Method of Manufacturing Densified Firelog from Unwanted and Diseased Wood, and Method of Doing Business Regarding Same
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Europäisches Patentamt *EP001595663A2* (19) European Patent Office Office européen des brevets (11) EP 1 595 663 A2 (12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION (43) Date of publication: (51) Int Cl.7: B27N 3/28, B27N 1/00 16.11.2005 Bulletin 2005/46 (21) Application number: 05291045.2 (22) Date of filing: 13.05.2005 (84) Designated Contracting States: (72) Inventors: AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR • Young, Jennifer J. HU IE IS IT LI LT LU MC NL PL PT RO SE SI SK TR Los Gatos California 95033 (US) Designated Extension States: • Weissman, Gregg D. AL BA HR LV MK YU Watsonville California 95076 (US) (30) Priority: 14.05.2004 US 571108 P (74) Representative: Burbaud, Eric Cabinet Plasseraud (71) Applicant: Summit Views Llc 65/67 rue de la Victoire 95030 Los Gatos, California (US) 75440 Paris Cedex 09 (FR) (54) Method of manufacturing densified firelog from unwanted and diseased wood, and method of doing business regarding same (57) A method of manufacturing firelogs from un- into a firelog. The sale of the firelog can then be used wanted or diseased forest wood. The method includes to pay for further gathering of the unwanted wood. More- the steps of gathering such unwanted wood products over, the machines used to grind and dry the material from a forest and on-site grinding and drying those wood can be powered by burning the unwanted firewood as products into ground material prior to extruding same well. EP 1 595 663 A2 Printed by Jouve, 75001 PARIS (FR) 1 EP 1 595 663 A2 2 Description [0007] We were also aware of the possibilities of the synergy between the need of public sector entities to Cross-Reference to Related Application perform fuel reduction, and the need for raw materials for firelog production. Firelog production until now has [0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provi- 5 typically utilized sawdust from lumbering operations, or sional Serial No. 60/571,108 filed on May 14, 2004. agricultural byproducts such as orchard thinnings. In those cases the commercial viability of the firelog is Field of the Disclosure based on raw materials being very low cost, allowing a low margin product to be sold as a commodity at low [0002] The present disclosure generally related to 10 margins. In the model that is the method of this inven- densified wood products, and more particularly relates tion, additional value is added to the end firelog product to methods of manufacturing such wood products or fire- by the manufacturer, enabling a higher margin product logs. to then generate sufficient revenue to help offset the cost of obtaining the raw material, which supplements Background of the Disclosure 15 the public sector funding which is often unable to sup- port the cost of fuel reduction efforts. [0003] The invention described in this filing pertains [0008] We researched the current art and found that to the field of the manufacture of artificial firelogs, and while small parts of solutions to the fundamental prob- a system for processing wood waste from forest, wood- lems facing both the firelog and forestry industry seg- land, wildland, and urban-wildland interface regions, in- 20 ments were present, there was a need for a creative sys- to densified wood firelogs, and a system whereby utiliz- tems approach to solving problems in both areas that ing unwanted wood materials in forested and wooded created a significant "win" for all the stakeholders, by areas as raw material in such firelogs enables otherwise combining in a synergistic fashion the elements of well- cost-prohibitive, but important, thinning operations. Ad- known firelog manufacturing techniques, biomass pow- ditionally, the invention enables the high-value utiliza- 25 er plant operation, forestry, thinning operations, and tion of diseased and fungus-infected wood needing to plant fungal pathogen biology into a comprehensive be cleared from these areas. system with significant utility. [0004] It has become apparent and much discussed [0009] In the field of firelog production and biomass over the last several years that fuel buildup in forested power plants it became apparent to us that the econom- and wooded areas is a significant contributor to costly 30 ics of the system would require utilization in inventive and dangerous wildfires. The problem is well known and ways of technologies at the leading edge of the state of well documented. What is not well known, and what has the art. The normal method of firelog production has typ- been the subject of much research, as shown in many ically involved the processing of mill "waste" or sawdust easily available documents, is a method of making the piles resulting from wood manufacturing operations. In clearing and disposal of such unwanted fuel buildup 35 one case of the manufacture of wax-and-sawdust fire- cost-effective and feasible. One component of the un- logs, ground walnut shells were used. Other waste ma- wanted fuel buildup is the presence throughout large re- terials for firelog material such as bagasse, peanut gions of California, for example, of trees killed by infec- shells, coffee grounds, and similar, are well known in the tion by the fungal pathogen causing "Sudden Oak art. The use of forest materials has not been thought Death." It is also equally important, if not possibly more 40 feasible before now, because an economic system was so, to be able to manage this diseased material in such not sufficiently thought out to enable cost effectiveness, a way that it can be removed cost-effectively and made and material impediments such as moisture, dirt, and non-infectious. debris were thought to preclude firelog manufacture. We [0005] At the same time, in the field of fire fuels, it is have solved all those problems. well known that "densified wood" fire fuels are a clean 45 [0010] We have studied the prior art of the firelog bri- and convenient alternative to burning cordwood and/or quetting process and determined that the application of other firelogs which are compositions of wood materials the heat for drying and pressure necessary for the for- and wax/binder materials. mation of logs makes it possible to disinfect fungal dis- [0006] Controlled burning causes such large amounts eased wood such as that prevalent in the California re- of smoke that while it does reduce fuel loading it causes 50 gion, thereby eliminating several severe problems. Cur- large problems associated with air quality and is becom- rently, the best known method for remediation of this in- ing increasingly restricted. Controlled burning has been fected material is to compost it and this takes approxi- known to become uncontrolled as well, in some cases, mately 30 days to completely eliminate the pathogen. causing disastrous wildfire. U.S. and State Governmen- Other remediation techniques are known, but the tech- tal Agencies have therefore become very proactive in 55 nique of firelog manufacture, when appropriately con- seeking solutions that solve the problems of forest fuels ceived and implemented, allows processing of tons of seeking value-added solutions that mitigate the need for material each hour and producing a product with higher burning, as well as logging. margin value than compost. The treated wood, once 2 3 EP 1 595 663 A2 4 manufactured into a firelog, is no longer subject to the nomically infeasible to do so previously, so that more restrictions or special handling requirements that infect- hazardous fuel can be eliminated from the environment. ed material is subjected to currently. For example, there Application of this method reduces the need to control are quarantine restrictions on movement of the wood fuel buildup by means of controlled burns, which are when used as cut or packaged firewood. Even though 5 hazardous, polluting, and difficult to instigate. movement within county boundaries is permitted it is [0015] It also solves a significant problem by providing known that the material must still be handled carefully a business method where the added value of the end and it is capable of spreading the pathogen to new are- product provides a higher margin than most other large- as. Proper manufacture of firelogs from this material es- scale uses of the material, such as in firing biomass sentially solves the problem of disposal of a noxious ma- 10 power plants. The competition in the marketplace for terial, with benefit for all. These factors are equally ap- power plant fuel, because of very low cost fossil fuels, plicable to wood afflicted with insect infestation. drives down the value of the wood material for this pur- [0011] During the period for research into these prob- pose. Additionally, transportation of this low-value ma- lems, and potential solutions we were finally able to im- terial for power plant utilization is economically infeasi- plement a "proof of concept" resulting in a trial produc- 15 ble, whereas the method of our invention can be relo- tion of firelogs utilizing materials such as are described cated to near or at the source of the material, substan- here, demonstrating, as we also developed marketing tially reducing or eliminating transport costs. channels and a sales organization, that the value is [0016] Our process and method also provide the op- there for a product such as described in this business portunity to improve air quality, as the densified wood method, that we are able to adapt firelog manufacturing 20 firelogs burn cleaner than alternatives such as the wax processes such as have been the norm in the current logs which emit petrochemical byproducts, and firewood art into a new economic and physical model that suc- which emits twice the particulate material (soot).