Project looks at trees for biofuel

[jpak]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/311419_cellulosic13.html?source=mypi

Forest-product companies have gotten pretty good over the years at squeezing as much lumber, paper pulp and chemicals out of their trees as they can.

Now they're hoping to squeeze one more useful product out of the trees and the lands they're grown on -- transportation fuel.

Federal Way-based Weyerhaeuser Co. said Thursday that it has signed an agreement with petroleum giant Chevron Corp. to study commercial production of biofuels from cellulose-based sources, including trees and other crops that might be grown on Weyerhaeuser lands.

Ethanol is an already commercialized and well-established biofuel alternative to petroleum-derived gasoline. "Ethanol is an alcohol-based alternative fuel produced by fermenting and distilling starch crops that have been converted into simple sugars," explains a U.S. Department of Energy Web site. "Feedstocks for this fuel include corn, barley, and wheat. Ethanol can also be produced from 'cellulosic biomass' such as trees and grasses and is called bioethanol."

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[Deja Q]

1. Good.

If global warming is real, the lack of trees to convert CO2 back to O2 will merely hasten our own deaths.

At least it'll be painless.

[jpak]

3. Despite what the headline sez - trees will not be the primary source of cellulose

<snip>

Weyerhaeuser spokesman Bruce Amundson said the focus won't be so much on the trees themselves, because forest-products companies already turn even scraps and trimmings from lumber operations into products such as oriented strand board. Woody debris from timber cutting is left in place in the forest to provide wildlife habitat and to replenish the soil.

Instead, the research will concentrate on crops that could be planted on Weyerhaeuser's 6.4 million acres of timberlands in the U.S. and coexist with tree growing; an example is saw grass, which could be grown in Southern timberlands, Amundson said.

Another potential source of cellulosic feedstock is recycled paper, of which Weyerhaeuser is a major collector.

<snip>

This is a carbon neutral energy source - and will not result in "a lack of trees" or a "lack of oxygen"...

[bananas]

6. According to the article, they're mainly looking at growing biofuels under the trees

<snip>

Weyerhaeuser spokesman Bruce Amundson said the focus won't be so much on the trees themselves, because forest-products companies already turn even scraps and trimmings from lumber operations into products such as oriented strand board. Woody debris from timber cutting is left in place in the forest to provide wildlife habitat and to replenish the soil.

Instead, the research will concentrate on crops that could be planted on Weyerhaeuser's 6.4 million acres of timberlands in the U.S. and coexist with tree growing; an example is saw grass, which could be grown in Southern timberlands, Amundson said.

Another potential source of cellulosic feedstock is recycled paper, of which Weyerhaeuser is a major collector.

<snip>

[MasonJar]

2. What a hideous idea from two corporate giants! Money, honey?

[Up2Late]

4. I have a question that just occurred to me (pardon be if this is stupid)

Why couldn't we use fallen Tree Leaves to make these bio-fuels?

I mean, they must hold some amount of fuel, because they burn so quickly and easily, and as anyone with a lot of trees on their property knows, mature neighborhoods with lots of trees produce a lot of leaves in the fall. So why aren't tree leaves ever considered?

I'd gladly let the county come get my leave for free, but they won't even pick them up if they are bagged and on the curb. Instead, they give up the option of mulching or burning them here in Cobb County.

Cobb County is a very large county just North-West of Atlanta and, I believe, the burning leaves in Cobb, is one of the the major reasons Air Quality in Atlanta is so poor in the Fall.

[jpak]

5. The answer is yes

The DOE considers municipal solid waste (leaves, tree trimmings, etc) a potential source of biomass for energy production.

http://www.eesi.org/briefings/2003/EnergyandClimate/5.20.03%20Biomass/5.20.03%20Biomass.htm

[Dead_Parrot]

7. Hooray!

I've always thought there was far too much biodiversity in forests. Planting the forest floor with a fuel monocrop should solve this problem nicely.

And as a bonus, think of all the paper we can save on wildlife guides! You can fit the whole thing on to a flyer:

"Wildlife Guide: 2012 edition

This is a Douglas Fir:


And this is Switchgrass:


Enjoy your 50-mile hike!"

I'm giddy with anticipation.

[The2ndWheel]

8. Damn, Weyerhaeuser AND Chevron?

Please kill me now, because I don't want to be around for the day when Monsanto makes it a trifecta. For the love of crap. We're in so much trouble.