Biography
Biography: Han-Sup Han
Abstract
Forest residues increases forest fire hazards and impede the forest management activities such as tree planting and thinning operations. Logging residues are commonly burned on site however; open burning is not only costly and risky, but also causes problems including air emissions and damage to the soil due to the hot fires. In addition to logging residues, many small-diameter trees that are generated from fuel-reduction thinning activities, dead/dying trees due to insects/diseases and due to droughts need to be disposed. Biomass energy has been well served as a way of disposing forest residues. The production of energy by utilizing these forest residues create many other benefits which includes enhancing environmental protection, reducing fire hazards, creating local jobs with business opportunities, and facilitating forest management activities. In the US, there were an estimated 97 million dry tons of woody biomass for energy that could be sustainably available at a price of 60$ per dry ton. Low market values (<50 $/bone dry ton) for the woody biomass prevents the activity of forest management for the energy production in the western US. More recently there have been many federal- and state-level policies and regulations enacted to encourage the use of renewable energy including biomass, and with these changed market conditions and favorable policy support, biomass energy may be a desirable solution to help manage the forest residue disposal issues. This presentation illustrates the issues that forest residues create in the Western US and explains the new efforts that have been made to cost-effectively utilize (i.e. dispose of) these residues for energy production.