Production and processing of fuel by the forest industry - opportunities and conditions

The purpose of this study was to illustrate the opportunities for the forest industry to establish a system of handling and processing biofuels in conjunction with their existing activities, and which would supply a future market for biofuels in, for example, electricity generation. The sawmills report that it is difficult today to find a market for fuel products, especially for sawmills at greater distances from larger biofuel-consuming plants. The sawmills show great interest in cogeneration in their own plants, but report difficulties in achieving profitability. The main problem is reported to be that the price of the surplus electricity delivered to the grid is too low, but also that the electricity prices today are so low that it is difficult to justify even generating electricity for the mill's own use. There is an interest in the paper and pulp industry for integrated methods and production of biofuels since the part-tree methods used, at least in some parts of Sweden, are considered to contribute also to an increase in the availability of pulp wood to the industry. A fundamental viewpoint is, however, that the plants are built for the primary purpose of producing pulp or paper. It is unlikely that the industry would give priority to investments for production of a new secondary product in the form of fuel products, particularly when the conditions today imply that there are few possibilities to achieve any particular profitability. The most probable solution is that the fuel is processed outside the industry by other parties, e.g., the forest divisions. In the long term, increased efficiency in the processes may lead to a primary heat surplus which could be used to produce processed fuels