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July 6, 2016

Canfor plans to transform Prince George mill into a biofuel facility

Canada’s Canfor wants to get in the oil business. One of the biggest logging companies in the world plans to open a biocrude oil plant.
The goal of the plant would be to convert the wood waste from Canfor’s pulp mills into mass quantities of crude oil at a new facility in Prince George, according to CBC News.

"In the next few years we'll be announcing a project and building a real facility that will produce upwards of 400,000 barrels of oil a year," said Bret Robinson, president of Canfor Pulp.

Recently, the Canadian logging company has formed a joint venture with Licella, the Australian biofuel production start-up, as to search for the possibilities of production large-scale biocrude oil. Licella has already used the wood waste from Prince George mill as to convert it in stable biocrude, which is totally different from traditional oil. Thus, Canfor will invest as to integrate Licella's technology into their current pulp mills.
As reported by CBC News, the new plant would streamline waste directly from their pulp mills, coupled with virgin fibre, into an attached crude oil processing facility that will cost upwards of $70 million. It can also produce petroleum products as the required infrastructure already exists at the mill.
Licella CEO Len Humphries said that $60 million AUD have been invested in the technology, which has been developed in the last 8 years. The trials for converting the mill waste from Prince George started back in 2013.

 

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