[Gasification] Re: Switchgrass pellets

Mon May 1 15:29:09 CDT 2006

Tom 

The most likely scenario is that crop milling residues of oat hulls, wheat
middling, corn fibre, sunflower hulls, flax shives will accelerate rapidly.
My best guess is we should see 3 million tonnes of agri-fibre pellets on the
market within 3 years in North America. Crop milling residues are the low
hanging fruit. They are cheap and we can use existing feed pellet mills to
densify them. 

Switchgrass will take longer to upscale. We not only need to plant acreage,
we need to invest in pellet facilities especially designed for handling
large quantities of bulk materials.  Many of the existing alfalfa dehy
plants are located in northerly locations where warm season grasses are
marginally adapted. Logically warm season grass seed growers could help
kickstart the industry as they need to dispose of their straw. 

The reason we are promoting the concept now after 15 years of working on it
is that the economics are now excellent and the risks modest as we much
better understand the industry. Oil has gone through the roof. Natural gas
is being sucked up by powerplants and the Canadian tarsands projects.
Heating oil and natural gas are pricing themselves out of the heat related
energy markets in North America. Pellets are the next best option in terms
of price and convenience.  

We also have enough experience with a number of boiler manufacturers burning
agri-fibre on the market. I think the biggest driver is the farm community.
They are angry and they are desperate. Some are starting to see bioenergy as
the holy grail to end their long cyclical slide. 

I will not make any predictions on the switchgrass market. If the agri-fibre
pellet in North America, and the bagasse pellet market in Brazil both
explode like the wood pellet industry, then energy crops will see a lot of
investment dollars once we see the residues are well on the way to be being
used up. I think in 5 years we will have a large new global BIOHEAT
agro-industry emerging, we will be talking about the end of the extractive
economy and the beginning of the new agro-industrial economy with Brazil as
the world leader.

If the hurricanes blow into the US again this year, the ice caps continue to
melt off, peak oil production arrives, the farm crisis continues, and the
billion people economies of China and India continue to grow rapidly, there
needs to be a response and the BIOHEAT industry is looking like one of the
most logical ones to address these problems. 

Roger Samson

-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Miles [mailto:tmiles at trmiles.com] 
Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 12:05 PM
To: 'Roger Samson'; 'Jonathan Pratt'; gasification at listserv.repp.org
Subject: RE: [Gasification] Re: Switchgrass pellets

Roger,

You've been promoting switchgrass in Canada for some time. Can you see any
commercial production yet? If so at what production rate do you expect it to
grow? Crystal ball?

We harvest and export 600,000 tons of straw from our grass seed production
each year in Oregon. The newest (Freeman) balers are able to get an almost
50% increase in bale weight. We don't know what the field production rate
will be for the higher density bale because they haven't been used much yet
by commercial straw merchants.     

Tom

-----Original Message-----
From: Roger Samson [mailto:rsamson at reap-canada.com] 
Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 9:04 AM
To: 'Tom Miles'; 'Jonathan Pratt'; gasification at listserv.repp.org
Subject: RE: [Gasification] Re: Switchgrass pellets

Tom 

Overwintering is more convenient when it is cut in the fall and just baled
in the spring. We used to cut it in the spring and bale. The problems, more
breakage over winter and the material is so brittle we have to use a swather
to cut it in the spring. The advantages are the fuel is 12-14% moisture so
it require no further drying and its wood like in chemical composition.  The
further north you go the more it is viable. In Manitoba we have a grower of
warm season seed who has 800 acres of grass seed production. He prefers
spring baling to fall baling. It also conserves field moisture in semi-arid
areas by trapping snow. Maybe we could also blend spring and fall harvested
switchgrass. Fall harvest switchgrass can likely work for many commercial
boiler applications so it is an option also.  

Straw combustion will lead to boiler corrosion for most smaller boilers and
also its high chlorine content leads to making it more vulnerable to
creating dioxins. It's just a recipe for headaches for the bioenergy heating
industry. It may work for power plants when co-fired but overall it looks
like grief. Better to use straw for the emerging cellulosic ethanol.
Growing fibre of an improved biomass quality or using crop milling residues
of improved biomass quality is a safer way to succeed in developing the
BIOHEAT industry. Growing switchgrass is as about cheap as harvesting straw
except in the main wheat belt areas.  

Roger   

-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Miles [mailto:tmiles at trmiles.com]
Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 11:25 AM
To: 'Roger Samson'; 'Jonathan Pratt'; gasification at listserv.repp.org
Subject: RE: [Gasification] Re: Switchgrass pellets

Roger,

If you use wood as a blend or "pilot" fuel then you can burn most grasses.
Over-wintering does reduce slagging but as the Danes have learned and as we
have learned in Iowa it is not very practical for harvesting, storage and
handling. It's better to find applications and markets where the grass can
do well as is. I thinkfuelprice has driven the interest in burning corn
grain and ag pellets. If the customer will accept straw as a fuel even with
its higher maintenance then the market can grow.

Thanks

Tom

-----Original Message-----
From: Roger Samson [mailto:rsamson at reap-canada.com]
Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 8:18 AM
To: tmiles at trmiles.com; 'Jonathan Pratt'; gasification at listserv.repp.org
Subject: RE: [Gasification] Re: Switchgrass pellets

Tom 

In Eastern Canada, switchgrass will compete with Agri-fibre fuel pellets and
high ash wood pellets that sell in bulk for about USD $105-130/tonne  for
the greenhouse heating industry in Southern Quebec and Ontario. 

Switchgrass pellet fuel at present should not be promoted as a solution to
the wood pellet fuel shortage for the residential heating industry. In
certain types of stoves they can burn be used, however the grass needs to be
overwintered, and it is used more conveniently as blends with wood fuels.

I think they could sell for about $3/bag if you wanted to blend them with
wood fuels. However our focus should be on bulk commercial pellet grass
fuels to start the market without problems and work on improving fuel
quality for the residential market. 

Roger

-----Original Message-----
From: gasification-bounces at listserv.repp.org
[mailto:gasification-bounces at listserv.repp.org] On Behalf Of Tom Miles
Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 9:32 AM
To: 'Jonathan Pratt'; gasification at listserv.repp.org
Subject: RE: [Gasification] Re: Switchgrass pellets

At our present rate of switch grass processing in Chariton Valley we could
supply 4000 tons per month but it would take a few months to get into pellet
production. Right now we're putting it all into a boiler. 

See:
http://biomass.ecria.com/  

Roger, what's the wholesale price for switchgrass pellets? $2/bag?

What can SWG pellets sell for retail? $3-$4/bag?

Tom

-----Original Message-----
From: gasification-bounces at listserv.repp.org
[mailto:gasification-bounces at listserv.repp.org] On Behalf Of Jonathan Pratt
Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 5:28 AM
To: gasification at listserv.repp.org
Subject: [Gasification] Re: Switchgrass pellets

Ok, and where can I get these switchgrass pellets wholesale now?

A question for Roger Samson I take it...

Jonathan Pratt
iENERGY Inc.
www.ienergyinc.com

> 
> Message: 2
> Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2006 13:54:15 -0700
> From: "Tom Miles" <tmiles at trmiles.com>
> Subject: RE: [Gasification] warm season grass pellets are ready to go!
> To: <tombreed at comcast.net>, "'Roger Samson'" <rsamson at reap-canada.com>
> Cc: Gasification at listserv.repp.org
> Message-ID: <002901c66c98$3ecd0450$0300a8c0 at Hp1270>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> 
> 
> Roger,
> 
> Send Tom a 40 lb bag of switchgrass pellets. 
> 
> Jonathon (iEnergy http://www.woodgas-stove.com/ ) should start 
> shipping a bags of switchgrass pellets with every stove. Just add it 
> to the shopping cart! :-)
> 
> Tom
> 
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