Ethanol production from woody biomass: Silvicultural opportunities for suppressed western conifers

Andrew Youngblood; Junyong Zhu; C. Tim Scott

Treesearch

Ethanol production from woody biomass: Silvicultural opportunities for suppressed western conifers

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Andrew Youngblood, Junyong Zhu, C. Tim Scott

Year:

2010

Type:

Proceedings

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Source:

In: Jain, Theresa B.; Graham, Russell T.; Sandquist, Jonathan. Integrated management of carbon sequestration and biomass utilization opportunities in a changing climate: Proceedings of the 2009 National Silviculture Workshop; 2009 June 15-18; Boise, ID. Proceedings RMRS-P-61. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 169-184.

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Abstract

The 2007 Energy Security and Independence Act (ESIA) requires 16 billion gallons of ethanol to be produced from lignocellulose biomass by 2022 in the United States. Forests can be a key source of renewable lignocellulose for ethanol production if cost and conversion efficiency barriers can be overcome. We explored opportunities for using woody biomass from thinning western conifers as source materials for conversion to biofuel. We present preliminary results using suppressed lodgepole (Pinus contorta Douglas ex Louden var. latifolia Engelm. ex S. Watson) and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa C. Lawson var. ponderosa) from Pringle Falls Experimental Forest in central Oregon. We first examined growth rates of suppressed and presumably unsuppressed lodgepole pine and ponderosa pine planned for removal during thinning operations, and determined that all sampled trees were equally suppressed. We found component polysaccharides in relatively high concentrations among all sample trees.

Parent Publication

Integrated management of carbon sequestration and biomass utilization opportunities in a changing climate: Proceedings of the 2009 National Silviculture Workshop; 2009 June 15-18; Boise, ID.

Keywords

silviculture, carbon sequestration, climate change, forest management

Citation

Youngblood, Andrew; Zhu, Junyong; Scott, C. Tim. 2010. Ethanol production from woody biomass: Silvicultural opportunities for suppressed western conifers. In: Jain, Theresa B.; Graham, Russell T.; Sandquist, Jonathan. Integrated management of carbon sequestration and biomass utilization opportunities in a changing climate: Proceedings of the 2009 National Silviculture Workshop; 2009 June 15-18; Boise, ID. Proceedings RMRS-P-61. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 169-184.