Agricultural waste: the optimum biomass solution?
Mogens Slot Knudsen, briquetting expert C.F. Nielsen explains why agricultural waste could be the best solution to preventing deforestation and increased biomass costs.
Within the last decades, biomass has become an important element in many countries’ energy strategies. As one of the renewable energy sources, biomass was a driver in helping countries reduce their carbon dioxide emissions and this continues to be so.
It all started in Scandinavia and now, using biomass for fuel is common in countries, mainly in Europe but also globally. Typical raw materials are wood chips, wood briquettes, and wood pellets. However, these raw materials are becoming commodities and with the increasing demand in Europe, biomass has become a scarce resource, which has led to a geographical change in the way biomass is produced — mainly pellets — as it is now being produced in countries where the biomass is cheaper. Producing biomass in one country and shipping it around the world will not be a sustainable solution in the long-term.
The higher utilisation of wood-based biomass will lead to reduced supply and higher prices....
Within the last decades, biomass has become an important element in many countries’ energy strategies. As one of the renewable energy sources, biomass was a driver in helping countries reduce their carbon dioxide emissions and this continues to be so.
It all started in Scandinavia and now, using biomass for fuel is common in countries, mainly in Europe but also globally. Typical raw materials are wood chips, wood briquettes, and wood pellets. However, these raw materials are becoming commodities and with the increasing demand in Europe, biomass has become a scarce resource, which has led to a geographical change in the way biomass is produced — mainly pellets — as it is now being produced in countries where the biomass is cheaper. Producing biomass in one country and shipping it around the world will not be a sustainable solution in the long-term.
The higher utilisation of wood-based biomass will lead to reduced supply and higher prices....
