(ANS – Santander de Quilichao) – On 20 December, 6 months after the opening of the production plant, the first hundred tonnes of biomass produced at Villa Don Bosco in Santander de Quilichao, Cauca department, will leave for Switzerland.

The biomass, made up of forest residual matter like pine and eucalyptus bark and coffee plant leaves, is compacted into small tubes or cylinders, then used to generate heat for fireplaces, stoves or heaters and varied industrial use.

“This project is a dream come true; it came into being a year ago when we decided to build a factory to make biomass cylinders. We carried out feasibility studies and now we are ready to export our first production to Switzerland”, Fr Germán Londoño, director of the Don Bosco Formation Centre said.

In an area covering 1,400 square metres, five young graduates in the Salesian centre are responsible for collection of raw materials from forest plantations belonging to the 'Smurfit Kappa Carton de Colombia' and from local farmers who provide coffee plant leaves. The young workers are responsible for cutting and drying wood and running the machines which came from Switzerland, thanks to a donation from the Leopold Bachmann Foundation, in collaboration with the Salesian NGO Jugendhilfe Weltweit. Planning and construction were carried out by Swiss engineer Walter Item, who personally saw to installation of the plant and preparation of personnel from Villa Don Bosco.

Currently 600 young people are students at Villa Don Bosco, where the biomass production plant is located; they come from various communities in the area and study cabinetmaking, motorcycle mechanics or other courses such as electricity, bakery and also systems analysis. Production of biomass cylinders helps support and educate some 3000 people from Villa Don Bosco and the Don Bosco Formation Centre in Cali as well as providing employment for farmers in the area.

It is estimated that around 3,000 tonnes of wood cuttings will be needed to produce around 1,560 tonnes of biomass cylinders. Diego Fernando Mogollón, systems technologist and welder, is a graduate of the Don Bosco centre and was trained how to run and maintain the machines in Switzerland: “The possible re-use of bark from pine trees, which was just left to rot previously, and then the contribution we are making to protect the environment is a cause of great pride” he stated.

The advantages of biomass lie in it being a 100% natural product that has no need for preservatives, additives, is non-toxic, gives off no smoke, produces less ash and has a higher heat potential than does traditional wood-burning. “A 30 cm cylinder of biomass is able to generate heat for around 12-16 hours. So we are speaking of reduced logging to find wood. This is the coal of the future”, says Paula Andrea Vivas, coordinator of the plant, who graduated a decade ago at the Salesian centre as an industrial mechanics technician.

The sale of biomass cylinders is guaranteed for 5 years, by agreement with the Leopold Bachmann Foundation, which foresees that all production will be exported to Switzerland. At that point the market could then be opened for sale and consumption in Colombia.

Published 12/12/2012