2. Alaska, heavily forested, built on rock and
surrounded by water, every commodity that enters
the country arrives by air and sea. The use of oil is
a struggle for both the economy and
the environment. Oil must come from elsewhere
and be transported but of course by additional fuel,
fuel that is subject to oil price stability.
A site that could help giving a solution to the
problem is the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center
in Ketchikan. The site that provides information to
more than a million visitors each year is also the
site where a pilot biomass system is now coming
to life. A two oil-fired boilers serving the 250,000-
sq-ft center were replaced with a highly efficient
system fueled by local wood was manufactured by
3. To address concerns towards issues related to
building space, fuel costs, comfort, reliability,
simplicity of operation more especially
environmental concerns, the biomass boiler
system was developed by Hurst representative
Gregory W. Smith of Global Energy Solutions Inc.
under the direction of E. Dane Ash, project manager
for Tyonek-Alcan Pacific LLC.
The excessive use of fossil fuels has been long a
problem in any point of the world more especially to
Alaska, the boiler system was intended to highlight
how biomass can reduce or eliminate the use of
fossil fuels. The Hurst S100 Series Fire Tube 27 HP
Hydronic Water Heating Boiler features a pre-
4. The new boiler requires heating for a minimum of
nine months a year; it is located at lower level of the
Discovery Center. To protect form extreme moisture
the local wood densified into fuel pucks is delivered
to an elevated walking-floor storage bin in a
vestibule area that is designed especially for the
woods. It is important to protect the woods because
the biomass-fired boiler can burn any wood product
with up to 50-percent moisture content. Not to
worry, freezing is not an issue because the walking
floor easily breaks up any frozen contents.
5. Many benefits come along with the use of this
biomass boiler, the country saved as much as two-
thirds of the fuel costs. There is almost no residual
ash when densified pucks are used. But, tree
clippings from the Ketchikan walking trails will be
ground and fed into the boiler, eliminating the need
for transport to a landfill, burning, and other
methods of disposal. The system easily can be
replicated for heat or heat/power generation up to
20,000 kw.
6. Systems that were improved by the new
technology include municipal solid waste, as well
as woody biomass for steam production and
steam to power. In June 2011, Smith was a
keynote speaker for the fifth annual Native
American Economic Development Conference in
Anaheim, California, he proudly flaunted the
initiatives being implemented in Ketchikan and
shared success stories of biomass-fired boiler
systems installed on institutional campuses and
in manufacturing facilities throughout the United
States, particularly in challenging and remote
locations.
