Pecan Chicken Tender with honey mustard, Mini Pulled Pork Bun with bbq sauce, Mini Turnip Green Pot Pie, Mac & Cheese Bites, Sweet Onion Tartlet with bleu cheese & pepper jelly, Beer & Wine, Soda

Ham & Brie Stuffed Croissants, Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Croissants, Fresh Fruit, Coffee

Garden Vegetable Soup, Mixed Field Greens with Cucumber, Tomato & Crumbled Bleu Cheese, Ranch and Balsamic Vinaigrette, Pasta Salad with Sundried Tomatoes & Basil Pesto, Oven-Roasted Turkey, Black Forrest Ham, Tender Roast Beef, Warm Pastrami with Sauerkraut, Provolone, Sharp Cheddar, Creamy Havarti, Green Leaf Lettuce, Tomato, Kosher Dill Pickles, Herb Garlic Mayo, Dijon Mustard, Freshly Baked Rolls and Sliced Breads, Chocolate Pecan Bars, Cream Cheese Brownies, Cannoli, Iced Tea, Soda

Pellet production by definition includes the pulverization of woody biomass resulting in the generation of combustible dust. To protect staff and plant equipment, managing this risk must be a priority. This panel will offer attendees an opportunity to compare their own dust management program to the technologies and approaches favored by the industry’s best practitioners.

• Fred Callahan, Southeast Regional Manager, IEP Technologies
  Explosion Risks and Mitigation Methods for Critical Process Equipment in the Biomass Facility
• Jason Krbec, Sales Engineering Manager, CV Technology Inc.
  Dust Hazard Analysis for Biomass Pellet Operations
• Clive Nixon, Regional Sales Manager, BS&B Pressure Safety Management
  Managing the Dust Explosion Hazard in Wood Pellet Production

The co-firing of biomass in established power plants has proven to be an effective and efficient means of growing market share for biomass derived energy. The proliferation of co-firing projects has thrown off an incredible number of lessons learned, and this panel will feature a selection of the industry’s most important learnings in the areas of material handling, optimal feedstocks and safe operation.

• Jayant Khambekar, Senior Consultant, Jenike & Johanson Inc.
  Future of Biomass Co-firing: The Role of Material Handling
• Marcus Chee, CEO, Nanomass Corp
  Co-Fired Power Generation
• Rich Clasby, Business Development Manager, Detroit Stoker Company
  Combustion Equipment Retrofits and Co-firing for Biomass Boilers
• Preben Messerschmidt, Project Director, Ramboll
  Co-firing Biomass with Coal at Power Generation Stations

The first of two panels built upon a foundation of installed and operating projects, this discussion will look at the synergies between food and beverage manufacturing and biogas creation and/or use. Breweries, bakeries and a citrus beverage production facility highlighted in this panel are all powered in part by biogas produced from nearby waste streams or waste from their own production processes. Presentations will reveal how biogas generation fits into their host sites operationally and what it means for the bottom line.

• Steven Cox, President, GkW Energy Inc.
  Design, Construction, and Demonstration of a Micro-Scale Anaerobic Digestion / Power Generation Process
• Joseph Curro, Principal Engineer, CDM Smith
  Citrus Processing Plant Gets Juiced on Landfill Gas
• Manaf Farhan, President & CEO, EMG International
  High-Rate Anaerobic Digester Technology for Brewery and Food Manufacturing Wastewater Treatment and Renewable Energy Generation: System Components, Performance Data and Maximizing ROI

It would be fair to point to the pre-processing of inbound biomass as perhaps the largest bottleneck in the development of next generation biofuel and biochemical production. While first generation feedstocks offered readily accessible sugars or fats, next generation inputs yield those vital ingredients with great reluctance, and this hard fact has stymied some of the biggest projects in the space. This panel will provide attendees with an update on the ongoing research all undertaken to discover pretreatment approaches that can efficiently deliver a more convertible feedstock to waiting conversion processes.

• Peter Flippo, Business Development Director, Bioprocess Pilot Facility
  Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass at Pilot Scale: Design Considerations Vs. Operational Challenges
• Quang Nguyen, Director, Biomass National Feedstock User Facility, Idaho National Laboratory
  Key Factors in Designing a Robust Biorefinery Feedstock Preprocessing System
• Jaya Shankar Tumuluru, Research Scientist, Idaho National Laboratory
  Size Reduction and Pelleting of Corn Stover: Impact of Moisture Content, Length to Diameter (L/D) Ratio and Screen Size on Pellet Properties and Energy Consumption
• Raghu Gurram, Process Development Scientist, Attis Innovations/American Science & Technology
  Alternative Pulping Process for Paper and High Value-Added Biochemical Production

Charred Tomato Salsa & Corn Tortillas, Warm Cheese Dip & Corn Tortillas, Coffee, Soda

Financial models for new pellet projects require that pellet plants can achieve and maintain their planned production capacity. Anything short of this puts great stress on the financial viability of the project. The number of complete and operational export scale pellet facilities is relatively small, and the journey toward a flawless design package is still underway. This panel will provide attendees with both plant design and operational considerations all intended to bring a plant to its planned output as efficiently as possible.

• Brad James, Principal Consultant, Trinity Consultants
  Optimized Pellet Plant Design: Reduced Environmental Compliance Burden
• Ron Pagel, Business Development Manager, Power Engineers Inc.
  Building a Dynamic Capital Project Team: Plant Design Considerations
• Forcus Martinez, Sales Manager - North America, Prodesa
  Design and Supply of Wood Pellet Plants Under EPC and O&M Contracts
• Holger Streetz, International Operations Manager, Bathan AG Germany
  How to Double Production and Reach Designed Pellet Plant Capacity

Biomass is unique in its ability to be deployed at dramatically varying scales. Still, small scale deployments bring with them some unique considerations. This panel will look closely at the obstacles unique to these micro-installations and the proven technologies and methodologies currently being used to overcome them.

• Carl Liboro, Graduate Student, Alfred University
  Feasibility Study of a Rural Electric Microgrid with Biomass as a Distributed Energy Resource
• Alexandra Rekkas, Senior Research Associate, David Gardiner and Associates
  The Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC): Reducing Emissions through Renewable Heating and Cooling
• Rafal Strzalka, Centre for Sustainable Energy Technology, University of Applied Sciences Stuttgart
  System Performance Optimization of Decentralized Biomass CHP Plants
• Tony “T.J.” Morice, Managing Member TNT Ventures LLC & Principal Verita Energy LLC
  Messersmith Case Studies and How PACE Can Help Future Biomass Projects
• Jeff Hallowell, Founder & CEO, Biomass Controls LLC
  Biomass and Sewage Sludge: An Emerging ISO Standard for Small-Scale Combined Heat and Power Generation

Agriculture and livestock production are significant contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions, and biogas operations are growing in their popularity as a means of curbing the GHG impact of livestock operations. Biogas production from livestock and ag sites bring along many challenges including the purification and injection of produced gas into nearby natural gas infrastructure. Using real world deployments, this case study panel will highlight where we are as an industry in our ability to connect to and enhance the economics of livestock and ag operations with biogas projects.

• Guy Mannino, CEO, Verdek LLC
  Converting Cow Manure into Pipeline Quality-Gas and Generating Revenue: A Farm in Minnesota Reaps the Benefits
• Gus Simmons, Director of Bioenergy, Cavanaugh & Associates
  One Big Step in N.C.’s Bioenergy: Swine Waste Project Connects to the Natural Gas Pipeline
• Marcel Pohl, Working Group Leader Biogas Technology, DBFZ (German Biomass Research Center)
  Energy Efficiency Evaluation of 60 Agricultural Biogas Plants: Methodologies and Challenges

The frontier of fuels and chemicals all built from bio-based materials is wide open. Bio-based materials are generated in all sectors of our economy. Our agricultural, forestry, food and beverage and waste sectors all generate by-products with materials that given an economically viable process could deliver even more value. Still there are seemingly countless feedstock and conversion pathway combinations and the challenge now is sorting out which of them offer real potential. This panel is populated with professionals working to build methodologies to help developers and researchers narrow the field and maximize their time and resources.

• Danny Haynes, Technical Coordinator, AkzoNobel
  Imagine Chemistry an Open Innovation Approach to Biochemicals
• Barry Perlmutter, President & Managing Director, BHS Filtration
  Improving Biochemical Process Operations with Continuous Pressure and Vacuum Filtration Technologies
• Tiffany Trottman, Business Development Manager, Nelson Engineering Inc.
  Overview of Biomass Processing Technologies & Suitable Applications

Boursin Stuffed Mushrooms, Tomato, Basil & Mozzarella Skewers, Chicken Rouladene, Kobe Brisket Sliders, Shrimp & Grit Bites, Beer & Wine, Soda

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit Sandwich, Egg & Cheese Biscuit Sandwich, Fresh Fruit, Coffee

Without mastering the art of handling woody biomass, pellet operators are doomed to a never ending struggle to attain any lasting operational stability or efficiency. Fortunately, the industry is serviced by a cadre of vendors steeped in the best practices of moving woody materials into and through a production facility. Populated with some of the sharpest minds in the space, this panel will offer an impactful survey of the latest thoughts on biomass handling, drying and conveyance.

• Dane Floyd, President, Biomass Engineering & Equipment
  What has the Industry Learned about Conveyors?
• Desmond Smith, Manager, West Coast Office, BRUKS Rockwood Inc.
  Complete Wood Handling and Delivery Systems for All Processes
• Carl Romlin, Financial Executive, Drinor
  Enhanced Pellet Production

The pathway a biomass-to-energy project must travel is beset with challenges that if not addressed can threaten a project’s overall viability. This panel will highlight those important waypoints and considerations while also helping attendees identify within their own projects any elements that will need refining if they have any hopes of attracting capital and reaching the groundbreaking finish line.

• Eric Steltzer, Deputy Director- Renewables, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources
  Cracking Biomass in Massachusetts: Opportunities and Challenges to Advance Renewable Thermal Systems
• Chris Urchell, Consultant, Baker Tilly Virchow Krause LLP
  Biomass to Energy Facilities: Getting from the Concept to Implementation and all the Detail Along the Way
• Jeffrey Weisz, Managing Member, Green Energy Opportunity Fund LP
  Elements of Project Puzzle
• Bill Reeves, President, ESI Inc. of Tennessee
  Thermal Energy and Power Generation from Biomass: Finding the Sweet Spot

Biogas as produced from operating digesters or captured from landfill wells is limited in its utility because of the inclusion of carbon dioxide, water vapor, hydrogen sulfide and sometimes siloxanes. To increase its value and range of downstream uses, it must be purified into a virtually pure methane form. Presentations in this panel will outline the technologies commercially available today to give biogas producers access to the greatest number of downstream markets via an ultra-pure gas product.

• Phil Gates, Project Manager, Bartlett & West
  Biogas Facility Needs 101
• Dick Nixdorf, Chief Technology Officer, CerX LLC
  Hot Gas Ceramic Fiber Filter Potential for Cleaning Biogas
• Valentino Tiangco, Biomass Program Manager, Sacramento Municipal Utility District SMUD
  Pre-and Post-Combustion NOx Control System with Hydrogen Assistance and Using Microwave Technology for Biogas Engines
• Jeff Tocio, National Sales Manager, Pentair Haffmans
  Turning Waste Streams into Value Streams
• William Brundick, Global Technical Services Manager, Schlumberger - Purification Solutions
  Purification Techniques for Hydrogen Sulfide Removal

This second in a two-part panel series will expand upon the discussion from the first panel, but will begin pushing into specific conversion approaches. This panel features presentations on new pathways to both ethanol and biodiesel, while still offering content on the ongoing efforts to mine some of the harder lessons from the industry’s earliest second generation production attempts for what they can reveal about harvest and handling, pre-processing approaches and the pre-treatment approaches the industry must perfect to take another step forward.

• Martin Mitchell, Sales & Marketing Manager – Americas & Asia Region, Clariant
  From Idea to Market: Bringing Cellulosic Ethanol to Scale
• Ravi Jethra, Program Manager, WIKA Instrument Corporation
  Improving Reliability Via Diaphragm Seals on Advanced Bioethanol Production Processes
• Douglas Rivers, Independent Contractor/Consultant, Sunflwr Inc.
  Technology Advancement Ideas for Cellulosic Biomass Conversion
• Ernie Pollitzer, Owner/Senior Engineer, Clean Energy Consultants
  New Technologies for Biodiesel with Unconventional Feedstocks

Innovation in biomass densification largely concerns itself with two goals; developing technologies to make it possible to densify more feedstock types or delivering a densified product to the marketplace that can be burned in a greater number of appliances. This panel will highlight instances of both and help attendees understand the possibilities for the sector being unlocked by each.

• Magnus Ståhl, Associate Professor Environmental and Energy Systems, Karlstad University
  Mechanical Dewatering has Positive Effects on the Thermal Drying Efficiency and Wood Pellet Quality
• Stefan Frodeson, Lecturer & Doctoral Student, Karlstad University
  Pelletizing Pure Biomass Substances: A Way to Increase Waste- and By-Products in the Pellet Production Chain
• Wayne Lei, Chief Technical Officer, Oregon Torrefaction for the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities
  Partial and Full Load Tests Using Densified Torrefied Biomass at U.S. Power Plants

The risk of fire and explosions are inherent in the handling and ultimate conversion of biomass to heat and power. This panel offers a two-pronged discussion that begins with the guidance available to operators looking to better understand their dust hazard risks and concludes with a review of the technologies available to protect employees and plant equipment in the event of a spark or fire incident.

• Brian Edwards, Director of Engineering, Conversion Technology Inc.
  Changes to Dust, Fire and Explosion Prevention Standards
• Sean Dee, Managing Engineer, Exponent Inc.
  Finding the Hidden Hazards in Thermal Conversion of Biomass
• Melinda Carter, Territory Sales Manager, Bulwark/Wrangler FR
  PPE and Combustible Biofuels: The Often-Overlooked Piece of Protection
• Jeffrey Nichols, Managing Partner, Industrial Fire Prevention LLC
  Spark Detection Prevents Fires and Saves Your ASSets!

Best in class anaerobic digesters all share a comprehensive understanding of their inbound feedstocks and their impact on biogas production. This panel will help attendees understand why. With presentations looking at availability, surety of supply and digestibility this panel will enable attendees to look at their own feedstock acquisition programs with a sharpened focus and new questions.

• Will Charlton, President, Digester Doc
  Increasing Biogas Production through Feedstock Selection, Chemistry and Biology
• Luc De Baere, Managing Director, OWS Inc.
  Energy and Compost from the Organic Fraction of MSW
• Brett Hogarth, Director, Business Development, Biomass Advisory Group, Ecostrat Inc.
  Best Practices and New Approaches to Predicting Feedstock Availability and Risk
• Derek Hundert, General Manager, PlanET Biogas USA Inc.
  Processing of Specified Risk Material as Feedstock for Anaerobic Digestion

While few would have predicted that biogas would have made the contribution it has to the cellulosic RIN pool, everyone developing biogas projects now is weighing the impact of RIN production on project cash flows. The generation of a biogas stream clean and pure enough to enter the vehicle fuels market however is a more capital intensive process. This panel will walk attendees through what it takes to introduce this marketplace opportunity to a project and what downstream markets and the associated RINs can offer producers willing to make the necessary investment.

• Paul Greene, Design & Construction, CDM Smith
  Biogas Upgrading for Lucrative RINs: Technology Comparison
• John Nelson, Director of Construction Sales, T.V. John & Son, Inc.
  Renewable Natural Gas: Lessons Learned from an EPC Contractor
• Ernie Pollitzer, Owner/Senior Engineer, Clean Energy Consultants
  Biogas Cellulosic RIN Generation

Particulates and volatile organic compounds are a reality when manufacturing biomass energy or biomass fuel products. Their capture and disposal is a requirement and top of mind for pellet and power producers. With content relevant for both projects under development as well as plants already in operation this panel will outline the technologies available to help operators confidently stay beneath their permitted criteria pollutant levels.

• Tom Wassel, P.E. Air Techniques, ReVenture Park
  VOCs and Oxidizers Employed to Eliminate Them
• Rodney Pennington, Vice President, Special Projects, Nestec Inc.
  Refurbish Instead of Replace
• Pedro Araujo, CEO, Advanced Cyclone Systems S.A.
  ACS´s New Hurricane Cyclone Families Customized to Specific Needs Considering How Inter-Particle Agglomeration (Clustering) Affect Collection Efficiency
• Thomas Dunder, Principal Scientist, TRC Environmental Corp.
  Use of Air Emissions Measurement Technologies to Optimize the Co-Firing of Biofuels for Regulatory Emissions Compliance

Knowing the quantity and quality of available biomass is vital if heat, power or biofuel projects are going to succeed. This panel draws professionals looking to move the industry toward a more formalized and accurate understanding of both. Collectively, these panelists will highlight for attendees how progress towards this more thorough understanding will not only yield more well-considered projects, but may well bring investors back to the table who had previously been unsatisfied with the lack of clarity around feedstock risk.

Biogas operations, despite often having lower capital costs than their biomass marketplace counterparts, are often the most difficult projects to get funded and built. Their variability, often considered an asset in so many other facets of a project’s life, becomes a liability when seeking early investment or debt partners. With this in mind, this panel will highlight approaches that have brought investors and necessary capital to project tables enabling them to finally break ground.

• Shlomi Palas, CEO, Blue Sphere Corporation
  Financing Biogas Projects
• Janice Tran, Investment Professional, Generate Capital
  Getting Financing for Your Biogas Project
• David Gardels, Partner, Husch Blackwell
  Navigating the Legal Components of Biogas to RNG/Pipeline Projects
• Brad Pleima, Senior Engineer, EcoEngineers
  Navigating the Hurdles of Biogas to RNG/Pipeline Projects

Capital is the lifeblood of projects and without it, there really is just an idea. Presenters in this panel will illustrate how ideas can gain capitalization momentum, pushing a project out of the idea phase and generating some momentum of its own. Early stage capitalization, debt and equity partners are all discussed. A discussion on maximizing revenue streams with low-carbon incentives will also be included. Attendees hoping to better assess where exactly they are in an already difficult development stage will appreciate these honest and straightforward presentations.

• Jordan Godwin, Senior Journalist, OPIS
  RINs & LCFS Credits: Incentives Galore
• Benjamin Hubbard, Principal, Nexus Program Management Group
  What You Must Know When Seeking Project Financing
• Mark Riedy, Partner & Head of Energy Team, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
  Creative U.S. and International Debt and Equity Financing Mechanisms for Bioeconomy Projects and Technology Companies
• Scott Warfield, Director, CERES Project Services
  One is the Loneliest Number: Why a Strategic Partner Might be Your Best Bet to Get Your Project Funded and Moving Forward

Assorted Novelty Ice Cream Bars, Coffee, Soda

Without question, the challenges of predictably moving biomass streams to a conversion process has been an ongoing bottleneck for overall industry growth. Pilot scale operations have failed to fully illuminate the challenges that await operators and developers when the leap to commercial scale production is attempted. This panel will feature speakers with a wealth of experience in leveraging what can and cannot be discovered in pilot-scale testing to limit the number of surprises once full scale buildout begins.

• Heikki Hämäläinen, Business Manager, Protacon Technologies LTD
  Lessons Learned from Deployment of Integrated Supply Chain Management Systems: From Finland to the U.S.
• Carrie Hartford, Senior Project Engineer, Jenike & Johanson Inc.
  How to Move Beyond the Challenges of Biomass Material Handling
• Jamil Bundalli, Project Manager, Kamengo Technology Inc.
  Handling Biomass: The Three Root Causes of Bin Plugging and Poor Material Discharge
• Chenlin Li, Senior Staff Engineer, Idaho National Laboratory
  Feedstock-Conversion Interface Consortium: Providing Innovative Solutions to Address Biomass Quality and Operational Challenges Faced by Biorefineries

Wastewater streams are rich in the organic materials that the microorganisms inside of anaerobic digesters love. Moreover, wastewater enjoys an advantage over other biomass feedstock streams in that it has already been gathered and delivered to a processing facility. This panel will examine the growing interest in expanding the role of digesters at wastewater treatment facilities from a bio solid reduction mission to an expanded effort to produce good volumes of saleable energy products.

• Joseph Curro, Principal Engineer, CDM Smith
  Wastewater Biosolids Drying and Pelletization Utilizing Landfill Gas as a Fuel
• Alex Rosenthal, Senior Process Modeling Expert, inCTRL Solutions
  From "I wonder what would happen" to "Wow, that's a great idea!": A Guide to Dynamic Simulation of Biogas Production Plants
• Michael Washer, Director, The Merrick Consultancy, Merrick & Company
  Making Biosolids Disappear: The Magic of Hydrothermal Liquefaction

Every industry relies upon the pioneering spirit, perhaps none more than the broader bioeconomy. This panel is populated by people and organizations unafraid to ask what the sector’s best case scenario might be. Dotted with presentations that evoke the “A still on every hill” ethos of the early biofuel days, this panel will paint a picture of an economy that relies upon farm and forest for not only grain and timber, but also for fuels, chemicals and power.

• Paul Wever, President, Chip Energy Inc.
  500 Billion Dollar U.S. Bioeconomy by 2020
• Jordan Thut, Pilot Plant Engineer, Attis Innovations/American Science & Technology
  Lignocellulosic Bio-Refinery Scaled Up Pilot Plant Update