Size Reduction & Densification t Directory 2015 DARKO PRODAN IS A MAN WITH a mission. Next year he hopes to commission the largest and most modern hardwood sawmill in Croatia. Part of the investment is already operational busy making heating fuel from biomass using a high capacity mobile shredder/chipper. For many Croatia is a holiday destination. With a scenic coastline on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea it’s easy to understand why. Yet few realise that Croatia is a forested country. In fact with over 43 percent forest cover, it is one of the most wooded countries in Central Europe with forestry and the wood products industry playing a major role. However being dominated by small companies with modernisation needs, the sector faces major challenges that often make it difficult to compete on the international market space. Major investment One company, Cedar d.o.o., is tackling this challenge head-on. For over 20 years this family-owned company has run a hardwood sawmill in Vrbovsko northwest Croatia, specialising in the production of sawn beech (Fagus silvatica) for export to the Middle East, China, Japan and neighbouring countries in Europe. Darko Prodan, who heads the company, grew up with the smell of freshly sawn wood, and he hasn’t been able to get away yet. Nor does he want to – Prodan is currently in the process of transforming his company into one of the largest beech producers in Europe. With investments to the tune of EUR 50 million backed by enormous entrepreneurial courage, he is setting out to ensure a good future for his region and its job market. To do so, he is literally leaving no stone unturned. Soon, on almost double the space he had before, computer-controlled sawing lines will transform 250 000 m³ of beech logs per annum into sawn wood, and modern loading equipment will load complete tractor-trailers in just three minutes. 44 Bioenergy International No 82, 6-2015 THE COURAGE TO SUCCEED The Axtor 8012 turns sawmill waste into fuel for the heating and power plant. Screen basket and teeth determine the chip size. Facts: Cedar d.o.o. A family run business founded in 1992, Cedar d.o.o. in Vrbovsko, Croatia specialises in the production of beech sawnwood products for use in construction and furniture manufacturing industries in North Africa, Middle East, Asia and Europe. The company is investing around EUR 50 million to increase log processing, sawn wood drying capacity and a new rail loading terminal. The investment also includes an 8 MW biomass fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant that will also supply heating to a local network and power to the grid. Experience, motivation and location Prodan is certain that this bold step will reap rewards. – We have years of experience, our employees are motivated and we have the ideal location, explained Prodan referring to the proximity to the beech that grows abundantly in the surrounding forests. Good transportation infrastructure is almost just as important. – We’re right on the motorway, and just 70 kilometres from the Port of Rijeka. Plus, in the future we want to use the railroad that runs past here, so we included our own loading terminal in our planning, said Prodan of his allout approach. Making biomass fuel Work is still under way on the job site, but a universal shredder/chipper from Austrian material handling technology providers Komptech has already gone into operation processing waste wood into chips for use as heating fuel. The 800 hp Axtor 8012 may seem a little over dimensioned but once the 8 MW combined heat and power (CHP) plant currently under construction is commissioned, the Axtor will have its hands full. The CHP will supply the heat needed by the kilns to dry sawn wood for shipment as well to the local district heat network whereas electricity will be fed “It was important to us to get a machine with the broadest possible range of uses.” DARKO PRODAN General Manager, Cedar d.o.o. into the power grid. Once fully operational the CHP plant will require logging residues as well as all the wood processing residues such as sawdust, slab wood, offcuts and bark something that was thoroughly tested by Prodan prior to purchasing the Axtor. – It was important to us to get a machine with the broadest possible range of uses. We need to be flexible about fuel, and so does the machine, explained Prodan adding that having Teknoxgroup as Komptech’s Croatian sales and service partner is a plus. The company is a Caterpillar sales partner, thoroughly experienced in servicing heavy machinery and with service points throughout the country, ready when and where needed. Editor’s note: This is an edited version of a client feature originally published in Komptech Magazine 2/2015. It is used with kind permission. Photo courtesy Komptech BI82/5012/AS US forest residue project suggests bright future Last year, Humboldt State University (HSU), California, and 15 regional partners began the Waste to Wisdom project after receiving a US$5.88 million grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE), part of the Biomass Research and Development Initiative, a collaborative effort between the DOE and Department of Agriculture, to expand biomass research and make use of forest residues—low quality trees, tree tops, limbs, and chunks that formerly would have been left in slash piles at the landing and burned or left to rot. – Due to the high cost of collection and transportation, woody biomass is a promising but widely untapped source of renewable energy, said Arne Jacobson, one of the principal investigators on the Waste to Wisdom project who is focusing on developing new biomassto energy conversion technologies. Chipping and transporting the slash to a processing site in today’s market is worth about US$40 to $50 per bone dry ton making it often economically unfeasible. The new methods being developed by the project group will make a range of bio-products such biochar, torrefied woodchips and briquettes, worth from US$150 to US$2,000 a ton. – Our approach is different. We’re adapting our operations to take advantage of the opportunity the waste materials present. Briquetting and torrefaction of woodchips at or near the forestry sites add value, said Han-Sup Han, HSU forestry professor, and one of the project’s lead researchers. BI82/5078/AS
Bioenergy no 6 October 2015
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