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A possible addition to the raw material for woody biomass might be filbert wood from that industry. Oregon has some 30,000 acres of orchards situated all in the Willamette Valley. As the entire production area is being infected by a fungus called Eastern Filbert Blight, these orchards will be replaced by resistant varietys being developed by OSU.  This has already started in the northern part of the Valley. We need to burn these infected trees to reduce the spore load.

Generally, each acre may result in 30 to 40 tons of raw material. Also, we have many tons of prunings annually.

It seems to me that this resource might be combined with forest residue to produce a viable bulk of biomass.

I would like to talk with anybody who might think this idea is worth exploring further.

Peter McDonald

posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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