June 26, 2017 – Dust Safety Week 2017 has arrived! Canadian Biomass and Canadian Forest Industries have all the coverage to keep you informed as we highlight best practices, technical information and solutions for keeping your operations safe, every day this week!

June 26, 2017 - Wood pellet imports to Asia reached an all-time-high in the 4Q/16 when Japan and South Korea together imported 630,000 tons of pellets. Although import volumes were down slightly in the 1Q/17, they were still over 40 per cent higher than in the 1Q/16, as reported in the latest issue of the Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ).

June 26, 2017 - Current wood pellet industry safety performance and priorities, including combustible dust in raw material storage areas and risks and best practices regarding syngas in drum driers, were discussed at length at the annual Wood Pellet Association of Canada's safety conference, which took place June 13-14 in Prince George, B.C.

June 26, 2017 - On June 13 -14, the Canadian wood pellet industry gathered in Prince George, B.C., for its annual safety conference. This year, for the first time, we included a full day of training on the topic of Process Safety Management, which was presented by Jamie Merriam of ACM Facility Safety.

June 21, 2017 - A safety meeting that fit inside an office last year has now grown to the size of a convention centre.

June 19, 2017 - A new study recently published in Nature Communications by scientists at Environment and Climate Change Canada discovered a missing link in lower-atmosphere ozone formation: our forests.

May 31, 2017 - Computer simulation of biomass supply chains can help reduce costs and risks, according to a new white paper from Ecostrat.

May 24, 2017 - There is considerable talk in government circles of how Canada can improve its innovation performance. Earlier this spring, the federal government tabled its ‘Innovation’ budget. A key plank of this budget is moving forward with its committed investment in clusters and networks, which in the words of the government, is “intended to catalyze private sector dynamism, bring a critical mass of stakeholders together and connect their ideas to the marketplace”. At the same time, Canada needs to address climate change and that means shifting to a low carbon economy. Canada’s forest products industry is already a leader in both areas and is working hard to advance bio-based solutions for a low carbon economy.

May 24, 2017 - CO2 Solutions Inc. has completed the preliminary engineering phase of the project to capture carbon at the Saint-Félicien Pulp Mill, the company announced yesterday.

May 9, 2017 - It’s been almost six years since the Island Lake Biomass Harvest Experiment was established in the Martel Forest region near Chapleau, Ont., and though the project is still in its early stages, researchers have begun to share some surprising findings from their ambitious harvesting experiment.

May 1, 2017 - Sawmills in Eastern Canada have been running at record high levels in 2016, with production reaching levels almost 10 per cent higher than in 2015 and almost 40 per cent higher than five years ago. This has been very good news to the forest industry, with sawmills running at 97 per cent operating rates in late 2016, according to the WWPA. However, there are also worrisome developments regarding the large volumes of residual chips that are being generated and where the chips can be sold.

June 19, 2017 - BioAmber Inc. has launched BIO-SA pharmaceutical grade. This new grade of material provides a USP/NF and FCC Grade of bio-succinic acid manufactured under the United States Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) good manufacturing practices (GMP) for food and Excipients.

June 13, 2017 - The global bioplastic packaging market to reach USD $34.24 billion by 2024, driven by the rising consumer demand for resource efficient and eco-friendly products. Europe was the largest market accounting for 32.7 per cent of the volume share in 2016 due to supporting regulations coupled with consumer awareness regarding the conservation of the environment. North America and Asia Pacific followed suit, where the regions together are expected to contribute USD 3.26 billion by 2024.

June 9, 2017 - For over 70 years the petrochemical industry drove significant global growth and expanded the chemistry industry. But control of greenhouse gas is creating transformation and development of a hybrid chemistry industry, setting a new global standard for the 21st century. This shift puts Canada in a unique position to become a global leader in the world of chemistry. We have the resources to create a sustainable hybrid chemistry industry.

June 7, 2017 - Vancouver-based Renaissance BioScience Corp. will receive a multi-year, non-repayable contribution of up to $500,000 from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program.

May 16, 2017 - Montreal-based BioAmber is reporting a 46 per cent increase in its sales of bio-succinic acid and the addition of seven new clients in the first quarter of 2017. Company revenues for the quarter were $2.1 million.

June 26, 2017 - Advanced Biofuels Canada (ABFC)has released the most comprehensive study to date of biofuel use in Canada. The study was conducted by Navius Research and follows a study last year by Clean Energy Canada and Navius Research on 2010-2014 biofuel use in Canada.

June 14, 2017 - Over the last five years, the four themes that underpinned BioFuelNet’s research initiatives reflected both the sequence and the challenges of biofuel development: the raw material or feedstock must be converted into a biofuel end-product that is both usable and sustainable.

May 31, 2017 - GreenField Specialty Alcohols, Inc., Canada’s largest ethanol producer and a world leader in high-purity specialty alcohols, announced today it has changed its name to Greenfield Global. The name change reflects the company’s broader product categories and its expertise in driving innovations to demonstrate and commercialize new biochemicals and biofuels.

May 25, 2017 - University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers and their collaborators have developed a new process that obtains three high-value products from biomass, tripled the fraction of biomass converted to high-value products to nearly 80 per cent.

May 23, 2017 - Plant biologists and biochemists from UCLA, UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco have produced a gold mine of data by sequencing the genome of a green alga called Chromochloris zofingiensis.

May 17, 2017 - Hamilton, Ont.-based BIOX is working to complete upgrades to its Sombra, Ont., biodiesel facility this year and looking to transition from an expansion focus to operating its assets and strengthening its balance sheet, the company CEO said in its second quarter report.

June 23, 2017 - Don’t let emergency stop buttons and pull cords lull you into a false sense of security. They’re the conveyor equivalent of the engine oil light on your car’s dashboard: If the light goes on – or you’re reaching for the emergency stop button – it may be too late.

June 19, 2017 - A seven-kilometre stretch of forest in Sweden welcomed almost 42,000 visitors from around the world last week to view the newest advancements forestry manufacturers have to offer.

June 15, 2017 - There are more than 50,000 OSHA recordable incidents involving "struck by falling object" every year in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's one injury caused by a dropped object roughly every 10 minutes. Many of these injuries are significant and some fatal. The cost of accidents and the effects on the worker and company are well documented. But what about the cost of a near miss or an incident that damages expensive machinery? A new tool has been developed to help reduce incidents of dropped fasteners and the related costs.

June 13, 2017 - Pallet forks are staple attachments when it comes to getting more versatility and productivity from compact equipment, and now, John Deere has an option for material-handling jobs of every scale with the new severe-duty pallet forks, the latest additions to the ever-expanding lineup of Worksite Pro attachments.

June 13, 2017 - Canadian Biomass narrows in on material handling options, from small wheel loaders, to walking floors and bagging lines, available to customers in Canada.

June 7, 2019 - The Atlantic Biorefinery Conference is taking place June 7 to 9 in Fredericton, N.B. Going into its sixth year, the Atlantic Biorefinery Conference is a dynamic three-day conference that sparks discussion and new projects that transform our natural resources into value-added products and business opportunities.

June 2, 2017 - The Wood Pellet Association of Canada’s safety conference and workshop is happing June 13-14 in Prince George.

May 23, 2017 - The Wood Pellet Association of Canada and media partner Canadian Biomass are proud to host this year’s AGM and conference in Ottawa from Sept. 18-20.

May 23, 2017 - Tomorrow's wood waste recycling bioeconomy utilization workshop expo event in Grande Prairie, Alta., has been cancelled due to lack of sponsorship.

May 2, 2017 - Pellet Fuels Institute has opened registration for the 2017 PFI Annual Conference in Stowe, Vermont, from July 23 to 25.