Transcript Wood-to-Energy Platforms: Perspectives from the U.S. Forest Service Rob Doudrick, Director Resource Use Sciences, U.S.

Wood-to-Energy Platforms:
Perspectives from the U.S. Forest Service
Rob Doudrick, Director
Resource Use Sciences, U.S. Forest Service
on behalf of
Abigail R. Kimbell
Chief, U.S. Forest Service
... to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the
nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present
and future generations ...
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Climatic disruptions
Temperature
Precipitation
Seasonality
Water storage/hydrology
Disturbance regimes
Species location/behavior ...
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Alaska forest dieback
Alaska yellow-cedar
(coast)
Black and white
spruce (interior)
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Increasing storm intensity
In 2005, Hurricane
Katrina damaged or
destroyed timber up to
100 miles inland.
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Forest stressors
Wildland
fire
Drought
Pests and
diseases
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IPCC drought projections
(A1B scenario)
Percentage change in avg. duration of longest dry
pd., 30-yr. average, 2071-2100 vs. 1961-90
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Drought and pests
Warmth and drought
promote epidemics
in forests.
Insect and disease
epidemics are
increasing in number
and spreading
rapidly.
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Insect invasions
Southern pine
beetle
Mountain pine
beetle
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Drought, pests, and wildfires
• Warming and crowding
increase fire severity in
low- to mixed-severity
fire regimes.
• Many large fires are in
diseased and droughtstressed forests.
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Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
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A new management environment
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Strategic Framework for Addressing
Climate Change
Foundational goals:
1. Science
2. Education
Structural goals:
1. Policy
2. Alliances
Action goals:
1. Adaptation
2. Mitigation
3. Sustainable operations
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Forests: A Strategic Asset
• Energy security
• Environmental quality
• Economic opportunity
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Woody Biomass Utilization Strategy
• Goal 1: Build partnerships
• Goal 2: Develop science/technology
• Goal 3: Develop markets
• Goal 4: Facilitate reliable, predictable supply
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Coordinated resource offering
protocols (CROPs)
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Economic recovery
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Integrated biobased products
and bioenergy approach
Feedstock
production
and
management
Disposal
Biobased
products
and
bioenergy
Utilization
and
products
• Research and development
• Synthesis
• Development of:
Harvest • options
and
• strategies
delivery • systems
• practices
• Deployment
For sustainable goods,
services, and values
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The opportunity and potential
Feedstock
Conversion
Uses
- Forest residues
- Hazardous fuel
treatments
- Short-rotation
woody crops
- Wood waste
-Conventional
forestry
- Mill wastes and
residues
- Manufacturing
- Cofiring
- Combustion
- Gasification
- Hydrolysis
- Digestion
- Pyrolysis
- Extraction
- Separation
Fuels:
− Ethanol
− Other liquid fuels
− Hydrogen
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Electricity and heat
Biobased products
– Composites
– Specialty products
– New products
– Chemicals
– Traditional products
Critical research
• Sustainable and economical forest
biomass management and production
systems for public and private
ownerships
• Competitive biofuels and biopower
conversion technologies and bioproducts
• Information and tools for decisionmaking
and policy analysis
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Caring for the land and serving people
Healthy, resilient, productive forest ecosystems
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