The Forest Products Division has begun offering a series of Webinars on topics of interest to the Division. These Webinars will supplement the technical information we provide at the Annual Meeting and help us serve members throughout the year. Our Webinars are hosted through GoToWebinar.com. Most of the Webinars will be available to the public of AIChE members in general, but some may be for members of the Division only, or the slide material or other related materials will be available to members only. The announcement below is for our next Webinar, and provides links to allow you to register.
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| A Compelling Case for Integrated Biorefineries |
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| Join us for a Webinar on March 4, 2008 |
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Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar Seat Now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/288779405 |
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Ben Thorp, President of the Flambeau River BioRefinery in Wisconsin, is a leading expert in biorefineries and a respected former executive of several major paper and engineering companies. Ben is a TAPPI fellow, holds several patents, and serves on the boards of three companies and three non-profits.
ABSTRACT:
The technology is here for liquid biofuels to supplement petroleum-based transportation fuels. In the U.S., the predominant “first generation” biofuel is ethanol derived from corn, followed by ethanol derived from hemicellulose at sulfite pulp mills and biodiesel derived from vegetable oil or animal fat. “Second generation” fuels include renewable gasoline and diesel, cellulosic ethanol and fuel feedstock made from catalytic reactions (e.g., Fischer-Tropsch).
The U.S. has established renewable fuel standards that go well beyond the capability of corn-based ethanol. Many analysts forecast the need for “second generation” biofuels to meet demands. Commercial activities show that renewable fuels can be cost-effectively produced on a commercial scale.
The forest products industry has the commercial skills and resources critical to this emerging industry, and is on the verge of awakening to the opportunities. What remains is to sort out real opportunity from volumes of information containing far too much hope and hype.
Topics to be covered include:- Current process pathways to produce "second generation" biofuels, including a comparison of thermal and enzymatic pathways to convert cellulose to fuel.
- A summary of commercial North American activities in "second generation" biofuels and the biorefinery.
- An understanding of technical and commercial activities used to predict both short-term and long-term winning approaches.
- A compelling case for an integrated forest biorefinery.
- A review of the environmental and economic benefits of integrated forest biorefineries, including the significant extension of mill life that is possible.
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A Compelling Case for Integrated Biorefineries |
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Tuesday, March 4, 2008 |
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3:00 PM - 4:00 PM CST |
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System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista |
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Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.3.9 (Panther®) or newer |
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Bio for Ben Thorp
Benjamin A. Thorp, III
Renewable Energy Consultant
President, Flambeau River BioRefinery
Ben is a leader in renewable energy, a former leader in pulp and paper associations, and retired director of pulp & paper engineering, Georgia-Pacific Corp. In addition Ben was an officer with Chesapeake Corp. James River Corp., BE&K, Poyry-BEK and Huyck Corp.
Ben graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, MD with a bachelors degree in physics. He completed advanced studies in Mechanical Engineering, Management, and Marketing. He is currently serving on 3 company and 3 non profit boards. He is a past board member of several organizations.
Honors awarded to Ben include being named a TAPPI Fellow in 1986, being awarded the TAPPI Paper & Board Division Leadership Award in 1994, receiving the PIMA Glen T. Renegar Award in 1999 and the 2002 PIMA-CPBIS Management Excellence award. Thorp is the holder of six U.S. Patents with others pending submission.
