,15 It has been estimated that in British
Columbia “forest-industry wastes alone could provide enough solid and liquid fuels to replace
much of the current oil consumption, once the energy conversion technologies are proven to be
economic”.9 Biomass, or lignocellulosic feedstocks, offer a vast number of applications. 16 There
are, however, obstacles associated with production to liquid biofuel, particularly related to the
physicochemical architecture and deconstruction of the cell wall, as well as pre-treatment
methods, including physical, chemical, and biological approaches to generating value-added fuel
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products.16 While methanol produced from wood waste may be a viable alternative to traditional
fuels for transportation and industry, currently, agriculture and food supplies, such as corn and
wheat, are more cost competitive in producing ethanol.9 Further research and innovation is
required in order to develop efficient, cost-competitive processes to create a viable biomass
energy in liquid form.15,16
The cascade use or “cascading” is increasingly being discussed in relation to biomass utilization,
particularly in the European Union, with a common theme that “material use of wood should be
prioritized over energy use of wood”.17 Cascading means that “biomass is used (and reused or
recycled) at least once or several times as a product before its end-of-life (e.g. energy use or
landfill)”. In general, higher value-added products add more to the economy – often creating jobs
in small rural communities, such as Troy, Montana where locals came together to purchase a kiln
that is used by several independent small mill owners. Businesses are manufacturing a variety of
specialized, high value products, such as flooring, molding, and decorative finishing. 18 A project in
Idaho explored using a portable saw mill to make use of small diameter trees acquired from fire
hazard reduction projects, turning what would have been waste wood into high value tongue
and groove paneling.19 This speciality product proved to be much more economically viable than
lumber. Similarly, the Colorado Wood Utilization and Marketing Program explored commercial
opportunities for pinyon and juniper, moving away from firewood and fence posts to flooring,
wainscoting, molding, and novelty items, like coat hangers and children’s toys.11 In British
Columbia, there may be an array of specialized ways to utilize wood waste and a selection of
niche markets, particularly with efficiencies, new equipment, technologies, and innovations. 20

Biomass Utilization in BC
British Columbia has a significant volume of woody biomass on the landscape that could be used.
Some argue that it must be removed in order to improve ecosystem health and decrease the
increasing threat of wildfires.21 A significant current source of wood is pine beetle killed wood,
where 20 - 50% of trees harvested are left on site. 10 Residues from paper and sawmills are a
significant source of biomass, and non-merchantable stems and roadside slash could also be
salvaged.10,22
Access to this biomass however, along with market conditions, presents significant impediments
to utilization in BC – with many variables influencing the challenge, such as costs associated with
extraction, processing, and transportation, and having a high enough valued end product to
make the venture worthwhile.21 While forests are predominately owned by the Province of
British Columbia, it is the existing forest tenure holders and mill owners who hold the majority of
logging rights, and most of the annual allowable cut is already allocated. 10
Much of the biomass utilization in BC has thus been focussed on biomass energy production,
including stand alone heat generation, such as fueling kilns at sawmills for lumber production,
and stand alone power generation.23 Biomass energy can also be cogeneration of heat and
electricity, which is employed at many pulp mills across the province – amounting to over 600
MW of capacity.24 According to the BC Council of Forest Industries, BC’s forest industry is the
largest bioenergy producer in North America.25 According to Clean Energy BC, the total
generation potential for all wood sources in BC is in the order of 2,300 MW, and there is
competition in developing biomass electricity generation, as demonstrated by BC Hydro’s
Requests for Proposals for increasing BC’s biomass capacity.24 The challenge however, is that at
current electricity rates, the sale of power from cogeneration is so low that production has been
subsidized.21 The BC Utilities Commission, as the energy price regulatory, will play a key role in
the wood-fuelled electricity energy sector.10
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The Government of BC is working towards creating viability for biomass utilization in the
province. The government has created an information guide for First Nations, municipalities, and
industry to support the pursuit of biomass energy opportunities, outlining options, potential
hurdles and financing, and the steps and technologies required in bioenergy project
development.10 The BC Bioenergy Strategy supports commitments under the BC Energy Plan,
with a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen long-term competitiveness, and
electricity self-sufficiency.5 In addition, the BC Bioenergy Network was established to support
investment and innovation, championing bioenergy development in BC and around the world.
The Ministry of Forest, Lands, Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development is taking
initiative to support the use of post-harvest timber, with a Fibre Action Plan.26 This Ministry has
Fibre Recovery Process guidelines to be employed in Natural Resource Districts where there is
demand for residual fibre and where primary harvesters are not using the biomass, suggesting
that the “most efficient and effective method of using residual fibre is for primary harvesters and
secondary users to form business-to-business relationships”.22,27 This is a direct effort to improve
the utilization of biomass that remains on roads and landings after primary harvest has occurred.
The BC Government is also working with FPInnovations to conduct biomass inventories for
Timber Supply Areas in BC, and is hosting a series of workshops in 2018 on Woody Debris
Management.22,28
Alongside government initiatives, are researchers, such as a team at the University of British
Columbia (UBC), who are actively working on innovation in the emerging “bioeconomy”. The
wood pellet research laboratory at UBC is focused on the critical process of converting raw
biomass into a high value end product.29 This group of scientists and engineers is developing
mathematical models for supply chain analysis and techno-economic assessments. The
University of Northern BC (UNBC) has also hosted research related to biomass utilization,
including the Wood Pellet Pilot Project and development of a Bioenergy Plant, as well as reports
on the future of fibre use and a forum connecting “community and industry leaders with experts
in forest products, markets, and regional development”.30 The academic community plays an
important role in the research and development required for biomass utilization to reach its full
potential.
Industry is also taking leadership, and industry partners have been key to investments and
innovation in this emerging sector. Vancouver-based Nexterra Systems Corp. is an example,
pioneering gasification and syngas conditioning technologies for bioenergy production. A recent
partnership with UBC demonstrates North America’s first commercial system that combines
Nexterra’s technologies with a high-efficiency internal combustion engine, producing 2 MW of
electricity and generating 3 MW of thermal energy to heat the campus. 31 The 2018 Canadian
Bioeconomy Conference and Exhibition which took place in Prince George, highlighted that this is
still a fledging industry, outlining the many accomplishments, but with hurdles yet, such as the
sustainability of the product, competition for the feedstock, and the high cost of developing
technologies to process wood fibre.32
Biomass utilization is about sector transformation, transitioning old industries into new ones, and
determining the highest and best use “so that it constitutes a social and economical benefit to
not only Canadian and multinational corporations, but also the rural communities of BC”. 21 It’s
about transition – from “waste” to use, non-renewable to renewable, and creating new
technologies, industries, and markets. The potential for BC is enormous, with the world already
viewing the province as a bioenergy hot spot.5 With continued research, innovation, and testing,
biomass utilization is poised to be a major component of BC’s future, with diverse applications
across sectors. As noted at the recent Canadian Bioeconomy Conference, industry and
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government leaders suggest that the growth of the bioeconomy starts with community-level
projects – from procurement to project development, communities are leading the way in
effective approaches to biomass utilization.32

References
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Foster, C. D., Gan, J. & Mayfield, C. What is Woody Biomass? in Sustainable Forestry for Bioenergy
and Bio-based Products: Trainers Curriculum Notebook (eds. Hubbard, W., Biles, L., Mayfield, C. &
Ashton, S.) 27–30 (Southern Forest Research Partnership, Inc., 2007).
US Forest Service. What is Wood Biomass Utilization? (2018).
Kumar, A. Biomass utilization for food, fuels and chemicals. Science 2.0 (2009).
Yukon Government. Yukon Biomass Energy Strategy.
Province of British Columbia. BC Bioenergy Strategy: Growing Our Natural Energy Advantage.
(2015).
Murray, G. Takeaways from the 2018 European Pellet Conference.
Biomass Magazine. Biomass Magazine: About Us. Biomass Magazine (2018).
US Forest Service. Woody Biomass Utilization Scorecard - Is it a viable opportunity? (2018).
Cruickshank, W. H., Robert, J. E. & Silversides, C. R. Biomass Energy. Can. Encycl. (2014).
BioCap Canada. An Information Guide on Pursuing Biomass Energy Opportunities and Technologies
in British Columbia. (2008).
Colorado Wood Utilization and Marketing Program. Beyond Firewood and Fence Posts: Exploring
and Expanding the Commercial Potential of Colorado’s Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands. (2007).
US Forest Service. Success Stories. (2018).
Akhtaria, S., Sowlatia, T. & Day, K. Economic feasibility of utilizing forest biomass in district energy
systems – A review. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 33, 117–127 (2014).
Soni, S. K., Sharma, A. & Soni, R. Cellulases: Role in Lignocellulosic Biomass Utilization. in Cellulases:
Methods in Molecular Biology (ed. Lübeck, M.) 3–23 (Humana Press, 2018).
BioMed Research International. Bioenergy and Biomass Utilization. (2018).
Kumar, A. K. & Sharma, S. Recent updates on different methods of pretreatment of lignocellulosic
feedstocks: a review. Bioresour. Bioprocess. 4, (2017).
IEA Bioenergy. Cascading of woody biomass: definitions, policies and effects on international trade.
USDA Forest Service. Economic Action Montana. (2018).
USDA Forest Service. Economic Action Idaho. (2018).
USDA Forest Service. Pyramid Mountain Lumber Company - Case Study. (2018).
Gray, R. W. Biomass availability in BC. Canadian Biomass Magazine
Ministry of Forests Lands Natural Resource Operations & Rural Development. Residual Fibre
Recovery. (2018).
Atlantic Power Corporation. Atlantic Power Corporation - Williams Lake. (2018).
Clean Energy BC. Biomass. (2018).
BC Council of Forest Industries. Forestry for the Future. (2018).
Ministry of Forests Lands Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. Fibre Action Plan to
Increase Use of Wood Residue. (2015).
Forest Tenures Branch. Fibre Recovery Process. (2015).
FPInnovations and BC Government. Woody Debris Management Workshops. (2018).
Yazdanpanah, F. UBC Receives New Equipment for Wood Pellet Research. (2018).
University of Northern British Columbia. Federal Government Supports Beetle-Related Projects at
UNBC. (2008).
Nexterra Systems Corp. Projects - University of British Columbia. (2018).
Church, M. Bioeconomy leaders converge in Prince George for CBCE. Canadian Biomass Magazine

The Columbia Basin Rural Development Institute, at Selkirk College, is a regional
research centre with a mandate to support informed decision-making by
Columbia Basin-Boundary communities through the provision of information,
applied research, and related outreach and extension support.
Visit www.cbrdi.ca for more information.

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