Southeast Recycling Conference: Fueling New Demand

As energy prices have risen in the past several years, the willingness of the private sector to invest in alternative energy production has also risen.

Two operators of biomass and biofuels companies gave attendees of the Southeast Recycling Conference & Trade Show, which took place in mid-March in Orange Beach, Ala., their perceptions of how these opportunities may tie into materials handled by recycling and solid waste companies.

Richard Schroeder of BioResource Management Inc., Gainesville, Fla., let attendees know that several Florida power generation facilities are accepting increasing amounts of scrap wood as feedstock.

Schroeder listed four facilities in Florida—two in the northern part of the state, one in Palm Beach County and the other in Polk County—that are accepting a combined 1.5 million tons of clean wood. Much of this is land clearing debris, yard waste and sawmill scrap, although clean scrap wood is also acceptable.

Currently, burning wood for energy is below the value chain compared to salvaging it as lumber or turning into mulch. But “each ton of urban wood [produces] more energy than a barrel of oil,” says Schroeder.

As an energy source, transporting clean wood to power plants “creates 40 times more energy than it takes to produce,” he commented.

When a biomass energy infrastructure is in place such as the one developing in Florida, this can help ensure that land clearing debris and other clean wood from is a commodity as opposed to a disposable item, Schroeder remarked.

The creation of en established biomass market (along with higher overall energy prices for payoff value) allows scrap wood to be hauled longer distances while still retaining value. Schroeder estimates that wood that once could only feasibly be hauled 30 minutes to a power plant can now withstand a 1-to-1.5-hour trip, and by 2012 a 2.5-hour feasibility radius is likely.

That type of market, says Schroeder, almost certainly presents a better option for collectors of land-clearing debris and yard trimmings compared to maintaining compost piles.

Kevin Jones of Earth Clean Technologies, Spanish Fort, Ala., gave attendees an overview of his company’s work in turning waste grease trap oils into a marketable biodiesel product.

According to Jones, his company is exploring other methods to turn portions of the waste stream into energy products, with one research project focusing on turning piles of hurricane debris into an energy “bog” or pond that can produce an organic energy product.

The Southeast Recycling Conference & Trade Show, hosted by the Southern Waste Information eXchange Inc., took place March 11-13 in Orange Beach, Ala.