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Bioenergy from Agriculture and Forestry in Sweden
March 21, 2009 by timbercommunity
Fact sheet dated 28 February 2008 about bioenergy from agriculture and forestry in Sweden, published by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Renewable energy is a priority for the Swedish Government.The changes in our climate highlight the need to shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. The supply of fossil energy is limited. Today a great deal of fossil energy is obtained from politically unstable regions, which in the short term can have a negative effect on the security of energy supply. At the same time it is important that energy production is cost-effective and sustainable while maintaining international competitiveness.
Where does bioenergy come from today?
About 90 per cent of bioenergy used in Sweden today comes from the forestry sector. The raw materials used include forestry residues in the form of brash (branches and treetops) and waste products from the sawmill and pulp industry in the form of sawdust and bark. However, the largest source of bioenergy in Sweden today is black liquor from the forestry industry. Black liquor is a waste product generated when wood chips are boiled to produce pulp. The black liquor used contains, apart from process chemicals, organic compounds (lignin) that are burned to produce energy, while the black liquor is recovered. Most of this energy is used directly in the pulp production process but some is also used for district heating and electricity production.
The share of bioenergy derived from the agricultural sector is small at present. In total, around 2 per cent of Sweden's arable land is used solely for energy production.
The best known multi-annual crop used for heating purposes in Sweden is Salix (from the willow family). There are significant environmental benefits from Salix cultivation. For example, compared with other crops, Salix cultivation involves relatively little nutrient leaching and little use of pesticides. Salix is also able to selectively take up large amounts of cadmium from the soil and can therefore help to detoxify it.
Animal by-products (ABPs) can also be used as raw material in energy production. From a new facility in Värmland meat waste (ground ABPs) is delivered as fuel for energy production. This fuel contributes a small share of Sweden’s energy requirements but is an example of new technology that has a very low environmental impact.
Biomass fuel production uses cereals to produce ethanol for blending with petrol and Rapeseed oil Methyl Esters (RME) for blending with diesel.Furthermore, the agricultural sector can produce biogas from the anaerobic digestion of manure. Biogas can then be used for heating and electricity production or be upgraded to vehicle fuel. The use of biomass fuels can significantly reduce greenhouse gases compared with fossils fuels (petrol or diesel).
Peat is sometimes also considered a biofuel. Peat is an organic soil that forms in damp and oxygen-de-ficient environments and is composed of dead plant material broken down by micro-organisms and chemical compounds. Peat regenerates very slowly. Peat is mainly used as a supplement to other fuels in combined heat and power plants.
pdf-sheet - fact sheet
http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/10157/a/99468
