About Biomass

Harvest the future!

Biomass is any organic material from living organisms. Plants and trees capture energy from the sun and store it as biomass. Biomass can be used as raw material for industries or energy producers.

Biomass from forest and agricultural land is a renewable and sustainable feedstock for clean energy production in the future. This biomass can be harvested simultaneously with management of green areas, such as under power transmission lines, on the roadside, ad on abandoned farmland (for site restoration).

In natural environments, such as forests and brushlands, biomass is harvested to restore wildlife habitats, reduce wildfire hazard, and minimize the use of herbicides.

Biomass can come from the dedicated cultivation of various tree species called short rotation woody crops, such as willow, hybrid poplar, and many others.

An innovative solution!

The Biobaler Harvesting System is a simple concept. In a single pass, with only one operator, the Biobaler cuts and compacts biomass into a dense round bale. Bales can then be collected on site at any time after harvest. The philosophy behind the Biobaler Harvesting System is to use a small dimension harvester to collect and densify the biomass in the field to reduce the ecological footprint. The shape and density of the bales allow for more cost efficient transportation from the field to the processing facility with conventional equipment. At this point, the biomass can be processed according to the facility's specifications with more efficient equipment. Bales can be delivered directly to the plant or be stored in the field for future use. Bales of biomass will not deteriorate during storage process over a long period, even is they are harvested in very wet conditions. An advantage of this technology is that biomass bales dry out naturally without risk of spontaneous combustion, thereby increasing their heat potential, unlike a pile of woodchips , which will rot.

Each bale contains around 1MW/hr of energy, depending on the type of vegetation. The Biobaler can produce up to 40 bales/hr (20 tons/hr) on plantations and 15-18 bales/hr (8-10 tons/hr) in natural environments. The BioBaler can collect different species of shrubs, brushes and trees up to 10 cm (4 inches) in diameter. Up to now, the Biobaler Harvesting System is the only economically viable technology able to collect natural brush.

Closer than you think.

The Biobaler can harvest biomass almost everywhere;

Agriculture:

• Abandoned land
• Short rotation woody crop plantations
• Roadside cleaning
• Under power lines

Forestry:

• Natural forest (to reduce wildfire hazard)
• Pine Plantations (cleaning between plantation rows)
• Commercial thinning
• Brushland

Maybe you...

Biomass is used for many applications, but these uses can be divided into 3 categories:
 

Energy from burned biomass: 

Electricity power plant (renewable energy, alternative to coal, and oil)
Municipal & Government buildings that use biomass for heating
Cogeneration power plant
Industries that need a heat source in their production processes
Individuals (who own a furnace to heat their house or another building)

Using biomass as a component of a finished product:  

Manufacturers of wood pellet (for heating)
Other wood-derived product:
         MDF moldings
         Press wood panels
         Etc…

Harvesting biomass for other economic reasons:

Forestry organizations (to reduce risk of fire)
Owners of all kinds of plantations (to clean the plantation before cutting it)

Biobaler operating cost and performance in Natural Forest vs on Short Rotation Woody Crop Willow Plantation.

 * The analysis includes the following costs: 

• 180 HP Tractor
• Biobaler
• Wages
• Tractor with self-loading trailer to transport the bales
• Fuel cost
• Repair & maintenance
• Transportation to a facility for a distance of 30 miles (50km).
• And several other factors

Performance and Operating Cost of Biobaler vs Forage Harvester in Short Rotation Woody Crop

 Coming Soon

FSA Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) (United States)

A program to help producers who are willing to switch part or all of their acreage to dedicated energy crops has been included in the recently adopted 2008 farm bill. The Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) will provide payments to farmers while they establish and grow biomass crops in areas around biomass facilities.  To qualify for payments, potential biomass crop producers must participate in and be approved as part of a "BCAP project area" that is physically located within an economically viable distance from a biomass conversion facility. Contracts for annual and perennial crops will run for five years and 10 years for woody biomass. Producers also need to have a contract with a biomass user facility, which has agreed to convert these crops to energy; and the facility needs to demonstrate sufficient equity to comply with the contract. The program provides three types of payments to producers:  direct, annual and cost-share (sometimes called delivery) payments. 

Direct payments cover up to 75% of the costs of establishing an eligible perennial crop covered by the contract including the cost of seeds and stock for perennials; the cost of planting the perennial crop, as determined by the Secretary; and in the case of nonindustrial private forestland, the costs of site preparation and tree planting.  

Annual payments are provided to producers to cover "lost opportunity costs" while crops are being established.  The amount of annual payments to producers will be determined by the Secretary.  Annual payments will be reduced when the biomass crops are sold to the conversion facility or if the producer receives assistance with collection, harvest, storage and transportation of eligible crops.  Annual payments are also reduced if an eligible crop is used for purposes other than the production of energy at the biomass conversion facility or if the producer violates the term of the contract. 

Cost-share payments (also called delivery payments) are provided for the harvest, storage, and transport of biomass crops to user facilities at a rate to match the biomass sale price, up to $45 per dry ton for two years. Delivery payments are made to producers of eligible crops or to persons with the right to collect or harvest eligible materials.  To receive delivery payments, producers must be within an economically practicable distance from a conversion facility based on the expected cost of transporting a feedstock to the facility.  This distance, of course, may vary depending on several factors, including the density of the feedstock and the producer's plan for pre-processing the biomass (such as chopping, palletizing or other techniques that will make the biomass more easily transportable).

Commodity title crops (i.e., corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, and oilseeds) are not eligible to receive payments under BCAP. Producers are also prohibited from planting noxious or invasive plants as part of the program. Eligible land includes agricultural and also nonindustrial private forest land. 

For more information, visit: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=ener&topic=bcap

2010 Woody Biomass Utilization Utilization Grant Program (United States)

To address the goals of Public Law 110-234, Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, Rural Revitalization Technologies (7 U.S.C. 6601), and the anticipated Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriation Act of 2010, at least $4 million and possibly more is available for grants that address the nationwide challenge in dealing with low-valued material removed from hazardous fuel reduction activities on both public and private lands. Submission of an application is required for a grant that will be not less than $50,000 or more than $350,000 each.

The hazardous fuels woody biomass utilization grant program is intended to help improve forest restoration activities by using and creating markets for low-valued material and woody biomass removed from forest restoration activities on both public and private forestlands. These funds are targeted to help communities, entrepreneurs, and others turn residues from hazardous fuel reduction and forest health activities into marketable forest products and/or energy products.

For 2010, the Hazardous Fuels Woody Biomass Utilization Grant program will spend half of the available funding on Forest Service National Forests that are deemed by the Forest Service to be of high priority for hazardous fuels reduction and woody biomass utilization as highlighted in the map. These Forest Service priorities are based on historical high suppression costs, as well as high fire probability coupled with high housing density. All National Forests and private forestlands are eligible for the other half of the funding.

For more information, visit: http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/research/units/tmu/tmugrants.shtml