Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 329 Making Manufacturing More Energy Efficient INL is part of a team finding ways to boost the efficiency of U.S. manufacturing. The Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute announced in June 2016 is a $70 million clean energy initiative managed by the nonprofit Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition. Five regional manufacturing centers across the nation will focus on regional technology needs and workforce development. The northwestern team, led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, focuses on energy-intensive regional industries such as food processing and forest products. PNNL is partnering with experts from INL; the Center for Advanced Energy Studies; educational institutions in Washington, Oregon and Montana; Bonneville Power Administration; and other organizations in the Pacific Northwest. Helping Coal Plants Switch to Biomass Torrefied biomass could provide energy producers with a fuel source to either replace or co-fire with coal. Torrefaction is a process for heating biomass in the absence of oxygen — a process similar to roasting coffee beans. The resulting biomass material can resemble coal in water resistance, grindability and energy content. It also contains more energy per unit mass, burns better and is easier to handle compared with raw biomass. INL researchers collaborated with Advanced Torrefaction Systems, LLC, to test a state-of-the-art torrefaction preprocessing system at the Biomass Feedstock National User Facility. The facility also loaned its mobile torrefaction system to Oregon Torrefaction, which is using it to produce a significant portion of the 4,000 tons of torrefied biomass for a test burn at Portland General Electric’s Boardman Power Plant. That plant is scheduled to stop using coal in 2020. INL’s advanced torrefaction system allows researchers and industry to convert feedstocks such as wood chips into a viable coal substitute for lab- and pilot-scale testing.