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Evaluating the sustainable production of engineered biocarbon for coal combustion residual remediation from fuel reduction treatments in the Superior National Forest

Status
Ongoing
Paved road winding through a forest flecked with autumn colors
Photo Credit
USDA Forest Service photo.

The Caribou Trail on the Superior National Forest.

The Kawishiwi Ranger District, part of the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota, is known for extreme fire behavior occurring over large spatial areas.  Fuel management in this region following a century of fire suppression is especially challenging due to the rough and irregular Canadian Shield terrain. These conditions pose a risk to the society and economy of Ely, which serves as a recreational hub for the most visited wilderness area in the nation, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

The USDA Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory, the Northern Research Station and the Superior National Forest are collaborating with a team of scientists from the University of Minnesota, Michigan Technological University and Iowa State University to reduce fire risks while developing useful wood products. This project aims to improve our understanding of how to integrate fuel removal and necessary supply chains with products development within a sustainable landscape. The project further seeks to effectively leverage the Superior National Forest’s network of relationships between the different communities, agencies, contractors, and tribal entities.

Objectives

  1. Evaluate the efficacy of engineered biocarbon produced from primary tree species removed in fuel reduction treatments (balsam fir, tamarack, spruce and others) for their ability to dewater Coal Combustion Residual (CCR) sludges for permanent impoundment.
  2. Perform on-site operations logistics analysis for effective and sustainable site-to-product supply chains cost and ecological fuel reduction.
  3. Develop LIDAR-based mapping of small-diameter ladder fuels and land surface rugosity (roughness), as well as satellite-based estimated of mature, standing fuel volume defining wood source material and relative cost of extraction.
  4. Define wildfire risk and carbon consequences of fuel removal vs alternative management strategies (e.g., pile and burn, prescribed burn, or no treatment) via fire behavior modelling and carbon emissions assessment.
  5. Perform a biomass to product cost and environmental LCA analysis to understand the potential cost and environmental impacts of different system configurations and uses of engineered biocarbon end products under a range of scenarios.
  6. Develop a sustainability analysis that links fuel reduction, social, cost, environmental, and product development objectives on the Forest, informed by these objectives.

Expected Results

The proposal outcomes may lead to opportunities that include:

  • Identification of engineered biocarbon physical properties and CCR mixing/compaction protocols leading to optimal performance as a CCR dewatering agent.
  • Contribute understanding of the attached carbon emissions and potential environmental impacts and costs linked to fuel reduction and utilization as a biocarbon material used as a dewatering agent in coal ash ponds.
  • Contribute measurable biomass based bioengineered product; environmental and cost analysis of the supply of fuel reduction with utilization options; geospatial and resource analysis of fuels, fire behavior, and carbon emissions; and sustainability analysis.
  • Foster a research-management partnership between Forest Service and multiple universities team members supporting data collection, interpretation, resource and product analysis and visualization, joint publications, presentations, outreach, and knowledge transfer.

People

Principal Investigator

Collaborators

  • Northern Research Station, USFS

  • University of Minnesota

  • Michigan Technological University

  • Iowa State University

Last updated September 17, 2024
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