Waste from Forest Industry

In developing countries, biomass – and particularly wood – accounts for approximately 38% of the primary energy use among more than two billion consumers, many of whom have no access to modern energy services. In the forest industry, large concentrations of biomass waste can be utilised for power and heat production and, thus, provide access to modern energy services. The forest industry is also the foundation for traditional charcoal production. During this process, large amounts of methane with a Global Warming Potential 21 times higher than CO₂ are released. This may be reduced, or entirely avoided, by altering the production method or it may be captured for power production. The forest industry also supplies raw materials for briquette production, where sawdust, charcoal dust, degradable waste paper and dust from agricultural production could constitute a final utilisation of waste materials from wood-related production.

Description of technology

Forest Residues

Forests are already the prime source of fuel for households where wood collection is a laborious activity and wood fuel is most often used in inefficient cook stoves. Alternatively, forest residues, sawmill waste or other sources like, twigs, branches and dry leaves may be used for power and heat production. At the sawmills there are obvious utilisation options for the sawdust, which has little value as fuel in household cook stoves. Many CDM projects are based on the installation of a boiler, for the incineration of the sawdust, producing both power for the sawmill (and possibly also for the power grid) and heat for drying of wood, that often replaces diesel based captive power production.

Other options are normally linked to formal plantations, where pruning is a basic part of efficient plantation management, and collection of waste is necessary both in the plantation and at the processing plant. However, for such projects, an important consideration is whether a more formalised utilisation of the waste would compete with already existing utilisation in households which would undermine or eliminate the foundation for livelihood in the vicinity of the plantation.

Charcoal

Charcoal production is releasing methane – especially in the traditional open pits process. CDM project activities that aim at reducing methane emissions during the carbonization process entail three phases: ignition, carbonization and cooling. CDM projects are implemented in two different processes: 1) improvement of kiln design for better temperature control and greater control of carbonization variables which reduce methane production, or 2) utilising the released methane to generate electricity in a gas engine or through a boiler, turbine and generator set.

Briquettes

Briquettes can be made from all kinds of forest and agricultural residues as well as waste from animal production. It can be manufactured using automatic briquetting machines or it can be made as a household ‘industry’ with manual presses, compressing the biomass typically in cylindrical shapes with a press that squeezes out liquids from the waste. The briquettes may be used as fuel in domestic stoves or at larger scales for power production, typically replacing fossil fuels.

Sub-types

• Forest Residues: Sawmill Waste
• Forest Residues: Other
• Charcoal Production
• Biomass Briquettes

Methodologies

• Forest Residues
  • Large Scale
    • ACM0002
    • ACM0003
    • ACM0006
    • ACM0018
    • AM0036
    • AM0042
    • AM0085
  • Small Scale
    • AMS-I.D.
    • AMS-I.C.
• Charcoal Production
  • Large Scale
    • AM0041
    • ACM0082
  • Small Scale
    • AMS-III.K
• Biomass Briquettes
  • Small Scale
    • AMS-I.C.
    • AMS-III.B.