Using Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) wood to produce ethanol is one of the research projects that will be profiled during a research seminar on Wednesday, June 20, at UNBC.

The seminar is hosted by Forestry Innovation Investment (FII) through its Mountain Pine Beetle Program. The program focuses on maximizing the economic value of MPB wood through applied research, product development, and marketing activities. FII is a provincial agency set up to promote B.C.’s environmentally progressive forest practices and wood products internationally.

Click here for the seminar agenda

The research on ethanol production has been conducted by Steve Helle, a professor in the Environmental Engineering program. His research compared two processes for converting wood to ethanol: one uses naturally occurring enzymes to degrade the tree cellulose into sugar; the other method, which is more established, involves using acid at a high temperature.
 
“Using enzymes would require less energy to make the ethanol, but I’ve found that the process isn’t financially viable because of the very large amount of enzyme that’s required,” says Dr. Helle. “The acid process is more feasible, but in this case, the equipment necessary is very expensive. With that initial investment in equipment, however, a facility that processes 500 metric tonnes of wood chips per day would yield up to 70 million litres of ethanol per year.” For context, Dunkley Lumber (a large sawmill located south of Prince George) produces about 1000 tonnes of wood chips per day.
 
Ethanol is used as an additive in gasoline to reduce air pollution and dependence on gasoline. It is currently produced mainly from corn. One acre of corn can produce 1135 litres of ethanol. For comparison, according to Dr. Helle’s research, just one kilogram of wood can yield about one-third-of-a-litre of ethanol. Over a whole acre of pine trees, the ethanol yield could be about 10,000 litres.
 
UNBC has been leading a variety of pine beetle research projects aimed at providing vital information to communities and industries. The research has examined beetle movement over hundreds of kilometres, the shelf-life of MPB wood, fibre quality, pine beetle genetics and reproduction, greenhouse gas emissions from beetle-infected forests, the effects on snow accumulation and melt, and the adaptability of the pine beetle to other tree species.
 
The Forestry Innovation Investment Research Seminar will be held in the Weldwood Theatre (Room 7-238) adjacent to the Canfor Winter Garden, starting at 8:00am.

“FII’s research program provides real value for the Interior forest sector by developing new uses for mountain pine beetle wood, improving manufacturing processes, and building new markets for mountain pine beetle products,” said Forest and Range Minister Rich Coleman. “The seminar at UNBC is part of our program to take the results of this research directly to the businesses and communities most impacted by the pine beetle infestation.

“Our hope is that forest companies will use these findings to improve both their top line – through new sales and new products – and their bottom line – through more efficient handling, milling and use of mountain pine beetle timber.”

The seminar features presentations on 20 projects completed in 2006/07. Another 18 projects valued at $1.59 million are being funded this year by FII.
 
Contact:
Steve Helle, Environmental Engineering professor, UNBC – 250.960.5206
Rob van Adrichem, Director of Media and Public Relations, UNBC – 250.960.5622

Click on a thumbnail of Steve Helle below to download a high-resolution file.