Wood Pulp Industry: Eastport, Maine company hopes to boost wood fiber exports to Europe - by Johanna S. Billings

Low Grade Wood Fiber for a variety of uses

In Maine, USA, an Eastport firm’s efforts will create a new market for low-grade fiber that will help the entire wood pulp industry in Maine, a company official says.

Stephean Chute, managing director of Phyto-Charter Inc., said the firm plans to export cull — waste wood unsuitable for paper and pulp mills in Maine — to Europe, where the wood fiber will be used for heating and generating electricity. No such market for low-grade wood chips exists in Maine or the United States, he said.

The Phyto-Charter Shipboard Heat Treating System is designed to work on board a ship while it is in dock. An airtight chamber is created in the ship’s hold, where moisture-laden air is recirculated until the humidity level inside the chamber reaches 100 percent. The humidity level must be maintained for 30 minutes and, during this process, chips are heated to 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit), he said.

“The system] is adaptable to any ship. We don’t modify any ships,” Chute said. “We don’t have to own [ships]. We’re just chartering. It’s the only way to do it.”

Wood products have not been exported to Europe since the European Union enacted its current regulations in 2000, he said. Phyto-Charter’s system is the first since then that meets regulations for treating wood chips for sending them to Europe, Chute said.

In late 2014, Phyto-Charter shipped to Ireland samples of treated wood chips that were certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as being treated according to the European standards, he said. The USDA will continue to monitor and certify shipments when the company officially starts up its export operations.

Countries in the European Union have developed what Chute called an “aggressive” strategy to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent and have 20 percent of its energy needs met by renewable sources by 2020.

“Europe has adopted a very aggressive set of incentives for switching to renewables,” Chute said, adding that wood chips are considered renewables. Phyto-Charter is “part of the solution” in Europe, he said.
Chute declined to say exactly who his customers were or whether he has contracts in place. He said the wood supply mostly would come from harvesters in Maine, though some may also come from pulp and paper mills.

“Eastport, Maine, is the closest deep-water port to European markets of all the continental U.S.,” Chute said. “Eastport is the closest port where the forest meets the ocean.”

Chris Gardner, executive director of the Eastport Port Authority, said he is “happy” to see Phyto-Charter making progress in its work. He said the port authority has been working with Phyto-Charter since 2009.
“What we are doing is putting Eastport in a position to show we can be of great assistance to the pulp and paper industry,” Gardner said.

Phyto-Charter also plans to ship out of Eastport because the port authority invested in a bulk cargo conveyor system to assist with loading ships. The project was part of a port expansion in 2010 and 2011.

The state kicked in a $4.5 million transportation grant and $2.25 million came from the federal government, Gardner said. The port authority put up the rest of the total expansion cost, which he said Thursday was between $8 million and $10 million. Phyto-Charter will run the ship loading system at the port, he said.

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Canada: Nova Scotia exports up 50 per cent in first half of 2014: APEC report - by Kelly Shiers

Nova Scotia’s economy has been buoyed by gains in export sectors, despite factors such as weakening employment and retail spending and a slowdown in home construction being felt across the entire region, says a report released Wednesday.

“In general, it’s a pretty soft economy across the region, including in Nova Scotia,” said Fred Bergman, senior analyst with the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council.

“Nova Scotia benefited from strong growth in natural gas exports. … Part of it was from Deep Panuke being on stream this year and also the Sable Project producing at a higher level.”

In its economic update for the region, the think-tank said total exports in Nova Scotia increased 50 per cent from January to May.

There has also been an increase in lobster and wood pulp exports.

Lobster fishery exports increased by 43 per cent to May of this year, compared to the same period in 2013. While the United States is the largest importer by far, there are growing sales to Asia over the past five years.
Sales will benefit from weekly shipments of live lobster from Halifax Stanfield International Airport via Korean Air that began May 25 and are expected to continue to the end of August, the report says.


Read more: Nova Scotia exports up 50 per cent in first half of 2014: APEC report | The Chronicle Herald

Ireland - Maine: Biomas Importers from Ireland tour Estes Head terminal at Eastport Maine - by Edward French

Eastport Port Facilities

The Quoddy Tides  in Eastport, Maine, recently reported that the developers of a facility in Killybegs, Ireland, that will import the wood chips to be shipped from Eastport beginning this summer toured the bulk conveyor system at the Estes Head port terminal recently.

With the tour, they gained insights into the best means for loading and off-loading the wood biomass to and from ships.

Larry Carrier, owner of E.J. Carrier, which will coordinate bringing the chips to the port, is hoping that the first wood chips will start to be trucked into the port in a couple of weeks, with the first trial shipment to Killybegs expected by the end of July or first part of August. The first shipment will be for 16,000 tons.

While the port officials and shippers want to see how the trial shipment goes before committing to an estimated annual tonnage, Port Director Chris Gardner noted, "Our goal is to maximize our assets."

Chute observes that biomass heating in Ireland and Britain is "a nascent industry. We need to build the supply to build the demand." Conor Ronan adds that their company will have "a first mover advantage," and that there is sufficient demand with a limited supply at present.

 Ronan says that to "open the eyes of politicians at home," both parties need to be speaking with each other, with Gardner adding, "We have to help convince each other that it's the right thing to do." While the wood chip handling facility in Killybegs is being constructed by private funding, Boyle notes that any extension of the pier for the ships would require the support of the Irish government. An extension would help avoid congestion with fishing boats, as Killybegs is the largest fishing port in Ireland.

The development of a sister port relationship between Eastport and Killybegs has been mentioned, and Gardner notes, "Both ports are mirroring each other in assets and aspirations."

Ronan says that they also met with Carrier and Chute at the University of Maine's Forest Bioproducts Research Institute to see "the hard work that has gone into" developing the shipboard heat-treating system that will be used to meet European Union regulations for importing wood fiber.

The shipments from Eastport are being made possible by the development of the new method of phytosanitizing the wood chips aboard ship. Gardner notes that the researchers at UMaine have been "absolutely key" to the project, and he also points to the assistance from Senator Susan Collins' office, along with Maine Maritime Academy and others.

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