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Buzen New Energy Orders Boiler
Valmet will deliver a biomass-fired CYMIC power boiler and a flue gas cleaning system to Buzen New Energy LLC in the city of Buzen in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
“The new order continues Valmet’s multifuel boiler deliveries to the Japanese market in close cooperation with our local partner JFE Engineering. Our boiler and flue gas cleaning system will be part of the biomass power plant to be delivered by JFEE to the customer. The plant will be the biggest one in Japan using solely biomass as fuel,” says Kai Janhunen, Vice President, Energy Business Unit, Pulp and Energy Business Line, Valmet.
Installation work will begin in 2018. Commissioning and startup of the power plant is scheduled for the second half of 2019.
Valmet's delivery includes a CYMIC circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler for firing biomass. Main fuels to be used in the boiler are crushed palm kernel shells and wood pellets. Thermal power capacity of the boiler is 174 MW, and electricity capacity of the whole power plant will be 75 MW. Effective removal of dust particles from combustion flue gases will be ensured by Valmet's bag house filter.
Founded in 2016, Buzen New Energy LLC engages in the generation and supply of power primarily through a biomass boiler plant. Owners are eREX Co., Ltd. 65%, Kyuden Mirai Energy Co., INC. 27% and Kyudenko Corporation 8%.
The Buzen plant will be situated on a Kyushu Kouatsu Concrete-owned site, in Fukuoka prefecture, and use about 300,000 tonnes of palm kernel shell (PKS) and wood pellets per annum as its primary fuel source, all of which eREX plans to procure by itself.
ARDCO Joins Barko Lineup
Barko Hydraulics has named ARDCO Equipment as its dealer for logging and land clearing equipment in Louisiana.
“ARDCO Equipment is a great addition to our dealer network,” says Alecia McKay-Jones, dealer development manager for Barko. “We look forward to them representing Barko and serving our valued forestry customers in the Gulf Coast region.”
Based in New Iberia, La., ARDCO Equipment will handle sales and service of Barko loaders, industrial wheeled tractors, harvesters and feller-bunchers. The dealership was recently established after several years of operating a rental fleet in the area alongside ARDCO’s manufacturing operation.
Bandit Coloring System Available
With Bandit’s enhanced Color Max colorizer system, creating beautiful colored landscape mulch from waste wood has never been easier.
The Color Max coloring system sprays color directly to the Bandit Beast cuttermill, which thoroughly coats material during processing.
“This system takes full advantage of the high-production capabilities of The Beast, distributing color throughout the mulch as its broken down,” says Jason Morey, Bandit Industries sales manager. “Because color is applied to the cuttermill, coverage on the product is distributed evenly while also being efficient with the colorant.
The Color Max system requires less colorant and water to create the rich, evenly colored landscape mulch that’s always in demand. By applying color to the cuttermill, material stays in better contact with color to literally produce more colored mulch with less colorant. On average, the Color Max system uses 25% less color and 30% less water. Visit banditchippers.com.
Grinder Enhances Ties Byproducts
Going from $4.50 a ton to $1.00 a ton is significant when your business processes 150,000 tons of railroad ties a year, and that’s exactly what Ties 2 of Superior, Wis. accomplished by upgrading to a CBI electric stationary system. Last year, Continental Biomass Industries custom designed and installed an electric stationary system that grinds 600-800 tons of railroad ties on a daily basis for Ties 2.
Steve Berglund, co-owner of Ties 2, has been grinding ties for more than 20 years with CBI machines and has been a key source of design input. In 2016, he upgraded from a diesel system that produced 75 tons an hour to an electric system that produces 125-150 tons an hour, all while reducing costs associated with energy, labor and maintenance.
“With fuel and related costs of the diesel machine we were at $4.50 a ton and our goal was to get to a dollar a ton for energy cost; we’ve done that with our system,” Berglund says. “If you’re just going to isolate the energy savings, it would be about $400,000. The electrical system requires less maintenance and because it’s faster your labor cost is going to go down by default.”
Railroad ties, by design, are created from the hardest wood possible for the sake of durability. CBI manufactured its largest ever CBI Grizzly Mill Primary Grinder for the Ties 2 application, providing a 60x60 in. solid steel rotor that brings optimal energy to the initial grind. Following the primary grind, the ground ties pass through a magnet to ensure all existing metal is removed before moving onto the CBI prescreener. Any material that the screener identifies as oversized is then passed through a CBI Grizzly Mill secondary grinder (48x72 in. rotor).
The end product, which looks very similar to the average homeowner’s landscaping mulch, is transported to Minnesota Power and Excel Energy to generate more renewable energy for nearby regions.
“One thing I would say about this system is that if you’re going to try and make the investment, and you’re not trying to do it on the cheap, but you’re going to make the several million dollar investment—this is the way to go bar none,” Berglund says.
Morbark Recognizes Gold Tier Dealers
Morbark, LLC, recognized eight of its top tree care products dealers and four of its top industrial dealers with Gold Tier status.
Tree Care Products recipients included: Alexander Equipment, northern Illinois; Bobcat of Buffalo, western New York; Cardinal Equipment, Ontario and Quebec, Canada; Deacon Equipment, east-central Pennsylvania; ESSCO Distributors, Long Island, New York; Savannah Equipment Specialists, southeast Georgia; Schmidt Equipment, Massachusetts and Rhode Island; Stevens Products LTD, New Zealand
Industrial Products winners were: Cardinal Equipment, Ontario, Quebec and Maritime Provinces, Canada; James River Equipment, Virginia and North Carolina; C. Whitford Equipment, western New York; Tidewater Equipment, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida
“These dealers represent the best of the best,” says John Foote, Morbark Senior Vice President. “They provide more than just our high-performance equipment; they give our customers local knowledge and support to help them grow and maintain their businesses.”
Morbark dealers are reviewed and scored annually on their customer service, business plan, equipment and parts sales, service and warranty process, marketing efforts, and much more.
Both James River Equipment and Tidewater Equipment were honored with Gold Tier status for the fourth straight year, while Cardinal Equipment earned its second straight Gold dealer award and L.C. Whitford was honored for the first time.
MoistTech IR3000 moisture sensor
MoistTech Corp. is the original manufacturer of Near-Infrared (NIR) technology in the industrial moisture industry and manufactures a range of on-line sensors and at-line instruments for moisture measurement and real-time moisture process control for forest product and pellet manufacturing industries.
MoistTech Corp’s IR3000 Moisture Sensor monitors the product even with small gaps in product flow, unaffected by ambient light without impacting the accuracy, has zero maintenance involved and provides instant measurements within about ±0.1% in low moisture applications and ±0.25% on high moisture applications.
MoistTech engineers are glad to share their experience and knowledge to make your manufacturing process more profitable. Visit MoistTech.com.
John Deere Sells Slash Bundler Rights
John Deere Forestry Oy has sold its slash bundler unit rights to the Dutch company Wellinkcaesar Timber Technology BV. The slash bundler has been marketed under the Dutch Dragon brand since summer 2016. Further improvements to the bundler unit include new scissor cutting system and higher tilting hook.
In slash bundling, forest residues are fed into the bundler, which compresses it into bundles that are about 3 meters long and 60-80 cm in diameter for power plant energy needs. In Nordic forests, about 150 slash bundles can be harvested from a one-hectare area. The thermal energy of one slash bundle is about 1 MWh.
Wellinkcaesar Timber Technology will also continue as a John Deere forest machine dealer. In addition to the slash bundler unit, the company’s own product portfolio includes energy wood chippers and press collectors designed for energy wood transport. The Dutch Dragon SB60 slash bundler for logging residues can be installed on a forwarder, a truck bed or a trailer.
Witt Named Aries Clean Energy CFO
Mark Witt has been named CFO of Aries Clean Energy, Nashville, Tenn. Aries is a privately-held company focusing on sustainable waste-to-energy technologies in the clean-tech marketplace. Witt brings more than 35 years of experience in the industry. He is the founder of Commercial Energy Services, Houston, Tex.
“Mark is going to be a valuable guide as we continue to grow and expand our markets and our company,” says Aries CEO Gregory Bafalis. “His track record with startups is very impressive.”
Aries Clean Energy, formerly PHG Energy, has evolved its product line and focus from offering industrial fuel gas conversion equipment to providing clean energy, sustainable waste disposal solutions, and in-house R&D expertise. The company already holds eight patents in the biomass and biosolids gasification field—several of which were used to build the world’s largest downdraft gasifier last year in Lebanon, Tenn.
Aries Clean Energy’s downdraft gasification process uses a sustainable thermo-chemical process to produce a synthetic fuel gas—from a mixture that could include wood, scrap tires, and wastewater sludge—that can be used much like natural gas for thermal applications (e.g., boilers and kilns) and the production of electricity. The process also produces a valuable byproduct, high-carbon biochar, which can be used in agricultural and industrial applications.
In 2016, Aries Clean Energy completed construction on the world’s largest downdraft gasifier in Lebanon with a throughput capacity of 64 tons per day.
KPA Unicon Delivers Steam Boiler Plant
Cartulinas CMPC S.A. and KPA Unicon Oy have signed a contract for the delivery of a Unicon Biograte 30 t/h steam boiler plant to Cartulinas Valdivia Mill in Valdivia, Chile. In addition to wood chips, bark and sawdust, the plant operates on bio sludge and it produces steam for the mill’s carton board production process. The plant will be started up for operation in December 2018.
The contract covers all process equipment, buildings, installation supervision, commissioning and training of operating personnel. The heart of the plant is Unicon Biograte combustion technology, which is specifically designed to utilize challenging biofuels for energy production with high efficiency and low emissions.
Truck Loads Measured In 3-D
Cind AB has developed a product for precise 3-D measurement of stacks on timber trucks. The system is based on stereoscopic technology developed by Saab. The Cind system accurately measures volume as the truck passes through the system, thus allowing for instant and precise volume measurement.
The system uses two pairs of stereo cameras mounted on a portal through which the truck will pass. While the truck passes through, Cind´s stereo cameras and software create a perfect 3D image where the dimensions can be measured. This can be done by means of manual measurement on the screen or automatically by the system. Visit cind.se.
Peterson Provides Small Drum Chipper
Peterson Pacific Corp. now offers a 3310 drum chipper with a 540 HP Caterpillar engine and power to handle up to 24 in. diameter logs. The fully enclosed engine compartment keeps things clean, but is easily serviced by large access doors on both sides of the machine.
The 3310 is the third and smallest model in Peterson’s lineup of drum chippers. Like the other larger Peterson drum chippers, the 3310 is equipped with sizing screens and an intelligent control system. The 3310 is a high capacity small chipper designed for biomass energy producers who will benefit from the efficient feeding and flexible van loading options.
At just under 24 ft. long, the 3310 utilizes a transverse-feed design allowing for a much smaller operations deck than typical drum chippers. The rotatable end load or optional top load spout design allows for trailers to be loaded in a variety of positions, depending on the demands of the job site. Not only does the compact size allow for easy maneuverability, but can even be transported in a 40 ft. high cube container for overseas shipment. Visit petersoncorp.com
New Grinder Goes After Large Material
Vermeer’s new HG6800TX horizontal grinder features 950 HP in a 92,000 lb. class, and an infeed design to aid in feeding larger material such as whole trees. The feed roller can climb up to 50 in.
The new infeed was designed with low sidewalls to help the operator more easily load material into the machine. This feature allows larger loads to be dropped on the infeed with less interaction and manipulation of the material, so the operator can drop the load and focus on the next one.
The unit features the patented Series III duplex hard-faced drum. In addition to providing long-lasting durability, maintenance time is decreased with the ability to remove and flip or replace single hammers, as well as being able to externally balance the drum.
With the optional Damage Defense system, contractors who deal with contaminated wood can help protect their equipment by reducing the likelihood of major machine damage caused by certain metal contaminants entering the hammermill. The system reacts to the initial contact of metal by reversing the feed system to allow for removal. Visit vermeer.com.
Deere Enhances Data Processing
Located inside the mile-long Dubuque Works facility in Iowa, the newly minted John Deere Machine Health Monitoring Center is changing how John Deere and its dealers analyze data and proactively support customers through mainstream technology. Additionally, John Deere has launched its Machine Monitoring Center program.
The Machine Health Monitoring Center is situated in close proximity to product engineering teams, as well as the men and women who build many of the John Deere construction and forestry machines. Within the Machine Health Monitoring Center, specialists with a deep understanding of the equipment and expert analytical capabilities develop solutions that nourish the manufacturer’s monitoring services by analyzing aggregated machine data, identifying trends that warrant a closer look and then developing new and improved preventative maintenance and repair protocols.
“Data from thousands of connected John Deere machines flows here,” said Tim Worthington, manager, product support services, John Deere Construction & Forestry. “The Machine Health Monitoring Center is the central nervous system of our monitoring network. It enables us to develop and deploy solutions to repair machines faster and help our customers avoid unexpected downtime altogether.”
Working in tandem with the Machine Health Monitoring Center are Machine Monitoring Centers at dealerships across the country. These centers feature trained dealer specialists who use advanced telematics and alert management tools to stay on top of potential issues. When necessary, they can engage trained technicians without visiting the field.
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