Newsletter/ nawaros^® 06/02

Content

biomasse 2002" in Rosenheim:Renewable raw materials and solar energy
Rapeseed oil for road maintenance
DINplus for wood pellets
Price trends of wood pellets
Operating results of Bavarian vegetable oil district heating power plants
Large-scale test of biodegradable engineering materials in Kassel/Hesse
Biogenic fuels and lubricants
Monitoring of the biogas plant Rück
C.A.R.M.E.N. Yearbook 2002
Entrepreneurs' talk of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Straubing
Compendium on subsidisation 2002
Market report 2002
Electricity generation from biomass
Saving electricity and water

biomasse 2002" in Rosenheim: Renewable raw materials and solar energy

From the 27th to the 29th September 2002 the expert and consumer fair for renewable raw materials and solar energy - "biomasse 2002" will be taking place on the exhibition ground "Lokschuppen" in Rosenheim/Bavaria.
The organiser and co-ordinator is the biomasse GmbH, Straubing. With more than 12,000 people visiting the "biom 2001", the sister company of C.A.R.M.E.N. e.V. was already able to show proof of their successful exhibition concept last year.
"The future belongs to the renewable resources. Houses and energy of wood, fuels and lubricants of vegetable oil, biodegradable packaging materials of starch, and insulating materials of vegetable fibres are only some examples," says Gilbert Krapf, mechanical engineer and manager of the biomasse GmbH in Straubing.
Natural raw materials offer an enormous innovative potential and have also got a long tradition. As a regenerative source of energy, renewable raw materials can contribute a lot to the conservation of fossil resources and of the environment. Moreover, they create and secure jobs.

Krapf considers the combination of wood and solar energy ideal. In order to demonstrate this potential to the general public the "biomasse 2002" was brought into being. By means of target group-oriented information events, machine demonstrations, and changing daily focuses consumers and multipliers are to be specifically appealed to and integrated into the activities of the exhibition.
For that, about 3,000 m2 of exhibition space are at the disposal of the biomasse GmbH in Rosenheim. Rosenheim is an ideal place for such an exhibition. The city, situated in the outermost Southeast of Germany, is close to the Chiemsee and the Alps, in the so-called "Super-Region-Alpin-Arc". This area comprises the complete German, Austrian, and Italian alpine region and is regarded by the EU Commission as the economically most powerful EU super region.

Both nationally and internationally, Rosenheim has gained an excellent reputation as a "wood city". There are numerous research and building institutions in Rosenheim, such as the technical college of Rosenheim, the Lehrinstitut der Holzwirtschaft und Kunststofftechnik e.V. (i.e. 'educational establishment of the wood industry and the plastics technology, registered associaton') and a museum of wood technology.
Straubing will also be marked by biomass again in the year 2003. From the 3rd to the 5th October 2003 the trade fair "biomasse 2003" will be taking place on the exhibition grounds "Am Hagen". This fair is planned to be held as a permanent institution in Straubing every second year.

Information on the "biomasse 2002" in Rosenheim or on the "biomasse 2003" in Straubing: biomasse GmbH, Gilbert Krapf, tel.: +49-9421-960-374 or in the internet under http://www.carmen-ev.de. Exhibitors interested are asked to contact Walter Wallrapp directly.

RapsAsphalt (i.e. 'rapeseed asphalt'), the novel bituminous emulsion on the basis of rapeseed oil, was developed by the Austrian company Vialit Ashaplt Ges. m.b.H. & Co. KG and is perfectly suitable for the surface treatment of roads. It increases the strength of the road surfaces, reduces their wear and tear and prolongs their life (see also nawaros® 03/2002).
The company Klaus Geuder Straßenunterhalt GmbH is also convinced of the quality and plans to market the product in Germany. The company looks after a project with test tracks in the regions of Feuchtwangen, Ansbach, Simbach, and Digolfing-Landau. The bituminous emulsion with a rapeseed oil content of four per cent is to be tested there under German conditions such as the weather and the volume of traffic.

An application for funding the project has now been approved by the Bavarian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The subsidy amounts to nearly 70,000 Euro. By accompanying tests of the Technical University of Munich the durability and the usability of RapsAsphalt are proven. The complete results should by available by the middle of the year 2004.

Further information: C.A.R.M.E.N., Dr. Bettina Schmidt, and Klaus Geuder, Straßenunterhalt GmbH, tel.: +49-9861-87791, e-mail: info@geuder-strassenmeister.de (http://www.geuder-strassenmeister.de).

DINplus for wood pellets

Up to now the quality of wood pellets has been assessed by the goals of the DIN 51731 or the Austrian ÖNORM M 7135. Now an additional DINplus standard is available that has been developed by DIN CERTCO GmbH.
DINplus defines the quality requirements of a product that go beyond the standards which are set according to DIN. For that, a two-phase test takes place that in a first step includes the product tests according to the requirements of both standards mentioned above. The second step is the monitoring of the quality control measures of the manufacturing plant.
Manufacturers and suppliers of pellets that have already been certified according to the Austrian standard (ÖNORM) or bear the quality mark of the Pelletsverband Austria (i.e. the 'Austrian Pellets Association') can obtain the DINplus mark within the scope of a transfer.

Further information: DIN CERTCO Gesellschaft für Konformitätsbewertung mbH, tel: +49-30-2601-2108, fax:
-1610, e-mail: zentrale@dincertco.de (http://www.dincertco.de).

Further information: C.A.R.M.E.N.

Price trends of wood pellets

Since March C.A.R.M.E.N. has been listing the price trends of wood pellets on their web site. The basis of this chart are the price quotations of the listed manufactures who are monthly questioned.
Further information on the C.A.R.M.E.N. site under: http://www.carmen-ev.de.

Operating results of Bavarian vegetable oil district heating power plants

At present, there are about 50 vegetable oil-operated district heating power plants in Germany. The Bavarian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry subsidised ten demonstration projects during the past years. On the C.A.R.M.E.N. site (http://www.carmen-ev.de --> infos & links --> renewable raw materials --> 2.4. liquid fuels) there is a short survey of the operating results.

Further information: C.A.R.M.E.N., Hubert Maierhofer.

Large-scale test of biodegradable engineering materials in Kassel/Hesse

Due to the production process biodegradable engineering materials are more expensive than corresponding products on the basis of petroleum. However, the disposal costs are considerably lower if the consumers are able to distinguish between conventional plastics and synthetics of biodegradable engineering materials. The large-scale test in Kassel (see also nawaros® 04/2001 and 11/2001) on the subject of biodegradable engineering materials has been running since April 2001. The German Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection has now prolonged this field study until the end of the year 2002 and has provided 430,000 Euro for that.

Sources: BioFach-Newsletter of the 13th May .2002 (http://www.biofach.de) and IBAW Newsletter 06/2002 (http://www.ibaw.org).
Further information: http://www.modellprojekt-kassel.de, http://www.der-sechste-sinn-in-kassel.de, http://www.materbi.com.

Biogenic fuels and lubricants

Biogenic fuels and lubricants as well as hydraulic oils of renewable raw materials are easily biodegradable. This is especially advantageous where leaks can occur. By means of specific subsidising the Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture wishes to contribute to a better establishment of these vegetable oil-based materials on the market. For that, the market launch programme "Biogenic Fuels and Lubricants" has been developed.

The programme financially supports consumers who are willing to change over to eco-friendly products from domestic agriculture. As the vegetable oil initiative (http://www.pflanzenoelinitiative.de) reports, nearly 200 applications are handed in monthly. The funds of the Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection will soon be exhausted. So the programme has to be temporarily stopped. All applications reaching the Fachagentur für Nachwachsende Rohstoffe (http://www.fnr.de) (i.e. the 'Specialised Agency for Renewable Resources') after the 22nd calendar week will not be dealt with and must be made once more in the year 2003. For 2003 a change of the regulations is planned:
Subsidies are to paid as lump sums and the application procedure is to be made easier. The regulation N° 2 (retrofitting in agriculture and forestry) will not be prolonged. Applications can also be made again in 2003.

Further information: Ms. Zorn, tel.: +49-228-9857999, fax: -96940458, e?mail: info@pflanzenoelinitiative.de (http://www.pflanzenoelinitiative.de).

Monitoring of the biogas plant Rück

At the biogas plant Rück in Gerbersdorf the data of the energy and electricity production have already been gathered for years. By the construction of an additional fermenter in the year 2000 the biogas yield could be increased.
The net electricity production amounts to more than 1,000 MWh/a with an electrical net degree of utilisation of about 27 per cent (net electricity production to net biogas energy). Apart from the fermentation of the ground substrate liquid manure of about 200 large animal units the plant processes co-substrates in large quantities (among others flotation fats, biowaste, and food scraps).

Further information: C.A.R.M.E.N., Hubert Maierhofer, Robert Wagner.

C.A.R.M.E.N. Yearbook 2002

For the first time since C.A.R.M.E.N. was founded the association now publishes the yearbook "Nachwachsende Rohstoffe - Wirtschaftsfaktor Biomasse" (i.e. "Renewable Resources - Biomass as an Economic Factor"). As the date of publication C.A.R.M.E.N.'s tenth anniversary in July is planned.
This yearbook comes as an indispensable reference book for economy and politics and is going to be yearly published from now on. Renowned guest authors and C.A.R.M.E.N. employees will look at renewable resources from the angles of history, energetic and industrial use, politics and funding.

The main emphasis of the book is on the economic importance of renewable raw materials and on the enterprises and institutions of this branch of industry. More than 1,000 relevant addresses could be found out by telephone - a brilliant performance within the five months that were available from the idea to the completion of the yearbook. In the future, this address pool is to be further enlarged because it is the heart of the trade's presentation.
Especially with regard to the dynamic force in the field of renewable raw materials the Bavarian Minister-President Dr. Edmund Stoiber welcomes the publishing of the C.A.R.M.E.N. yearbook. Josef Miller, the Bavarian Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, also considers the yearbook an important classified directory that takes the recent developments and standards of renewable raw materials into account.

The yearbook "Nachwachsende Rohstoffe 2002" is available at C.A.R.M.E.N e.V. from the 8th July onwards at a price of 19,95 Euro.

Entrepreneurs' talk of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Straubing

On the 7th May an entrepreneurs' talk organised by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Straubing took place in the Competence Centre for Renewable Raw Materials. The subject of the meeting was the presentation of the three pillars of the Competence Centre for Renewable Raw Materials combined with a guided tour through the premises.
Subsequently, the visitors were given a survey of the activities that are planned and that have already been started by the administration union for the BioCampus .A visit there was also included. More than 90 people interested took part in the event. The Chamber of Industry and Commerce sporadically organises such talks for entrepreneurs and executives who wish to inform themselves on regional companies and current economic topics.

Information: IHK Zeitschrift der Niederbayerischen Wirtschaft, June 2002. Events of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Lower Bavaria in the Internet under http://www.passau.ihk.de.

Compendium on subsidisation 2002

The Förderfibel 2002 (i.e. the 'compendium on subsidisation 2002') of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Saxony-Anhalt gives a short survey on all instruments of subsidisation that are possible at present.

Order: free of charge at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, press and public relations department, Magdeburg, Germany, tel.: +49-391-567-1957; fax: -1964, e-mail: birnbaum@mrlu.lsa-net.de.

Market report 2002

In May the new market report of the Zentrale Markt- und Preisberichtstelle (ZMP) (i.e. the 'Central Market and Price Report Agency') on grain, oil seeds, and animal feedstuffs was published. In proven tabular form figures and data are given and partly commented on. The data do not only relate to Germany but also show the European Union and the world market. The CD-ROM with a full text index that can additionally be obtained contains the book as a pdf-document. All tables are both available in Excel and in Lotus 1-2-3 for private table calculation.
The market report can be ordered at the ZMP as a print edition for 33,30 Euro or as a book, CD-ROM included, for 49,60 Euro.

Information and order: Zentrale Markt- und Preisberichtstelle (ZMP), tel.: +49-228+9777-173, fax: -179; e-mail: service@zmp.de.

Electricity generation from biomass

From the homepage of the Bundesinitiative Bioenergie (BBE) (i.e. the Federal Initiative Bioenergy'), http://www.bioenergie.de, an expert opinion can be downloaded that looks upon the "Market and Price Trends of the Electricity Generation from Biomass" in Germany. The expert opinion was delivered by the engineering consultants Fichtner in Stuttgart who organised the analyses on behalf of the BBE and its members.

Source: Newsletter of the Biomasse-Info-Zentrum (BIZ) from June 2002. Further information: Bundesinitiative BioEnergie (BBE), Bonn, Germany, tel.: +49-228-8198-140, fax: -141, e-mail: info@bioenergie.de.

Saving electricity and water

The product life of household appliances is limited. Often a new purchase becomes necessary after ten to fifteen years. As much energy is used for the operation during such a long period of time, energy-efficient products do absolutely pay. The web site http://www.spargeraete.de now tells which of the approximately 4,400 appliances that are available in Germany can be rated as energy-efficient and it also shows how much water and electricity can be saved.

The internet presence of the Energieverwertungsagentur (E.V.A.) (i.e. the 'Austrian Agency for Energy Use') under http://www.eva.wsr.ac.at. is still more comprehensive. There are for example the appliances listed that have been chosen by an international jury as the winners of the "Energy+" competition. It has been possible to order them on the European market since March. It is the goal of the EU project "Energy+" to support appliances that are clearly more energy-efficient than those just meeting the minimum requirements for a class "A" appliance.

Further support for energy savings is given in the internet by the Blauer Engel (i.e. the 'Blue Angel') (http://www.blauer-engel.de) or the novel label "Energy" (http://www.energielabel.de) of the Gemeinschaft Energielabel Deutschland (GED) (i.e. the 'Community for the Energy Label Germany'). The data base of the consumer campaign gives information on further ecolabels (http://www.label-online.de).