Welcome
Tim Portz, Executive Editor, Biomass Magazine

Presentation of the Groundbreaker of the Year Award  Learn More

Presentation of the Excellence in Bioenergy Award  Learn More

General Session Panel
Biomass Magazine’s Annual Conversation with Industry Association Leadership

Moderator: Tim Portz, Executive Editor, Biomass Magazine

• Joseph Seymour, Executive Director, Biomass Thermal Energy Council
• Seth Ginther, Executive Director, U.S. Industrial Pellet Association
• Jennifer Hedrick, Executive Director, Pellet Fuels Institute
• Bob Cleaves, President & CEO, Biomass Power Association
• Gustav Melin, President, AEBIOM, European Biomass Association
• Bernard Sheff, Chairman of the Board, American Biogas Council

Track 1: Pellets & Densified Biomass
200 BC
Clear and Present Danger: Best Practices in Dust Management and Fire Suppression

Moderator: Tom Bryan, President, BBI International

• Bijan Shams, President, Cogent Industrial Technologies Ltd.
  Understanding and Integrating Safety into Pellet Mills
• Bill Stevenson, Vice President Engineering, CV Technology Inc.
  Dust Explosion Issues
• Stephen Burns, OEM Sales Manager, Fike Corporation
  Protection Measures for Suspended Combustible Dust
• Jim Hall, Chief Operating Officer, Pelletaire LLC
  Aeration, Temperature Monitor, and Fire Suppression of Wood Pellets in Bulk Storage

Track 2: Biomass Power & Thermal
200 DE
Where the Magic Happens: Strategies for Optimizing Boiler Performance

Moderator: Adam Sherman, Manager, Biomass Energy Resource Center, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation

• Ton Pham, Senior Engineer, Babcock Power Inc.
  A Comparison of a Biomass 50MW Modern Stoker Fired System and a Fluidized Bed Fired System
• Jaime Gonzalez, President, Valvexport Inc.
  Automated Biomass Air Distribution System
• Marcelo Mitre, Owner & Design Director, Mitre Power Technology LLC
  Efficient Biomass Conversion to Steam and Power
• Jon Frost, Consultant, Trinity Consultants
  Energy Savings: Boiler MACT Energy Assessment

Track 3: Biogas & Landfill Gas
M100 CD
Maximizing Every Financial Opportunity to Make an Anaerobic Digester Project Economically Viable

Moderator: David Minott, President & Principal Consultant, Arc5 Environmental Consulting LLC

• Joel Laubenstein, Senior Manager, Energy and Utilities, Baker Tilly Virchow Krause LLP
  Securing Financing: The Many Moving Parts of Completing Successful Digester Projects
• Luca Nencetti, Associate, First Environment Inc.
  Win with RINs: New Opportunities for Biogas Producers under the RFS2 Program
• Shashi Menon, Partner, EcoEngineers
  The Value of Carbon Credits
• Ryan Hart, Senior Engineer, Exponent Inc.
  Protecting Life and Property at Biomass Facilities: Siting Guidelines

Track 4: Advanced Biofuels & Biobased Chemicals
M100 AB
Designing Feedstocks for the Next Generation of Biofuel and Biochemical Production Facilities

Moderator: Tom Abbott, Certified Crop Advisor & Certified Professional Agronomist, USDA-ARS

• Sam Jackson, Vice President Business Development, Genera Energy Inc.
  Beginning Commercial Energy Crop Production: Scale-Up Considerations for the Industry
• Stevens Brumbley, Associate Professor, University of North Texas
  Engineering High Biomass Grasses for Production of Biobased Plastics and Feedstock Chemicals
• Donal Day, A. Wilbert and Sons Endowed Professor, Audubon Sugar Institute, LSU AgCenter
  New Crops for Biofuel/Bioproduct Production

Track 1: Pellets & Densified Biomass
200 BC
Reviewing the Continued Momentum in the Growth of the Global Pellet Market

Moderator: Anna Simet, Managing Editor, Biomass Magazine

• William Strauss, Founder & President, FutureMetrics
  Expanding Markets for Wood Pellets
• Neil Harrison, Co-Founder, re:heat
  Industrial Heat Markets: The UK Opportunity
• Christiane Egger, Deputy Manager, OO Energiesparverband
  How to Develop Domestic Heating Markets

Track 2: Biomass Power & Thermal
200 DE
Reviewing the Industry’s Most Recent Class of Biomass Power and Thermal Projects

Moderator: Carrie Annand, Vice President of External Affairs, Biomass Power Association

• Brent Boyko, Director Business Development, Ontario Power Generation Inc.
  Ontario Power Generation Biomass Update
• Art Nash, Assistant Extension Energy Professor, University of Alaska-Fairbanks
  Warming Up to Wood Fired Missile Defense
• Ingrid Gronstal Anderson, Environmental Compliance Specialist, University of Iowa
  The University of Iowa Biomass Fuel Project
• Carl Kukkonen, CEO, VIASPACE
  Case Study Part 2: Update on 12 MW Biomass Power Plant and Dedicated Energy Crop Plantation in Nicaragua

Track 3: Biogas & Landfill Gas
M100 CD
Available Approaches to Optimize the Operational Performance of Biogas Facilities

Moderator: Tim Portz, Executive Editor, Biomass Magazine

• James Krumwied, Senior Process Engineer, EAD Engineering
  Biogas and Landfill Gas Cleanup and Reuse
• Nicolle Courtemanche, Senior Application Engineer, SPX Flow Technology
  Mechanical Agitator Design for Anaerobic Digesters
• Mike Muller, Chief Operating Officer, BIOGAS Equity 2 Inc.
  Anaerobic Digestion Advancements
• Alexander Vestin, Chief Commercial Officer, Cleanergy AB
  Utilizing Low Methane Level and Contaminated Gases from Solid and Water Waste with the Stirling Engine

Track 4: Advanced Biofuels & Biobased Chemicals
M100 AB
How to Efficiently Understand the Availability, Cost and Convertibility of Available Feedstocks

Moderator: Jordan Solomon, President, Ecostrat

• Kevin Kenney, Director, Biomass Feedstock National User Facility, Idaho National Laboratory
  Feedstock Variability, Sources and Impacts
• Douglas Tiffany, Assistant Extension Professor, University of Minnesota
  Costs and Environmental Analysis of Corn Stover and Switchgrass Supply Logistics
• Daniel Hayes, Founder & Manager, Celignis Limited
  Use of Near Infrared Spectroscopy for the Rapid Low-Cost Analysis of a Wide Variety of Lignocellulosic Feedstocks
• Stan Parton, Manager-Bioenergy/Biochemical Practice, Forest2Market
  Quantifying RFS2 Qualified Wood Supply

Track 1: Pellets & Densified Biomass
200 BC
Practical Maintenance Measures to Maximize Up-Time and Prolong Critical Wear Part Life

Moderator: T.J. Morice, Vice President, Marketing and Operations, Marth Companies

• Dwaine Greg Morris, Grease Product Application Specialist- Americas, Shell Lubricants
  Premature Press Roll Bearing Failures
• Holger Streetz, International Operations Manager, BVG Vertriebsgesellschaft AG
  Ceramic Lubricants in Pellet Mills
• Patrick Clark, Vice President Sales & Marketing, Amandus Kahl USA Corp
  Back to the Basics: Evaluating Areas in the Pelleting Facility

Track 2: Biomass Power & Thermal
200 DE
Riding Shotgun with the King: The Enormous Opportunity for Biomass within the Existing Coal Infrastructure

Moderator: Doug Machon, Director, NAES Corporation

• Darrell Taulbee, Manager Engineered Fuels Group, University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research
  Co-Briquetting of Biomass and Waste Coal
• Emily McGlynn, Manager for Sustainability, The Earth Partners LP
  Biomass Co-Firing at Existing Coal Plants: A New Opportunity for US-China Cooperation?
• Nancy Heimann, President, Enginuity Worldwide LLC
  The Powerful Impact of 10% Co-fire of Sustainable Biomass Engineered Fuel
• William Strauss, Co-Founder & President, FutureMetrics
  The Emerging Demand in North America for Industrial Wood Pellets

Track 3: Biogas & Landfill Gas
M100 CD
Deploying Co-Digestion Strategies to Maximize Biogas Production

Moderator: Amanda Mott, Energy Projects Specialist, Wisconsin State Wood Energy Team

• Jennifer Strehler, Senior Project Manager, CDM Smith
  Bioenergy from Anaerobic Digestion of Organic Food Waste
• Özgür Kaplan, Research Assistant, Mechanical Engineering, Kocaeli University
  Biogas Production from Landfill Leachate and Various Kinds of Organic Waste
• Valentino Tiangco, Biomass Program Manager, Sacramento Municipal Utility District SMUD
  Community Biomass Energy Deployment

Track 4: Advanced Biofuels & Biobased Chemicals
M100 AB
Harvest Moon: Practical Solutions for Gathering and Handling Commercial Volumes of Biomass Feedstocks

Moderator: Don McCabe, President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

• Scott Wangsgard, Biomass Marketing Specialist, New Holland Agriculture
  Low Ash Options for Collecting Corn Stover
• Glenn Farris, Marketing Manager Biomass, AGCO Corporation
  The Evolution of an Economic Biomass Supply Chain: From Chaos to Harmony
• Kyle Althoff, President, Equinox LLC
  Key Factors for Project Development of Biomass Supply Chains
• Jorgen Lyngso, American Representative, Processbio
  Fully Automatic Bale Handling: From Receiving Dock through the Whole Production Cycle

Track 1: Pellets & Densified Biomass
200 BC
Leveraging Pellet Plant Design Fundamentals to Optimize Operations

Moderator: Mike Curci, Capital Sales Manager, Biomass, Andritz Inc.

• Jose Ignacio Pedrajas, Business Development Manager, PRODESA
  Small and Medium Scale Pellet Plants for Exporting to Residential Markets
• Justin Price, Principal, Evergreen Engineering Inc.
  Theory of Constraints, Reducing Bottlenecks in a Densified Biomass Plant System
• Desmond Smith, Manager, West Coast Office, BRUKS Rockwood Inc.
  An Analysis of Optimum Storage Pile Volumes of Wood and Fuels for Densified Biomass Plants
• Chad Lane, Mechanical Engineer, Probe America Inc.
  Odor Elimination at Biomass Stockpiles

Track 2: Biomass Power & Thermal
200 DE
Ensuring that Biomass Inputs Satisfy the Requirements of Buyers while Continuing to Deliver their Ecological Benefits

Moderator: Collin Craige, Research Engineer, Oklahoma State University

• G. David Waechter, Founder, Verdante BioEnergy Services
  Simplify Feedstock Procurement with Tech-savvy Suppliers
• Susan Rupp, Owner/Lead Consultant, Enviroscapes Ecological Consulting LLC
  Achieving Sustainability Goals: The Role of Fish and Wildlife Agencies in Successful Biomass Production for Bioenergy
• Robert Malmsheimer, Professor of Forest Policy & Law, SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry
  Forest Carbon Accounting Considerations in U.S. Bioenergy Policy

Track 3: Biogas & Landfill Gas
M100 CD
Lessons from the Field: Examining Working Digesters to Gain Insight into their Unique Value Proposition

Moderator: Scott Ingram, Business Development, North America, Zeeco Inc.

• Derick Dahlen, President & CEO, Avant Energy Inc.
  BioPower: Renewable, Dispatchable Solutions to Complex Energy Challenges
• Tory Wagoner, Principal & Director of Operations, Cavanaugh & Associates
  Waste to Worth: How a Pig Farm Generates Environmental Revenue
• Kieran Furlong, Vice President, Energy Business Development, Harvest Power
  Converting a Problem into a Solution: How Anaerobic Digestion Reduces Green House Gas Emissions
• Paul Knowles, Director, Technical Operations, Natural Systems Utilities
  The Ridgewood Green Digester Energy Project: Novel Sustainable Infrastructure through Public Private Partnership

Track 4: Advanced Biofuels & Biobased Chemicals
M100 AB
The Means to an End I: Thermochemical Approaches to Biofuel and Biochemical Production

Moderator: Ali Manesh, President, American Science and Technology

• Richard Kiesel, Director, Natural Resources Research Institute Minerals Laboratory and Renewable Energy Center
  Conversion of Woody Biomass to Bio-Fuel and Other Value Added Products
• Paul de Wild, Project Manager, Biomass & Energy Efficiency Research, Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands
  Bamboo Pyrolysis for Fuels, Chemicals and Energy
• Heath Van Eaton, President, WyoComp
  High Value Chemical Commodities from Agricultural Waste and Byproducts Using Catalytic Pyrolysis
• Roger Ruan, Professor & Director, University of Minnesota
  Fast Microwave-Assisted Pyrolysis and Gasification of Biomass for Biofuels Production

Track 1: Pellets & Densified Biomass
200 BC
Investigating the Technical and Economic Viability of Non-Pelletizing Densification Approaches

Moderator: Chas Fritz, CEO, Biomass Energy Enhancements LLC

• S. Kent Hoekman, Research Professor, Desert Research Institute
  Rapid, Continuous Production of Solid Biofuel Using Reactive Twin-Screw Extrusion
• Ezra Bar-Ziv, Professor, EB Clean Energy Ltd. – Boardman
  Firing Torrefied-Biomass in the 600MW Boardman Power Plant
• Giordano Checchi, President, Sunomi LLC
  Methods of Biomass Densification and their Economics
• Robert Heimann, Principal Engineer, Enginuity Worldwide LLC
  Continuous Hydrothermal Carbonization of Annually Renewable Biomass Produces Higher BTU Content and Higher Fixed Carbon Content

Track 2: Biomass Power & Thermal
200 DE
How Policy is Deployed Locally, Nationally and Internationally to Create and Grow Biomass Markets

Moderator: Fred Iutzi, Program Manager, Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs, Western Illinois University

• Thomas Jacobsen, Executive Vice President, Blue Delta Energy
  State Incentives and Renewable Attributes for Financing Biomass Combined Heat & Power
• Neil Harrison, Co-Founder, re:heat
  Grants vs. Tariffs: Contrasting Approaches to Biomass Heat Market Development
• Gustav Melin, President, AEBIOM, European Biomass Association
  How to Effectively Plan and Implement Bioenergy in an Energy System: Learnings from Sweden
• Brendan Jordan, Program Director, Bioenergy and Transportation, Great Plains Institute
  State Policy to Expand the Bioeconomy

Track 3: Biogas & Landfill Gas
M100 CD
Mutually Beneficial: The Strategic Deployment of Anaerobic Digesters Next to Existing Industrial Facilities

Moderator: Katie Fletcher, Staff Writer, Biomass Magazine

• Joseph Curro, Principal Engineer, CDM Smith
  Innovative Combustion Based Alternatives for Landfill Gas Utilization
• Jennifer Aurandt, Program Manager, Valicor Inc.
  SWADE Technology for Ethanol Plant Biogas Creation
• Michael Schuppenhauer, President & CEO, Farmatic Inc.
  Integration and Economics of AD for Ethanol Plants and Energy Cropping

Track 4: Advanced Biofuels & Biobased Chemicals
M100 AB
First Steps: Using Available Pretreatment Approaches to Increase Yields at Biorefineries

Moderator: Tim Portz, Executive Editor, Biomass Magazine

• Stergios Vakalis, Ph.D. Candidate, Wood Gas Laboratory, Free University of Bolzano
  Thermochemical Valorization and Characterization of Organic Municipal Waste
• Sylvie Brunel, Process Manager, Clextral
  Intensified Biomass Pre-Treatment by Twin Screw Extrusion
• Andriy Khotkevych, Research Associate, University of Minnesota-Duluth
  Hydrothermal Carbonization as a Versatile Biomass Pretreatment Technology
• Ali Manesh, President, American Science and Technology
  Lignocellullosic Biorefinery Pilot Plant

Track 1: Pellets & Densified Biomass
200 BC
The Industry’s Next Chapter: Making Pellets from Non-Traditional Inputs

Moderator: Dennis Becker, Associate Professor Forest Resources & ESPM, Morse Distinguished Faculty, University of Minnesota

• Dilpreet Bajwa, Associate Professor, North Dakota State University
  Agricultural Byproducts for Pellet Production
• Garold Gresham, Conversion Feedstock Interface Lead, Idaho National Laboratory
  Biomass Program, Enhancing Research and Evaluation of Biomass Feedstocks through the Bioenergy Feedstock Library
• Dae-hak Park, Wood and Paper Science, Chungbuk National University
  Effect of Die Dimension on the Fuel Characteristics of Mongolian Oak and Red Pine Pellets produced by Flat-Die Pelletizer
• Hans Iverson, General Manager, SCG LLC
  Molecular Permeation Effect Generated by Integrating the IHB Solid Fuel Additive to a Pelletization Process

Track 2: Biomass Power & Thermal
200 DE
Efforts to Make the Most of the Incredible Flexibility of Biomass Gasification

Moderator: Chris Zygarlicke, Deputy Associate Director for Research, Energy & Environmental Research Center, University of North Dakota

• Chris Koczaja Vice President, Sales & Engineering, PHG Energy
  Waste Disposal through Gasification
• W. David Featherman, Senior Consultant, Sapere Consulting Inc.
  Bioenergy in the Public Sector: Benefits and Costs of Using Community-Scale Gasification to Generate Power from Residual Woody Biomass
• Anchan Paethanom, Corporate Research & Development, IHi Corporation
  Alternative Fuels from Various Biomass via Twin IHI Gasifier – TIGAR

Track 3: Biogas & Landfill Gas
M100 CD
Maximizing the Energy Potential in Abundant Municipal Wastewater Streams

Moderator: Dennis Bayrock, Global Director Fermentation Research, Phibro Ethanol Performance Group

• Corey Rossen, Marketing & Project Development, quasar energy group
  Anaerobic Digestion System Integrated with Wastewater Treatment Plants in a Public/Private Partnership to Facilitate (Nutrient) Resource Recovery
• Marco Lemes, Project Manager, Energy Research & Development, Sacramento Municipal Utility District SMUD
  Local Renewable Energy Projects: Bringing Benefits to the Community
• Joseph Curro, Principal Engineer, CDM Smith
  Wastewater Biosolids Drying and Pelletization

Track 4: Advanced Biofuels & Biobased Chemicals
M100 AB
The Means to an End II: Biological Approaches to Biofuel and Biochemical Production

Moderator: Richard Weiner, Attorney, Fredrikson & Byron P.A.

• Arno van de Kant, Operations Manager, BPF
  New Open Access Pilot Plant Facility
• Matt Harrod, U.S. Director, Agricultural Supply Chain Development, Beta Renewables/Chemtex
  An Overview on Commercial Deployment of Beta Renewables’ Proesa® Cellulosic Ethanol Platform
• Zhang Quan, Senior Engineer, Fushun Research Institute of Petroleum and Petrochemicals of SINOPEC
  Research on the Preparation of Fuel Ethanol by Continuous Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation from Corn Stalks