Transforming Forestry Manufacturing Through Biorefinery Innovation

1. Roadmap Towards Innovation Driven Forestry Manufacturing Prof. Bruce Sithole 4 October 2017 Biorefinery Industry Development Facility CSIR NRE, Durban

2. Forest Products Industry - Background Information How big is the industry? Forest Products Sector’s Current Contribution to South Africa: • 2.6% contribution to the RSA GDP • 12% contribution to RSA manufacturing GDP • 35.5% contribution to RSA agricultural GDP • Direct employment to 160,000 people

3. Challenge: Production Decline and Job Losses • The forestry sector also faces serious challenges of: • raw material shortage: drought • aging machinery • under developed Infrastructure • access to markets • access to finance • lack of funding for forward integration into value-added products • unsustainable use of waste material • skills shortages and keeping abreast with global technological advancements • broad challenge of low timber recovery rate of around 47% compared to international recovery rate of over 60%. This means that the country is losing 53% of the tree that could have been beneficiated.

4. Production decline and job losses in the forestry industry North America

5. Production decline and job losses in the forestry industry Europe

6. Production decline and job losses in the forestry industry South Africa Printing and writing papers • Reasons for closure • “in response to difficult market conditions and the continuing rise of input energy, water, and fibre costs” Production, tonnes

7. Current forestry sector technology is wasteful and has limited products Waste bark, sawdust, shavings Waste sludge, liquor, dregs, effluent, fly ash Landfill & receiving waters Disposal to landfill and receiving waters Wastes Wastes Wastes Wastes • Extracting only 47% value from trees • A highly inefficient use of a natural resource

8. Current forestry sector technology is wasteful Landfill & receiving waters Fly ash Sawdust • Expensive • “one mill spends R20 million per annum to handle, manage, and dispose waste” .. Greenhouse gas emissions Bark Sludge • Shortage of landfill space • Impending regulations

9. What is Required to Address the Challenge? Reinventing the future via Biorefinery technologies

10. What can be done to revitalise the industry? • Biorefinery • A facility that integrates biomass conversion processes and equipment to produce fuels, power, and chemicals from biomass • Analogous to today's petroleum refineries, which produce multiple fuels and products from petroleum • Identified as the most promising route to the creation of a new domestic bio-based industry

11. Biorefinery technologies deliver improved resource efficiency and diversify the sector’s product offering Materials Materials Landfill & receiving waters Materials Materials Waste sludge, liquor, dregs, effluent, flyash Waste Bark, Sawdust, Shavings Disposal to landfill and receiving waters Biorefinery Technology Fibres and fillers for Biocomposites High value/ specialised chemicals Bio-energy > 90% tree utilisation Diversification of products

12. Develop new value streams – valorisation of saw dust • Extraction of saw dust to obtain a variety of marketable chemicals • Xylose for conversion to xylitol. In the South African market xylitol sells for approximately R150/kg and demand is increasing • A company in South Africa imports 20 tons of pine oil every 3 weeks and sells the product on the local market for approximately R40-60/kg • We want to enable local production of valuable chemicals • We are working with SMMEs for uptake of the technologies Saw dust Pine oils Xylitol

13. New value chains What happens to the fibres remaining after the extractions? • Convert them into a high value NCC fibres

14. Nanocrystalline Cellulose (NCC) What can we make from NCC? • Paints, varnishes, coatings • Films • Adhesives • Thermosets • Thermoplastics • Reinforced biopolymers • Synthetic fibres • Nanocomposites • Cosmetics & pharmaceuticals • Optical devices • Viscosity modifiers • Catalysts • Flexible displays • Printed films • Hydrogels NCC nanocomposites prepared at the BIDF High performance composites

15. Novel technology for production of nanocrystalline cellulose Conventional methods Our technology Waste Pulp (sells for $1200/ton) (Free) Nanocellulose Wood Biomass waste Yield = 15% Yield = 40% • Currently NCC sells for $1000/kg • BIDF technology: NCC production directly from wood waste • Looking to develop industrial partnerships

16. Beneficiation of saw mill wastes Conversion into xylitol, furfural, etc EXTRACTION OFSUGARS Extraction of NCC RAW SAWDUST WASTE PRE-EXTRACTED SAWDUST WASTE FUEL EXTRACTION OF PINE OILS Industrial & household cleaning agents, disinfectants, solvents, fragrances, terpenes NO MORE WASTE > 95% TREE UTILISATION!

17. Beneficiation of mill sludge MILL SLUDGE CONTAINS APPROXIMATELY: ORGANIC 60% INORGANIC 40% MILL SLUDGE CONTAINS APPROXIMATELY: ORGANIC 60% INORGANIC 40% BUILDING MATERIALS CEMENT BRICKS FIRE RESISTANT GEOPOLYMERS NANOCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE BIOPOLYMERS/ PLASTICS BUILDING MATERIALS CEMENT BRICKS Typical pulp mill sludge and potential valorisation products Typical Pulp mill sludge and potential valorisation products

18. Massive potential for biorefinery Sucrose MASSIVE! Phyto-chemicals USA DoE

19. Technoeconomic study • What are the best products to focus on? • Transportation costs • Markets • Sustainability • Job creation • Should lumber mills stop producing lumber • and invest 100% in biorefinery technologies?

20. Biorefinery Industry Development Facility CSIR Biorefinery Industry Development Facility A national facility for development /evaluation of biorefinery technologies A world-class facility central to the major biomass production region in SA Growing network of partnerships and collaborations Facility Human capital development Technical expertise Pilot equipment Specialised analytical equipment Networks Human capital development to meet industry needs Highly trained specialist technical experts for advisory and technology development Foundational pilot scale mills, fractionators and thermo-chemical digesters for biomass processing Advanced and unique analytical equipment for characterisation of biomass and products Biorefinery technologies to extract maximum value from trees

21. Thank you!