Project Details

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Cameron County Biomass Initiative

Company: Penn State University Extension- Cameron County

Major(s):
Primary: IE
Secondary: ME
Optional: BME, MATSE

Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO

Intellectual Property: NO

This project will focus on conceptual design and feasibility analysis for a biomass energy processing facility at a former lumber mill site in Emporium, PA. Students will develop facility configurations that optimize use of the existing square footage, identify renovation needs, and assess feasibility boundaries (i.e., what is possible within current infrastructure and what may require expansion or new construction). Open design elements include production layout, infrastructure planning, and operational workflows, allowing students to conceptualize multiple solutions and evaluate them based on performance, feasibility, and stakeholder input. Students will also explore integration opportunities with local businesses such as Emporium Hardwoods and regional auto parts manufacturers, identifying how biomass operations might complement or enhance existing industrial activity. Deliverables will include conceptual layouts, process recommendations, and assessments of potential biomass inputs and outputs, all informed by engineering analysis and community collaboration. Cameron County is an economically distressed county in rural northcentral Pennsylvania. With the outsourcing of local industry over the past two decades, the county has experienced high unemployment rates, population loss, and a deteriorating social infrastructure. The retreat of economic opportunity is further exacerbated by the community fragmentation that often accompanies economic decline. As individuals find sustenance more difficult to achieve, resources normally allocated for community improvement are becoming less available. As community members see opportunities slip away, they find themselves in a position of ambiguity concerning their future. The ability to strategize long-term is, in many cases, replaced by desperate short-term reactive measures designed only to meet immediate needs. These short-term strategies often serve to remove or diminish future opportunities that might become available. In order to take control of their circumstances, key leaders in Cameron County are developing innovative strategies for sustainable economic development. With extensive collaborative efforts already underway in Emporium (the Cameron County seat), local actors feel that a regional biomass energy processing facility, coupled with complimentary product development (e.g., biochar and steel production) well-suited to accompany primary production activities, would provide an opportunity to enhance economic development for entrepreneurs in northcentral Pennsylvania. A regional study sponsored by the Cameron County Commissioners, followed by site identification that is conducive to this sort of development (a former lumber mill), has encouraged those involved to proceed to the next step in project actualization. This effort intends to establish high-performance relationships between biomass activities with existing local manufacturers. Sintered metal parts manufacturing and lumber are the historic primary economic drivers for the community (over the past 50 years). By combining regional entrepreneurship education programs with the local skills, creativity, and knowledge, community members hope to encourage regionalized small business development. Penn State Extension and Cameron County Commissioners would like to engage Penn State Engineering faculty and students to conduct a project learning program to develop appropriate premises for this initiative. Combined with local efforts, the development will provide the means to clarify the necessary needs and systemic functions for project optimization. The unique characteristics of the site in terms of opportunities and limitations present an adaptive canvas for participant improvisations. Communicating directly with local industry, property owners, and councilmen, students will design conceptual plant operations considering value-add product models suitable for the location. Considerations for design will include establishing high-performance relationships between biomass activities with regional manufacturers.