Sustaining Southern Pine Competitiveness Gary Peter
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Sustaining Southern Pine Competitiveness Gary Peter Southern Pines: The Renewable Biomaterial, Bioenergy & Chemicals Star • Meets all sustainability metrics – Economically viable for multiple products – Top1-3 industries in most SE states – Positive energy & negative CO2 – Positive impact on environment • Largest biomass supply chain in world • Largest source of virgin “long” fiber • Expansion of saw timber in region • Expansion of wood pellets • Potential for biochemicals & biofuels Impact of Silviculture & Tree Improvement on Harvest Volume, Rotation Length & Markets 600 60 500 50 /ha) 400 40 3 300 30 Years 200 20 Yield (m Yield 100 10 0 0 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Total YieldWoodRotation AgeCost & Abundance Plentiful, Cost Effective Wood Supply Stimulates Processing Technology Innovation • Kraft pulping • Recovery of wood hydrocarbons • Fiber cement • Packaging • Torrified pellets • Curve saws • Biofuel from lignocellulosics • Engineered wood • Nanocellulose Lignin for carbon fiber • Wood pellets • Southern Pine Markets BIOMASS BASED LAND BASED • Existing • Existing – Poles – Hunting/recreation – Solidwood – Conservation easements – Chip-n-saw – Minerals – Pulpwood – Fill dirt – Pine straw – Real Estate • Potential • Potential – Energy wood – Ecosystem services – Logging residues – Oleoresin Sustaining Increases in Productivity 8000 60 Fox, T.R., E.J. Jokela and H.L. Allen. 2007. J. Forestry 105:337-347. 50 6000 40 4000 30 (ft3 /ac) 20 Volume atHarvest Volume 2000 10 Rotation age (years) 0 0 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Establishment Decade • Good silviculture • Good Genetics – Stand establishment – Faster growing families • Site prep, weed control – Better disease resistance – Density management – Fertilization IMPAC II Study Age 2 Age 3 Height Fertilizer + Herbicide 20 15 10 Height (ft) 5 0 1986 2012 Subedi et al. 2014 Loblolly Deployment • 95% deployed as OP, FS, clones • OP families –still the current standard, 84% • FS families –becoming more popular, ~8% • Clones or varieties – ~2% • Seed orchard mix – almost none, ~ 5% Forest productivity results from the combined effects of many factors Nutrient Genetic C Management Deployment L S I O M 12 I A t/ac/y L T S E Competition Density Control Management Loblolly at year 14 Slash at year 14 Culture Planting Total Pulp CNS Total Pulp CNS Density (m3/ha) (%) (%) (m3/ha) (%) (%) H N 415.9 78.9 20.6 377.0 68.5 30.8 H W 372.4 19.3 80.2 318.8 18.2 77.3 L N 284.2 95.1 1.5 349.1 95.5 3.0 L W 266.8 51.4 48.5 283.5 43.6 56.3 Landowner Growing System is a Central Decision that Depends on Local Markets • Balancing costs with yields & local markets • How to add flexibility while maximizing returns? • Additional products earlier & later in rotation Market priorities for different trees/ha Generalist vs. Specialist Dilemma Generalist Specialist • Characteristics OK for all • Characteristics maximized markets, but good for for one primary product highest value market • Market size • Additional products while • Market value main product grows to • Going to scale increase returns • Create new “markets” without sacrificing ability to compete in current “best” markets • Need to identify alignment & synergies What traits can justify investment? Challenge for Genetic Improvement • Long development cycle + long rotation = focus on traits that are good for large and stable but inherently “local” markets • Going to scale – Is value added to landowner and other business in the supply chain? • Increased growth/yield/diameter of defect free trees are only things that pay (now) – good for all markets – Wood quality not paid for directly (yet) Examples • Juvenile wood stiffness – Dimensional lumber from younger trees – Oriented strand lumber • Lignin content & composition – Enhanced pulp & sugar yields – Enhanced bioenergy - biofuel yields – Lignin for new products? • Wood terpene – Extractable pine chemicals & drop-in biofuels Conifer Oleoresin Canal System • Oleoresin flows out of stem after wounding, typically by boring insects – Constitutive resin under positive pressure in resin canals • The wood resin canals form a 3D network for synthesis & storage of mono- & diterpenes Loblolly pine resin canals • Thin walled resin canal RC epithelial cells epithelial cells line the canal and synthesize and secrete Longitudinal RC terpenes into the lumen of the canals or duct History of Southern Pine Terpene Industry Extract Main Species Collection Products Chemical Main Uses ERA Material Separation Composition Gum 1700s Slash & longleaf Tree tapping Turpentine, Monoterpenes Sealing turpentine – Pine tar Diterpenes ships, & rosin 1940 Living trees Fire, batch & turpentine continuous still distillation Wood 1900 Slash & longleaf Destructive Pine oil, Monoterpenes Paints, turpentine - distillation Turpentine, & cyclic varnish, 1940s Lightwood Batch & pine tar, terpene floor continuous still dipentene, alcohols wax… α distillation Charcoal -pinene only Wood 1940 Slash & longleaf Solvent –steam Rosin, Monoterpenes Soaps, turpentine - extraction turpentine, Diterpenes paints, & rosin today Lightwood Vacuum pine oil, Fatty acids rubber distillation dipetene Sterols Crude tall 1960 Loblolly & slash Kraft pulp mill Rosin, pitch, Monoterpenes Large oil & – turpentine Diterpenes diversity crude today Fatty acids of Pulpwood Vacuum sulfated Sterols products distillation turpentine Pine Terpenes: A $3 Billion Global Industry • Pine Terpene collection 3 million tonne/yr – Turpentine (monoterpene) rosin (diterpenoids) – Gum terpene (60%), crude sulfated turpentine & crude tall oil (35%), wood naval stores (5%) • Gum terpenes collected by tapping living trees > 850,000 tonne/yr – China, Portugal, USSR, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, India – China >500,000 tonne/yr [60% of global supply but little is exported] • Pulp & paper industry collects terpenes as a co- product – Crude sulfated turpentine & Crude tall oil (CTO) – US south 450,000 tonne/yr of CTO Pine Chemicals A $3 Billion/Y Industry • Global pine oleochemical industry refines gum terpenes, CST & CTO into a large number of chemical products – Focus of industry on mono & diterpenes (rosin/resin acids) • Flavors, fragrances, chemicals, pharmaceutical, food…. • Current pine extractives sold as biofuel – UPM Kymmenye, SunPine • Renewable diesel – Az Chemicals, MWV • Pitch fuel – mix of triglycerides and other hydrocarbons Pine Chemicals Industry Supply 2014 estimated production In 2010, US industry shipped Gum CTO CST $1.92 billion in products & spent (MMT/Y) (MMT/Y) (MMT/Y) $940.8 million (49% of shipment Global 1.2 – 1.4 1.5-1.6 0.15 value) on raw terpene supplies N. America 0 0.82 0.098 SE US 0 0.80 0.090 Economic Benefits of the Pine Chemicals Industry, 2011, Am. Chem. Council Predicted change in global supply -2% to + 2% Global Rosin Production Tall oil + Wood Rosin Gum Rosin 1600 1400 1200 1000 Unsustainable Unsustainable 800 kton/y 600 Sustainable Sustainable 400 200 0 & Sustainable Predictable 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Year Source = A. Cunningham – Pine Chemicals Association 2014 Intl. Meeting Growth of Pine Chemicals Industry is Supply Limited • Supplies of raw terpenes constrain industry growth not market demand – Decline in US pulp mills limit CST & CTO supplies • Since early 90’s, CTO supply has decreased by >15% • Competition for pine pulpwood for OSB, pellets, biofuels? – Change in pulping processes affecting CST & CTO yields – Variable available supply from China – Chinese labor costs & number of “tappable” trees negatively affecting oleoresin supply – China building internal processing capacity – In Finland, UPM Kymmenne is using CTO for biodiesel production P. elliottii, Angatuba, Brazil A. Cunningham Pine Chemicals Industry Supply 2014 estimated production CTO CST Oleoresin (MMT/Y) (MMT/Y) (MMT/Y) Global 1.5-1.6 0.15 1.2 – 1.4 N. America 0.82 0.098 0 SE US 0.80 0.090 0 • Options for rapidly increasing supply – Capture more monoterpenes (need cost effective technology/changes to processing) • Improve recovery in pulp mills (avg today is 15%) • Start capturing in engineered wood and wood pellet facilities (avg today is 0%); SE uses 25 million tons of pulpwood y-1 for engineered wood alone – Oleoresin collection from live trees • Domestic production from existing slash pine plantations – Induce resinosis to more than double tree terpene content in conjunction with or independent of oleoresin tapping FL Office of Energy Project Objectives Develop more cost effective method to collect pine terpenes for renewable chemicals and biofuel production from live slash pine trees Assess stand management, tree characteristics and age on oleoresin yield Assess feasibility and impact of expanding collection of oleoresin and terpene based jet fuel production in Florida Borehole Tapping Borehole tapping method developed by Dr. Alan Hodges involves drilling holes into pine trees to reach resin ducts in the xylem and collect oleoresin Advantages of borehole tapping over conventional resin production method (Hodges 1995) : Reduce tree stress Improvement of product quality Increased labor productivity Decreased insect pest problems Minimum damage to harvestable timber Taken From: Rodrigues et al. 2011 Borehole Oleoresin Tapping System Worker installing spouts in boreholes Drilling boreholes with Stihl portable drill Utility vehicle with barrels for oleoresin Collection in HDPE or nylon bags collection 15 Y Site: Effect of Pine Straw Treatments • Significant effect (p=<0.0001) of pine