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AHB Newsletter – Volume 4, No. 4 [Winter 2015]

Editor’s Notes

Poplar growers, wood products professionals, and municipalities are looking at ways to work together to create more market opportunities.  Learn about the workshop that brought representatives from each industry together to consider growth and future planning in Opportunities for Poplar.

Discover how one researcher on the AHB Conversion team is creating a catalyst to convert poplar-based jet fuel. Oliver Jan describes the process in Breakthrough on Catalysts for Poplar-based Jet Fuel.

Tracking performance of poplar crops through growing cycles is vital to estimating yields. Richard Shuren of GreenWood Resources details their methods in Taking Stock of Hybrid Poplar Bioenergy Plantings.

Meet Shannon Fraser. As a grad student and member of the AHB Feedstock team, Shannon delves into the world of microbes and how they impact poplars. Read why fungal leaf endophytes and identifying poplar diseases is critical to her work and the environment. Grad Student Spotlight

Then, find out what members of the AHB team are wishing for the environment in 2016!

Join us in our next webinar: Estimation of job creation and economic activity from investment in hybrid poplar bio-jet fuel. January 20 from 11:00 – 12:00 PST.

Our Extension team has a new video to share on Poplar for Recycled Water Reuse and Phytoremediation.

And, take part in our upcoming National Working Forum: Managing Poplar and Willow for Environmental Benefits and the Renewable Fuels Industry. April 11 – 13 in Portland, Oregon.

Betsy Fradd
Washington State University

A room with poplar wall and ceiling paneling.

Workshop Explores Opportunities for Poplar

Poplar growers and wood products professionals are looking at ways the two may work together to create more market opportunities. Municipalities growing poplar to manage wastewater from treatment plants are increasingly interested in learning more about existing markets for sawn lumber, veneer, and pulp and paper. At a workshop this fall in Vancouver, Washington, sponsored by Advanced Hardwood Biofuels Northwest, over 40 people shared ideas on ways to collaborate.
Visit Workshop Explores Opportunities for Poplar
Student giving a tour of the UW conversion lab

Breakthrough on Catalysts for Poplar-based Jet Fuel

New research is identifying catalysts to produce bio-jet fuel from simple organic molecules such as ethanol. The research is being conducted by the AHB conversion team working in the University of Washington (UW) Biofuels and Bioproducts Laboratory in collaboration with ZeaChem.
Visit Breakthrough on Catalysts for Poplar-based Jet Fuel
Two men and a woman take inventory of the poplar trees.

Taking Stock of Hybrid Poplar Bioenergy Plantings

Measurements are critical to predicting the yield and market potential of a poplar bioenergy farm. The AHB feedstock team measures poplars annually at the demonstration sites to track intermediate growth. This data will be used to help future growers estimate their biomass yields in order to make contracts with buyers.
Visit Taking Stock of Hybrid Poplar Bioenergy Plantings
Shannon Fraser

Graduate Student Spotlight: Shannon Fraser

Microbes are fascinating to Shannon Fraser. As an M.S. student in the College of Natural Resources at the University of Idaho, she is studying how microbes impact poplars.
Visit Graduate Student Spotlight: Shannon Fraser
The AHB team came together at the UW Center of Urban Horticulture for the 2015 Annual Meetiing

What Is Your Wish for the Environment for 2016?

Members of the AHB team answer the question Jason Selwitz Project Manager, Agriculture Center of Excellence Walla Walla Community College All branches of state and federal government make it their policy to prioritize addressing climate…
Visit What Is Your Wish for the Environment for 2016?