Forest products competition

Alternative sources for products competing with forest based biofuel, a pre-study

Today, there are a number of biofuels in different stages of development: from ethanol, RME and tall oil diesel, to methane, methanol and DME from different sources. Several studies have shown the advantages of biofuels compared to fossil fuels regarding greenhouse gas emissions, etc. However, to the best of our knowledge, previous reports have not sufficiently considered current and alternative uses of biomass in for example heat and power production, or production of chemicals or materials such as pulp and paper.

As a valuable resource, and in a sustainable society, biomass should be used as efficiently as possible and the competing interests need to be considered. The proposed study is a pre-study with the aims of describing the environmental effects of alternative sourcing for current products from forest biomass when the biomass is instead used for fuel. The study will thereby, by highlighting critical issues for further analyses, constitute a solid basis for a more detailed analysis of climate related effects of biofuel production, thus leading to increased understanding of how to maximize the positive climate effects of production of forest based biofuels.

Today, there are a number of biofuels in different stages of development: from ethanol, RME and tall oil diesel, to methane, methanol and DME from different sources.

Several studies have shown the advantages of biofuels compared to fossil fuels regarding for example emissions of greenhouse gases. However, to the best of our knowledge, previous reports have not sufficiently considered current and alternative uses of biomass in for example heat and power production or production of chemicals or materials such as pulp and paper. Biomass is a valuable resource that in a sustainable society should be used as efficiently as possible and the competing interests in this resource need to be considered. The proposed study is a pre-study with the aims of describing the environmental effects of alternative sourcing for current products from forest biomass when the biomass is instead used for fuel The study will thereby, by highlighting critical issues for further analyses, constitute a solid basis for a more detailed analysis of climate related effects of biofuel production, thus leading to increased understanding of how to maximize the positive climate effects of production of forest based biofuels.