Foreword
Any technological sector
involving work with biomass will be highly nuanced, particularly when it comes
to sustainability. It is dangerous to paint all biomass technologies as simply
being sustainable, as the supply chains are intricate with many factors at
play. It is this nuance that has resulted in controversy over the USA’s
Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to classify all forest biomass as
carbon neutral when used for energy. While this is broadly correct in theory: any
carbon dioxide emitted by the biomass when it is burned has previously been
absorbed by the harvested tree and emissions will be recaptured through
subsequent forest growth. However, there are more factors at play, with most
arguments raging around how the source forest has been managed and how this
impacts on overall carbon sequestration compared to alternative ways in which
the forest might have been managed or its products utilised. It’s also about
how the forest as a whole is managed rather than individual stands. As we said,
its complicated! How forest resources are managed can also have knock-on
environmental effects beyond.........
Other News this Month Includes:
Policy
- US EPA classes forest biomass as carbon
neutral
- OECD report into meeting bioeconomy policy
goals
Markets
- Yorkshire feed wheat trading at a premium
- Investors urge G7 to phase-out coal
Research & Development
- Torrefaction improves efficiency of biomass
use
- Novel method to measure productivity in
individual algal cells
- Algae to produce salmon feed from distillery
waste
- GM camelina may produce engine lubricants
- AHDB publishes crop rotation guidance
- New Vibers bioplastic from potato waste and
miscanthus
- Atmospheric carbon hits 800,000-year high
Wood & Crop
- Assessment of EU forestry biomass production
- Palm Oil ruling for Total prompts protest
from French Farmers
- Japanese project to generate bioenergy from
Cambodian rice husks
- Growing interest in industrial hemp
- US pellet production report
Other Feedstocks
- EU plastics waste production and consumption
statistics
Events
Feedstock Prices