Waste to Wisdom Project Launches New Website Focusing on Its Innovative Forest Biomass Research
Missoula, MT (PRWEB) May 07, 2015 -- The newly launched website for the Waste to Wisdom project highlights the 3-year effort and its objective to make better use of forest residues from timber harvests and thinning.
Waste to Wisdom (W2W) is funded by a $5.88 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and is led by Humboldt State University with assistance from 15 regional partners. The grant is part of the Biomass Research and Development Initiative, a collaborative effort between the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture that supports renewable energy research in the rural United States.
A key focus of the new website is to outline how the project addresses a core problem surrounding forest residues. Forest residues are limbs, treetops, and other waste materials left on the forest floor after timber harvests and thinning operations. This material is typically piled and burned in the forest due to the high cost of collecting, converting, and transporting it. W2W is exploring new equipment, operations, and technologies that can turn the biomass into valuable bioenergy and bio-based products. Utilizing this woody biomass has the potential to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and promote economic development in rural parts of the United States.
The website provides a high-level look at the project in addition to expected outcomes and benefits. Website visitors who want to dig deeper can explore research in the project’s three technical areas – feedstock supply (processed forest residues), biomass conversion technologies, and sustainability analysis. Readers can learn about the technical areas in-depth, with photo essays, blog posts, and video to help better convey the nature of the work. Stakeholders and interested parties will also find links to W2W social media pages and blog RSS feeds so they can stay apprised of the latest project updates.
"The Waste to Wisdom website allows us to chronicle this important project and its research findings so we can help guide forest management practices, forest residue processing, and biomass conversion technologies well into the future," said Han-Sup Han, Principal Investigator for W2W.
About Forest Business Network
Forest Business Network (FBN) is one of 15 regional partners working with Humboldt State University on the W2W project and is tasked with providing public outreach. In addition to its top-tier technical consulting services, FBN publishes a leading forest industry news website and an email newsletter read by almost 10,000 subscribers each week.
Tom Waddell, Forest Business Network, http://www.forestbusinessnetwork.com/, 406-546-5977, [email protected]
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