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With a high availability of lignocellulosic biomass and various types of cellulosic by-products, as well as a large number of industries, Sweden is a country of great interest for future large scale production of sustainable, next generation biofuels. This is most likely also a necessity as Sweden has the ambition to be independent of fossil fuels...
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... main data needed for pulp/paper mills in order to estimate the integration potential for different biofuel technologies has been calculated mainly based on data for 2010 from the environmental database of the Swedish Forest Industries Federation (SFIF) (SFIF, 2012b). All kraft pulp mills in Sweden have been included in this project, in total 24 mills. In Sweden there are also three sulphite mills. However, these mills do not currently produce any pulp/paper. Therefore, data for these mills is not included in SFIF's environmental database and they have been excluded at this stage of model development. Figure 5 shows an overview of a conventional kraft pulp mill. After the pulp wood has been debarked and cut into wood chips, it is added to the digester where it is mixed with cooking liquor, known as white liquor, containing the cooking chemicals and water. Cellulose fibres in the wood chips are then separated from lignin (which acts as a glue between the fibres) because lignin reacts with the chemicals in the white liquor. The chemicals and lignin form a liquor called black liquor. The liquor also contains other substances, mainly hemicellulose. The fibres are separated from the black liquor in a washing step and are then screened and possibly bleached before pulp is obtained. The pulp is either dried and transported to a paper mill (this is called a market pulp mill), or processed further to paper at the mill (called an integrated pulp and paper ...
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... The energy density of forest biomass is relatively low; large volumes are needed for fuel production and large facilities must be used in order to obtain economy of scale (Wetterlund et al., 2013). These constraints imply logistical challenges. ...
... Available heat sinks limit the availability of appropriate production locations. Wetterlund et al. (2013) have found that chemical pulp and paper mills are more appropriate heat sinks than district heating, because of low heat prices and since most of the biomass and the possibilities for integration are located in the north of Sweden where many of the P & P plants are situated. According to Börjesson et al. (2013), methanol and forestderived methane are the options with the lowest costs among transport fuels from forest biomass. ...
... By developing synergistic relations with other relevant local/regional actors biofuel industry can reduce feedstock, energy, transport and utility costs (Lönnqvist et al., 2016;Wetterlund, 2013), can creatively increase the availability of inputs (Huang et al., 2010;Raghu et al., 2012). It can also gain access to feedstock and energy with higher environmental performance and better social acceptance Langeveld and Sanders, 2012). ...
Industrial symbiosis (IS) involves collaborations among diverse, and predominantly local and regional, actors that create additional economic and environmental value through by-product ex- changes, utility and service sharing, and joint innovations. While the importance of IS for the development of biofuels is commonly recognised hypothetically, this study aims at advancing under- standing of the actual contribution provided in two real life examples–one focusing on grain-based ethanol production and the other focusing on biogas production in a co-digestion unit. Moreover, this study highlights the importance of organisational factors that help shape, and explain relevant organizational and inter-organizational behaviour relevant for emergence and development of successful symbiotic partnerships – here referred to as “social determinants”.
Studied cases provide clear insights on multiple business and environmental benefits of IS. Reducing input and operational costs, increasing material and energy productivity, creatively improving access to substrate with improved social acceptance, reducing exposure to market volatilities, and providing improved environmental performance–with market differentiation advantages–are among key impacts observed. Moreover, IS strategies are also found to enable creation of new mar- kets, assist the evolution towards more complex bio-refineries, and help with recognising biofuel industry as an integral part of sustainable resource use at a wider societal level.
With regards to organisational determinants of synergistic partnerships, the findings of the study reinforce the importance of organisational proximity, alignment of strategic objectives and organisational cultures, intensity and quality of communication, inter-organisational knowledge exchange and learning, formulation of effective and efficient governance mechanisms, trust building, and level of support from different public governance bodies. While the organisational proximity provided by common ownership and being part of the same organisational field assists synergy development in initial phases, as the parties accumulate relevant capabilities, they are able to move to- wards more complex and more rewarding partnerships. The findings also emphasise that with dedicated support from governance bodies, particularly at the local and regional levels, development of knowledge-, relational- and mobilisation capacities for IS can be enhanced, and these can catalyse accelerated development of synergistic relations benefiting both the biofuel industry and the wider society.
... Many studies have pointed to the potential that exists in Sweden with respect to the usage of forest resources for energy production [21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. In connection to that, a number of studies have developed spatially-explicit harvest cost model and/or hybrid models [4,[28][29][30][31]. Lundmark [28] argue that increased bioenergy production will not cause a major disruption in the supply of forest resources to the traditional forest industries. ...
... The first part describes the demand changes derived from an expanding production of transportation biofuels to satisfy different policy targets. These demand changes are results obtained from BeWhere-Sweden model simulations [29]. BeWhere-Sweden is a techno-economic, geographically explicit optimization model to determine optimal localization and conversion technology of integrated biorefineries. ...
... With respect to the demand side, we obtain input data under different scenarios of biofuel production targets in Sweden from the BeWhere-Sweden model [29]. The data is provided at a spatial resolution identical to the data on supply and harvest cost. ...
The objective of this paper is to develop a geographically-explicit model of price determination of forest biomass for Sweden. The model uses a simple demand-supply framework to determine new equilibrium prices at the gridcell level. Data on forest biomass supply and harvest cost is available for Sweden for 334 0.5x0.5 degree gridcells. We use the data to construct regional supply curves, and investigate the impacts on equilibrium prices of increased demand for forest biomass for bioenergy production under a number of scenarios generated via the BeWhere-Sweden model. We run simulations for two energy production scenarios from forest biomass: 10 TWh and 20 TWh. The scenarios represent biofuel targets aimed at in Sweden for the decoupling of the transportation sector from fossil fuels by 2030. Overall, the results indicate that the price of forest resources would only moderately increase. The average price increase does not exceed one percent. The simulation results show that the spatial distribution of price changes does not track spatial distribution of demand pressure, which holds for the 10 TWh and 20 TWh scenarios. The largest impacts are observed in the southern and middle parts of Sweden, despite large endowments of forest, owing to high demand clustering.
... An increasing competition implies that the biomass ought to be used efficiently. The energy density of forest biomass is relatively low; large volumes are needed for fuel production and large facilities must be used in order to obtain economy of scale (Wetterlund et al. 2013). These constraints imply logistical challenges. ...
... Available heat sinks limit the availability of appropriate locations for biofuel production. Wetterlund et al. (2013) have investigated the integration of production of DME from BLG and ethanol from enzymatic hydrolysis with the forest industry and appropriate heat sinks. Investigated heat sinks were P&P mills, sawmills, and district heating systems. ...
Forest-derived methane may contribute significantly to a vehicle fleet independent of fossil fuels by 2030. At present, there is sufficient technical knowledge about energy conversion methods and several Swedish actors have investigated and prepared investments in production facilities, but the technology is not commercially mature yet and it needs support during a development period. Investments in the technology have become less favorable because of the drop in the oil price in 2014. In addition, the predictability of the policy instruments supporting production and use of renewable energy are perceived as low by investors. This report emphasize that these factors combined are major reasons why potential investments are postponed.
We have conducted a literature study and an interview study with three industry actors to answer the question “How can forest derived methane complement biogas from anaerobic digestion in the Swedish transport sector?” Interviews were mostly conducted in situ and in co-operation with the f3 project “Examining systemic constraints and drivers for production of forest-derived transport biofuels” (f3 2014-002370). The literature study included the recent development of renewable transport fuels in Sweden, existing and proposed policy instruments, and possible technical pathways from forest biomass to transport fuels.
Sweden has accomplished a high share of renewables in the transport sector – 12 % based on energy content or 17 % when accounting in accordance with the EU Renewable Energy Sources Directive (RES). Thus, Sweden has the highest share of renewables in the transport sector among the member states and has with a good margin accomplished the EU-RES target of 10 % renewables by 2020. The use of electricity in plug-in electric vehicles is not included in these figures and the number of electric vehicles is increasing rapidly.
The most common biofuels in transport are biodiesel, ethanol, and biogas. Biodiesel increases rapidly, mainly through low blend-in, and is now the most common biofuel in the Swedish transport sector. The majority is HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils), but the share of FAME (Fatty Acid Methyl Esters) is still considerable. The use of ethanol peaked during 2008 and has been decreasing since then. Ethanol is distributed through both low and high blend-in (E5 and E85).
The use of upgraded biogas in the transport sector has increased continuously since its introduction 1996. Upgraded biogas is complemented by natural gas to meet the vehicle gas demand. A voluntary agreement among the distributors maintains a minimum biogas share that corresponds to 50 %. The biogas share is much higher today (74 % by volume, average Jan.-Aug. 2015) and some large end-users use pure upgraded biogas. Upgraded biogas is mainly distributed in compressed form through gas cylinders (79 %), but also through injection to the natural gas grid (21 %). Very little biogas is distributed in liquid form (LBG).
Studies of the practical production potential shows that the current vehicle gas demand could be met entirely with upgraded biogas. However, an increased demand will eventually require other production pathways based on other feedstocks. Gasification of forest biomass is one such pathway. One alternative is that an increased demand is met with natural gas, resulting in fossil lock-in effects. Another alternative is a stagnated vehicle gas market.
Production of upgraded biogas and use in the transport sector have been promoted in different ways, e.g., demand on handling of waste that will promote anaerobic digestion, investment support to production facilities, support to distribution infrastructure, environmental car premiums, and exemptions of energy and CO2 taxes. The tax exemptions are only granted until the end of 2015 but the Swedish government has applied for permission to the European Commission for a tax exemption until the end of 2020. A biofuel may only be compensated to a certain level to comply with rules set by the European Commission. If the renewable alternative is cheaper because of tax exemptions or tax reductions it is considered as overcompensation and illegal state aid and the compensation has to be adjusted. This has in Sweden occurred for FAME, E5 and E85, but since the cost for biogas is almost twice that of natural gas, it is not likely that the tax exemptions for biogas will be considered as illegal state aid.
Among the suggested policy instruments in the FFF inquiry are the price premium model and the quota obligation. The government prepared for a quota obligation but it was later withdrawn because the European Commission considered it as illegal state aid when combined with Sweden´s current CO2 tax. These changes decrease the predictability for potential investors. The actors that we have interviewed propose different policy instruments to promote production of transport fuels from forest biomass: the price premium model, a quota obligation, or a system inspired by the tradable green certificate system. However, more important than the type of policy instrument is that the support is substantial and predictable during the pay back period of the investment.
There is a large potential in forest biomass for transport fuel production in Sweden. Different pathways, which result in different transport fuels, compete not only for the feedstock and the end-users, but also for financing, research & development funds, and the policy makers’ attention. This study suggests that:
• In order to attract investments in forest-derived methane, the vehicle gas market must continue to increase. Increased policy support directed at the demand may be needed. This is because the gasification technology is sensitive to economies of scale and the size of the facilities that have been considered are equivalent to the entire market for upgraded biogas. To invest in such a facility implies too large a risk given the size of the current demand and the uncertainties of the future market.
• If methane should be able to play an increasingly important role in a future transportation sector, the gasification technology need policy support during a development period.
• The predictability of policy support is perceived as low. The predictability is more important than the specific type of policy instrument to attract investments. The interviewees in this report suggest the following policy instruments for the support of forest-derived methane: the price premium model, a quota obligation, or a system inspired by the tradable green certificate system.
• The current low oil price decreases the likelihood for investments. Policy instruments that compensate for the oil price risk are needed, e.g. the price premium model.
• Swedish industry actors can realize the potential in forest biomass through production of transport fuels if beneficial conditions are given. Such a development does not only contribute to a vehicle fleet independent of fossil fuels but also to regional development.
... Wetterlund et al. [13], summarised the results of previous studies assessing the potential for woody biomass in Sweden. The assumptions and applied methods vary between the studies, making a direct comparison difficult. ...
... In general, the industrial interest for biomass is considerable and the availability is an actively investigated issue in Sweden. Table 4 shows a summary of supply-potential studies in Sweden [10]. Table 5 shows a broad impact assessment [11] of regulations on biomass-use divided into different sectors, which assumes the iron and steel industry continue using fossil fuels. ...
... Table 4. Estimated supply potential of biomass, adapted from Wetterlund et al. [10] Biomass potential Interval (number of studies), TWh/year 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 ...
... Sawmills, Pulp and paper mills are another high added value use in Fig 2. Included in the figure is also predictions of supply (average of intervals in Table 4) and use (both scenarios in Table 5). Fig 2. The blast furnaces in Sweden and other biomass users, with the required amount shown alongside predictions of supply [10] and use [11] Conclusion ...
Based on the type of BF operated in Sweden, the pulverized coal (PC) has primarily been considered replaceable. If replacing the PC, a reduction of 1.25 Mton CO2 annually is possible, which would require approximately 4 TWh charcoal (0.46 Mton) or 7.14 TWh of dry raw biomass. This amount of biomass is substantial and availability is the main concern discussed in this paper. Uncertainty of the future biomass supply makes predictions beyond 2030 difficult. However, the predictions used in this work indicate that there is an unused potential, which could cover the need of all PCI in Sweden. Other aspects could potentially limit the proportion of PCI replaced by biomass, which should be further investigated.
