Integrating Forest Biomass and the Energy Sector

There are a number of cost efficient measures to assist biofuels and bioenergy integration into the forest industry. Recent studies show that, by using the best technology commercially available, the pulp and paper industry can make a great amount of biofuel available to the market, if only energy efficiency is given high priority (STFI 2000). Gasification of black liquor alone has the potential to double power generation in the sector once it reaches a stage of commercial breakthrough.

Upgraded solid biofuels such as pellets are mainly produced from by-products of saw mills. The largest portion of the by-products is used either to meet the industries internal energy demand, or as raw material in the pulp industry. Only a fraction is upgraded to biofuels. In the long run, however, depending on how the price relation among various products evolves, it is realistic to expect that saw mills will use solid biofuels of lower quality to meet internal energy needs, and their own by-products to produce other fuels, i.e. pellets, thereby better exploiting the value and economy of the by-product.

Bioenergy generation companies need vertical integration of the fuel chain to guarantee quality biofuels derived from waste handling and forestry activities. The sector also needs to advance integration in consumer markets in order to exploit the full potential and qualities of bioenergy. But there are barriers to such integration. For example, biofuel and bioenergy production are at the margin of core activities of most forest companies. Other non-technical barriers include issues related to the distribution of business ownership, as well as the sharing of responsibility for management and risks.

In the long run, cost-efficient bioenergy production could be integrated into forest fiber production and wood-using industries, and become an important component of the forest industries, particularly in temperate zones. In this context, effective ways of sharing the costs for guaranteeing the long-term production capacity of the forestland, for example the application of ash resulting from the bioenergy process to enhance forest stands site productivity, need to be developed (Ling and Silveira 2005).