Northwest Wood-Based Biofuels and Co-products Conference

Northwest Wood-Based Biofuels and Co-products Conference

Northwest Wood-Based Biofuels and Co-products Conference

 

I’m Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

 

The Northwest Wood-based Biofuels/Co-Products Conference will be held April 28 - 30 in Seattle, and is the first of it’s kind here in the Northwest. Hosted by the USDA and Washington State University Extension the conference is being held to explore the feasibility of using wood to biofuels. Charles Burke, Communication Director for Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance explains what’s unique about this conference as opposed to other biofuels oriented conferences that are occurring all over the world.

 

BURKE: First, the primary focus is on the Pacific Northwest and what possible scenarios can come out of and affect the Pacific Northwest. The other distinction, I think, is that this conference is just looking at wood resources for the conversion into a variety of chemicals and co-products.

 

As to why this conference has come about Burke had this to say.

 

BURKE: USDA is funding a number of collaborative types of organizations here in the Pacific Northwest and these were all initiated within the last basically three years, so a lot of activities been going on in that three years and it’s kind of time for everybody to kind of compare notes and evaluate where we’re at. In addition to that though, the Department of Energy, a number of other federally funded organizations also have programs that are looking at biofuels development, particularly in this case wood feedstock biofuels development, and there’s private companies that are kind of doing their thing as well.

 

The conference will have dedicated tracks covering feedstock logistics, conversion technologies, economic, environmental and social sustainability, and the co-product development of wood-based biofuels.

 

That’s Washington Ag Today.

 

I’m Lacy Gray on the Ag Information Network.

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