MANHATTAN, Kan. – An intriguing part of looking to biomass as a non-fossil fuel source is what it can do with leftovers – trash.

Biomass is a renewable energy source because it can be anything organic. While some organics are better than others, the potential energy sources in Kansas include crop residues, animal manure, switchgrass, grain crops and wood, said Bob Atchison, Kansas Forest Service (KFS) rural programs coordinator.

Some biomass gets converted into ethanol, Atchison said. Some becomes milled pellets, sawdust or wood chips that, in combination with a converted boiler, can substitute for fossil fuels.

“With today’s new combustion technologies, for example, wood is one of the energy sources that can be clean-burning -- carbon neutral. So, you simply need to manage your forest sustainably,” he said. “Yet, wood is a surprisingly untapped energy source for Kansas residents.”

He pointed out that Florida’s New Hope Power Partnership has become the largest biomass power plant in North America, using just sugar cane fiber and recycled urban wood. The 140-megawatt facility generates enough power to run its large milling and refining operations, as well as to supply electricity for almost 60,000 homes. In effect, the company is reducing U.S. oil consumption by 1-plus million barrels a year.

Naturally, Atchison has no interest in clear-cutting Kansas’ trees as a short-term energy solution.

But, Kansas’ community tree-care work and its wood products manufacturing already produce “leftovers” that add up to an annual 282,724 “green” tons of biomass -- 66 percent of which is never used, according to KFS estimates. Municipal and county disposal sites receive another 58,327 tons of woody trash and debris each year, much of which ends up occupying some of the remaining space in local landfills.

“Kansas also has 2.1 million acres of forest. That’s about 72 million tons of live-tree biomass,” Atchison said. “This resource is largely unmanaged. If the economics can fall in place, though, it offers a great opportunity for biomass and sustainable forest management.  We could start by converting such problem species as tamarisk, honeylocust and eastern red cedar directly into energy.

“Then we could systematically improve the health and sustainability of our forests with such desirable species as oak, walnut and any of our other magnificent native hardwoods. And, we could put additional acres into growing suitable tree species to sell as a biomass crop.”   

The forester said a large bio-energy corporation and a growing bio-energy cooperative are already among the potential biomass buyers in Kansas’ marketing territory.

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