Forest-based value creation in Norway 77
Manufacturing of lignocellulosic products in integrated biorefineries
In integrated biorefineries the whole tree is processed and no off- cuts, sawdust,
etc. are lost. The bark is used for heating purposes. Energy produced in one
operation is reused in other operations, which means that an integrated biorefinery should co- locate a number of plants to enable the symbiotic exploitation of side- streams and residues in the most cost- effective way. Integrated
biorefineries produce a wide spectrum of products such as fuels, platform
chemicals and materials of various types including plastics and textiles (Bauer,
Coenen, Hansen, McCormick & Palgan, 2017). An economic risk analysis of
different biorefinery concepts is in favour of upgrading bioethanol to higher
value- added chemicals (Cheali, Posada, Gernaey & Sin, 2016).
One of the main issues when processing lignocellulosic materials in biorefineries is how to handle lignin in the production process. Lignin originally
appeared as the main residue of paper production and represents c.30% of dry
mass of wood. Lignin needs to be removed from the pulp to get a better
quality of paper. Traditionally it has been used as a source of energy only, but
at an integrated biorefinery lignin can be valorised into more valuable products. There is an established practice of using lignin as an additive to concrete,
and other industrial valorisation pathways include the production of vanillin,
dispersants or emulsion stabilisers.
Storage and transport of residues
The storage of residues requires area capacity and monitoring and, in the case
of saw dust, even coverage to safeguard losses. The quality of the residues and
side- streams requires that they are handled with as little transportation as possible, which means that short distances are preferable. When a tree has been
logged the wood has a moisture content of around 50% (FAO, 1990). The
moisture content is different in different seasons, and varies across species.
High moisture content has an impact on the heating value and on the
volume. For these reasons a co- location of valorisation pathways seems the
most cost- effective option. Therefore, in our analysis of the three cases we
use a theoretical framework which is specially tuned to analyse local/regional
path development.
4.3 Conceptual framework
In order to understand the challenges and opportunities of the forestry industry in different Norwegian regions to simultaneously diversify into new
product groups and minimise waste, we draw on the literature on regional
path development. In the following section we describe different types of
possible path developments for the three regions included in our study.
Sydow et al. (2009) highlight that the formation of a new path involves
several stages and it is during the last stages that the process first gets locked in
Manufacturing of lignocellulosic products in integrated biorefineries
In integrated biorefineries the whole tree is processed and no off- cuts, sawdust,
etc. are lost. The bark is used for heating purposes. Energy produced in one
operation is reused in other operations, which means that an integrated biorefinery should co- locate a number of plants to enable the symbiotic exploitation of side- streams and residues in the most cost- effective way. Integrated
biorefineries produce a wide spectrum of products such as fuels, platform
chemicals and materials of various types including plastics and textiles (Bauer,
Coenen, Hansen, McCormick & Palgan, 2017). An economic risk analysis of
different biorefinery concepts is in favour of upgrading bioethanol to higher
value- added chemicals (Cheali, Posada, Gernaey & Sin, 2016).
One of the main issues when processing lignocellulosic materials in biorefineries is how to handle lignin in the production process. Lignin originally
appeared as the main residue of paper production and represents c.30% of dry
mass of wood. Lignin needs to be removed from the pulp to get a better
quality of paper. Traditionally it has been used as a source of energy only, but
at an integrated biorefinery lignin can be valorised into more valuable products. There is an established practice of using lignin as an additive to concrete,
and other industrial valorisation pathways include the production of vanillin,
dispersants or emulsion stabilisers.
Storage and transport of residues
The storage of residues requires area capacity and monitoring and, in the case
of saw dust, even coverage to safeguard losses. The quality of the residues and
side- streams requires that they are handled with as little transportation as possible, which means that short distances are preferable. When a tree has been
logged the wood has a moisture content of around 50% (FAO, 1990). The
moisture content is different in different seasons, and varies across species.
High moisture content has an impact on the heating value and on the
volume. For these reasons a co- location of valorisation pathways seems the
most cost- effective option. Therefore, in our analysis of the three cases we
use a theoretical framework which is specially tuned to analyse local/regional
path development.
4.3 Conceptual framework
In order to understand the challenges and opportunities of the forestry industry in different Norwegian regions to simultaneously diversify into new
product groups and minimise waste, we draw on the literature on regional
path development. In the following section we describe different types of
possible path developments for the three regions included in our study.
Sydow et al. (2009) highlight that the formation of a new path involves
several stages and it is during the last stages that the process first gets locked in