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The Final Word by Helen Roush
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In an article from Kenora Online, it stated that Ontario, Canada will use leftover wood from mills for energy and new products.

The article states that "Ontario's released its revised five-year Forest Biomass Action Plan, which aims to support economic development in Ontario by using underutilized forest resources, such as paper mill by-products and underutilized forest biofibre."

The article goes on to state that "The plan coincides with Hearst's Calstock Generating Station, which plans to create 158,000 tonnes of renewable energy through biomass-fired electricity, which President of the Ontario Forest Industries Association, Ian Dunn, notes is a clean, low-carbon form of energy."

The Forest Biomass Action Plan states that "The versatility and range of applications for wood presents numerous opportunities for forest biomass. Utilizing the four main components of wood (cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and extractives), a wide range of products can be made that meet the demands of numerous established and emerging industries. In addition to more familiar forest products like lumber, pulp and paper, or particleboard, the examples highlighted below demonstrate current and emerging products that can be derived from wood, including forest biomass.

"Resolute's Northwestern Ontario operations are an example of moving towards a circular economy. In a circular economy, resources gain value through process improvements, waste reduction and repurposing. This creates new and innovative business opportunities while reducing a product's environmental footprint.

Wood is harvested to produce pulp and paper at Resolute's Thunder Bay mill and for lumber at their sawmills in Thunder Bay, Atikokan and Ignace. Wood chips generated from their lumber mills feed their pulp mill; sawdust generated from their lumber mills is used to create wood pellets at their Thunder Bay pellet mill; and wood shavings feed their wood drying kilns. Other sawmill residues, harvest residues and unmarketable trees are consumed by their BioEnergy Generating Station, producing heat for the pulp mill and paper mills and electricity for the provincial grid. Ash leftover from the combustion process is used by local farmers for soil nutrient enhancement. The BioEnergy Generating Station is the heart of this integrated model allowing Resolute to utilize renewable biomass and be at the forefront of a cleaner more competitive circular economy."

You can read the Forest Biomass Action Plan by clicking here.

Helen Roush is Executive Vice President of Paperitalo Publications.

 

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