Western universities team on devising new methods to determine sustainable forest residue use

In Washington state, researchers from Washington State University, along with those from Oregon State University and the University of Montana, have recently devised refined methods to estimate the amount of forest residue — the leftovers from trees after logging — that is available for wood-based biorefineries to use.

The resulting research model could help entrepreneurs determine sites for future biorefineries by providing a better understanding of the availability of forest residue, more commonly known as slash, in the region.