Mapping of biogenic carbon flows in the forest-based value chains in Sweden
The sawmill and wood industry sector is characterized by a high proportion of the use of domestic raw materials, where only around 2% of the timber comes from imports. 2950 kt of carbon is exported, which can be compared to the domestic use (including for energy purposes) of 8720 kt of carbon. Of the primary raw material used in the sawmills, 28% ends up in sawn spruce (2280 kt of carbon) and 18% in sawn pine (1460 kt of carbon). The sawn timber is then sent to the construction trade or for further processing within the wood manufacturing industry into various construction products, as well as to the furniture industry. The remaining portion of the wood raw material in the sawmills becomes by-products that go to energy production or to the pulp and paper industry.
From the Swedish wood manufacturing industry, there is a flow consisting of by- and residual streams where the majority becomes return wood chips (RT chips) that are either burned in their own boilers for heat production at the industry or sent to heating or combined heat and power plants. The amount of RT chips that enter the Swedish power and heating plants annually amounts to 1300 kt of carbon. The difference between what goes into the wood manufacturing industry and what is energy recovered in the form of primarily RT chips is bound in long-lived products such as wooden frames, building interiors, furnishings, and furniture, which are also partially exported.
The market for reuse and recycling of wood within the construction sector is still underdeveloped in Sweden, pilot studies are ongoing, and only small amounts of timber flow in this process. Since construction products often have functional and quality requirements that need to meet current building codes upon reuse, reuse is complicated, and the issue of responsibility also complicates matters. Regulations, test methods, new actors, and business models need to be developed.
There is a clear potential to use by- and residual streams from the wood value chain more efficiently considering the increasing competition for wood raw material from the forest. Two clear tracks
• Capture juvenile fibers from the breakdown and postprocessing processes in the wood value chain and coordinate flows into volumes that can be utilized for products instead of energy production. This requires coordination of more sectors than just the actors in the forest sector to find the right biogenic raw materials for energy production.
• Develop processes, methods, and business models that contribute to RT chips being used to a greater extent for products instead of energy production. A prerequisite for change is that both industry and society's energy supply (electricity and heat) can be managed with less energy from combustion of wood raw material.
Among the actors in the value chain, there is an understanding and even a willingness to make a transition, but above all, there is a lack of economic incentives to do so.
A further perspective, given the increasing competition for wood raw material from the forest, is to reflect on the volumes of exported wood, its use, resource efficiency and possible national need.
Today, there is a significant lack of detailed public statistics and data on the amount of sawn timber that goes into various types of products. The risk of disclosing company- that data collected by, for example, SCB (Statistics Sweden) cannot be published officially. Not all companies report data either. Statistics are available for flows upstream for sawmill production and downstream for distribution. Individual companies in the value chain have good knowledge of their internal flows. Statistics for product categories within wood manufacturing are specified at the product level and not in the level of detail for the input material. The low resolution makes it difficult to compile reliable statistics for flows of wood-based material. For energy and heat production, statistics are available via Energiföretagen (Swedish Energy Companies) and industry organizations. However, there is currently poor knowledge about the material flows that go to RT chips, which then go to combustion. A further perspective, given the increasing competition for wood raw material from the forest, is to reflect on the volumes of exported wood, its use, resource efficiency and possible national need.