Developing a Wood Waste Market in South Carolina

South Carolina Biomass CouncilMarch 16, 2015

Presentation

• Background• Findings• Proposal• Next steps

EDF plants

• Have Power Purchase Agreement with Santee Cooper – – Monetize tax credits– No wood purchasing experience– Wanted to test out options for renewables

• Woody biomass is able to ramp up and down (“turndown”), and is dispatchable

• Biomass-to-energy is not determined yet to be acceptable to EPA 111D options

EDF plants

• 2 identical plants – Allendale (Fairfax)

– Dorchester (Holly Hill/Harleyville)

• Each uses 18,000 tpm (216,000 tpy) of fuel wood

• Supply at Dorchester has been more difficult to get going – Reasons?

• SC Forestry Commission and studies said the wood supply was there.

Kress Theory on Fuel Wood

Paper mills developed a fuel wood market that is in balance with their need

– Bark, residues, etc are harvested only as much as needed to supply CHP needs of the nearby mills

– This is not the focus of a paper mill – Paper mill has developed relationships with their

pulp wood suppliers to also supply (premium?) fuel wood

– Their real concern is pulp wood

Kress Theory on Fuel Wood(cont’d)

There is an additional supply of fuel wood that can be developed when a demand appears

– Land clearing (contractor is paid to remove trees)– Leftovers from logging (have to be removed to replant)– Fire hazard wood– Thinnings (normal forest operations)– Tree trimming crews– Ice storm wood –was picked up and ground up.

In short -– Any wood that has some work (cost) already “contributed”

which makes it cost-effective to collect and deliver.

Wood products

http://www.forest2market.com/blog/dispelling-the-whole-tree-myth-how-a-harvested-tree-is-used

http://www.state.sc.us/forest/lecom.htm, modified

Best Use (Product) by Tree Diameter

Veneer – 16”+ Diam BH

Sawtimber – 14”+ DBH

Chip-n-saw – 10-13” DBH

Pulpwood chips – 6-9” DBH - must be clean of bark, “clean chips”

Fuel wood chips – 6” or less, bark, needles and small limbs allowed, “dirty” chips

Grindings – anything woody or leftover that can be ground

Fuel wood from waste products

Harris Report on Biomass (‘04)

• Logging residues 4.4 mil ton• Precommercial thinning 8.6 mil ton• Mill residues 1.6 mil ton• Urban wood waste 0.6 mil

ton• Commercial thinning 5.3 mil ton• Southern scrub oak 0.05 mil ton• Agricultural residues 1.1 mil ton

21.65 mil ton

Adams Report on Biomass (’07)

• Logging residues 4.5 mil tons• Mill residues 6.2 mil tons• Standing residuals 3.3 mil tons after harvest

• Urban wood waste 2.1 mil tons• Precommercial thinning 0.6 mil tons

16.7 mil tons

The supply will also respond to demand, either as elasticity with price or as “turning trash into cash”, as systems develop to aggregate wood waste.

The wood pellet (export) market can also utilize these same sources.

Findings

Ice storm in spring 2014 – 131,000 tons unable to use at EDF

• Small pieces of plastic from bags• Other fuel wood users could use –

– Hauled further away

• Some wood chips burned• A lot was landfilled• Permitting issue• Not good coordination between air

and solid waste since burning on ground was allowed.

Findings

• Charleston Co LF – Produces 5,500 – 6,000 tpm of mulch, of which they sell only a small amount. – Either picked up curb-side or dumped with tipping fee. – Estimate that 80% could be screened and supplied as fuel wood =

4,500 tpm.

• Charleston Co area – A supplier offered to obtain 5,000 tpm of pallet wood from manufacturers and grind, – incl Boeing and others as an extension of program to handle waste

streams. (Has previously done this for BMW, JCB (Savannah) and others, as Downstream Recycling).

• This equals 9,500 tpm or over half of what EDF plant uses. Would keep 114,000 tpy out of landfills.

What are the hurdles?

• Producing a product that DHEC accepts as fuel wood

• Harmonizing permitting between air and solid waste

• Defining harmless contaminants (EPA has done similar work around NHSM’s) (de minimus levels?)

• Receiving control of Urban wood waste vs. yard waste vs C&D clean wood

• Better market information and clearinghouse - suggestions for publicizing or listing buyers/sellers/prices?

In an efficient market, the fuel wood should go to the nearest user.

EPA’s related activity

3 Relevant Sections

1. Revised definitions • Clean Cellulosic Biomass – includes untreated wood pallets, wood

debris from urban areas, not intended to be exhaustive• Contaminants - changed “any contaminant that will result in

emissions”• Resinated Wood – changed to be more representative

2. Contaminant Legitimacy Criterion for NHSM Used as Fuels3. Categorical Non-Waste Determinations for Specific NHSM Used as Fuels

(e.g., resinated wood)

Proposal• Run pilot project with Bees Ferry/Chs Co Landfill with a team

(DHEC, RMDAP, Chas Co)– Grind urban wood waste with different set of screens– Screen out fines to use for mulch– “Qualify” the fuel wood as acceptable for use at all nearby fuel

wood users– Make recommendations for modifying receiving if needed– Harmonize definitions between air/solid waste to guide wording for

use in permitting applications– Develop best practices as model for other projects

• Could simultaneously run pilot project with C&D wood waste and/or pallet wood waste to establish procedures for producing an acceptable fuel wood product.

CoordinationOversight Team

David Langston EPA RCRA NHSM contact

Stacey Washington DHEC Solid Waste Mgmt

Patrick Brownson DHEC Solid Waste Mgmt

Veronica Barringer DHEC Air quality

Justin Koon DHEC Emergency preparedness and solid waste permitting

Heather Ceron EPA Air quality

Ronnie Grant Sonoco RMDAC Chair

Liz Kress SCBC/Santee Cooper

Renewable Energy

Chantal Fryer RMDAC Sr. Mgr RMDAC

Kapstone Duane MummertJeffrey Custer

EDF - Harleyville Ralph SmithBrewer Properties, LLC (Roseburg Forest Products )

Ellen Porter

Council Energy James Council

RockTenn  

International Paper Derrick Dease

Simpson Lumber Shirley Collenton

Sonoco Ronnie Byrd

Lowcountry Biomass Rhett Harwell

Fuel Wood users for trials

Art Braswell Solid Waste Director

Harvey Gibson Landfill Superintendent

Robert Lawing Chas Co Engineer

Douglas Merritt Specialist - Peninsula Equipt.

Pilot Run – Site CoordinationLowe Sharpe SC Forestry

CommissionResponsible for urban forestry initiatives

Jay Bassett EPA Chief, Mat Mgmt Section - RCRA

Kent Coleman DHEC Dir - Solid Waste mgmt

Stakeholders /Observers (for information)

Proposal – other ideas

• Develop a map and database of all fuel wood users

• Develop map/database of potential supply (C&D landfills, residential wood waste to landfill)

• Establish a clearinghouse or bulletin board for wood waste supply/demand

• Work with state emergency procedure team for next time there is a Hugo or Ice Storm – – Get procedures right– Make users and their receiving rules known up front– Hold workshop? – Georgia has done this

Biomass /Fuel wood users

Benefits

• Reduce landfill volume• Improve revenues and net income to counties• Improve capture of waste wood for beneficial use

– less ugly piles, less dumping

• Avoided CO2

• Retain an option to generate electricity from SC fuel (energy independence)

• Supports and builds on our forestry industry• Increased jobs and income for SC