Bartram project

CHED 1069

Ben Barfield, benjamin_barfield@ecats.gcsu.edu, Steven Rowland, steven_rowland@ecats.gcsu.edu, David Wilson, david_wilson1@ecats.gcsu.edu, and Jack H. Owens Jr., jack_owens@ecats.gcsu.edu. Department of Chemistry and Physics, Georgia College & State University, CBX 082, Milledgeville, GA 31061
The increasing price and scarcity of fossil fuels has instigated a worldwide search for a renewable source of energy. A research group of undergraduate chemistry majors from Georgia College and State University is teaming up with John Gormly of the Georgia Forestry Commission and Bartram Forest to explore the preparation of wood pellets from slash and loblolly pines, prevalent in middle and northern Georgia. Pelletized wood has shown promise for both small and large-scale usage in Sweden and Spain, where over one million metric tons are now being produced and consumed annually. Of that amount, more than thirty percent of the pellets are derived from various species of pine. The sawdust from age-specific trees was collected and analyzed using bomb calorimetry. Preparation methods will be described and an analysis of the results will be presented.