Ecor® & The "New Green" Manufacturing Model
As the world economy continues to slowly progress through recession and new markets are created with a vision to the future, there is a great opportunity to create new 'green' commerce hubs throughout the US and internationally. Rural areas and urban centers, inland areas and coastal regions, rangelands and prairies, farmlands and forests – all can be centers for 'new green manufacturing' (without the adverse environmental effects of odor, waste, sewer, etc.).
Urban sources of post‐consumer fiber waste such as OCC and ONP can be as significant and productive as rural sources of underutilized agricultural fiber such as BPF and crop residues. These highly sustainable fiber sources are much more widely distributed and more readily available than virgin wood, or even waste wood fibers, and can be utilized at much lower cost. Integral to the development of this truly sustainable, generative and productive model of clean‐technology and 'green' manufacturing is the development of new economic hubs of activity to efficiently connect the dots between raw material sources, the manufacturing/labor pools and the markets:
• In URBAN areas, licensed ECOR® plants can utilize waste paper, cardboard, newsprint and other post‐consumer waste materials that are plentiful in all cities and towns. Construction of urban‐centered processing and manufacturing plants will also lead to the creation of a new generation of low‐and medium‐skilled 'green' jobs in urban areas that host ECOR® facilities.
• In RURAL areas, an abundance of agricultural fibers, including raw plant fibers and bovine processed fiber (BPF) can be used as raw materials for ECOR®. Underutilized cereal crop residues such as wheat straw and rice straw can be used as effectively as dedicated fiber crops (e.g., hemp, flax, kenaf) for the production of ECOR® products and distribution, potentially giving farmers new opportunities to build new green industries within their own communities, states and regions, thus offsetting losses incurred due to changes in the agro‐economy. This can be done while also achieving higher standards of land, water, and air quality management consistent with current public and governmental requirements.
• On CATTLE RANCHES and DAIRY FARMS, bovine waste (manure) is greatly underutilized, except as fertilizer and bedding. But with natural and mechanical digestion (via anaerobic digester technology already in use at many farms across the national and global landscape), the FPL has found this natural source of cellulose fiber to be ideally suited for use as a primary fiber source for ECOR® products. As an added economic and environmental benefit, the methane produced as a natural byproduct of bovine fiber processing can be used to generate heat and electricity to run an ECOR® production line. Also, water, another bi‐product of dairy farm anaerobic digesters, can be used for the EMF wet production process as well, with most of the water being reclaimed and recycled. These layered value and production enhancements can be achieved with slight modifications to existing technology.
• In FORESTED AREAS, the forest products industry has established long‐standing centers for building product raw material sourcing and manufacturing. Many virgin fiber, as well as pre‐and post‐consumer fiber, sources of raw materials are available in forested areas in the northwest and southeast U.S., and elsewhere. These lumber, cardboard, paper and composite panel manufacturing centers are excellent locations for future raw material sources, and for colocating ECOR® manufacturing and distribution.
• In or near PARKS and MANAGED FOREST LANDS, ECOR® manufacturing can utilize wood "waste" and undergrowth currently identified as "fire hazard" material by USDA in its National Fire Plan (NFP) for the reduction of fire hazards in the National, State, and private forests. According to the USDA, many forest stands in the United States are overcrowded and need to be thinned as part of good forest management. In the view of the traditional forest products industry, however, thinned forest materials are considered economically non‐viable – i.e., too small and/or containing too many defects for structural lumber, and/or too costly to transport out of the forest for most commercial purposes. As a result, these underutilized wood fiber materials are often left on the forest floor. In seasonally dry environments typical of the western U.S., this wood‐waste buildup can become a significant wildfire hazard, as recent history has shown, threatening not only old‐growth trees and virgin timber, but also commercial and residential structures in the vicinity. ECOR® manufacturing can provide an economically viable means to utilize this potentially dangerous forest material on a commercial scale while supporting public policy initiatives to reduce forest fire hazards and improve forest management.
• In TROPICAL and RESORT regions (with or without crops, farms, or forests), prairie, tropical and other grasses, along with other waste or underutilized fibers, can successfully be used to manufacture ECOR®. Prairie, tropical and other grasses are abundant throughout the world, and they are known to contain excellent cellulose fiber for wet process engineered molded fiber panel production. Although not yet utilized to the extent of wood‐based fiber sources, sufficient research has shown the viability of these raw materials.
• Co‐located with EXISTING LARGE INDUSTRIAL, RETAIL, WHOLESALE, COMMERCIAL and other CURRENT PRODUCERS of wide range of raw material sources including, but not limited to waste management facilities, manufacturers, regional distribution centers, large format mega stores and other significant commerce centers. The opportunity to create and add new product, revenue and profit center opportunities to existing businesses in an effort to reduce, reuse and recycle the tons of waste produced each year presents even more compelling, sustainable cross‐industry advantages.
The ubiquity and diversity of ECOR® raw material sources and production sites will inevitably cut down transportation and delivery distances to market, thereby reducing costs and carbon footprint for bringingECOR® products from factory to end‐user. In addition, panel production near end users will result in lower fuel cost, consumption and less pollution related to the transport/distribution process. Reduced weight of the final product (as low as 30% of traditional wood‐fiber panels and materials) will also significantly reduce the cost of shipping and delivery.
In sum, the energy and labor efficiencies of producing lighter, significantly less toxic, easier to handle products nearer to the final market are abundant.
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