Possibilities for increasing the power generation with biomass in pulp and paper mills
- OTATECH Ltd, Jyvaeskylae (Finland)
Even today the share of wood derived fuels in the Finnish energy supply is significant and it is higher than in any other industrialized western country. The energy content of wood derived fuels used in 1993 was equivalent to 4.36 million toe. The wood raw material used in pulp and paper mills is harvested by log-length method, in which the trees are delimbed and bucked to timber assortments at the stump prior to subsequent transport to the road side. The long-distance transport to the mills is performed by truck-trailers. Debarking takes place in debarking drums, after which the bark-free stemwood is chipped to clean chips for pulping. The bark is removed from any drum, shredded, mechanically dried and conveyed to the power plant for energy production. In order to increase the amount of wood fuel in proportion to raw wood material various integrated harvesting methods are being developed. On the other hand, the pulp and paper mills are seen as a significant potential sector for increasing the use of wood fuel in energy production. Forest management in Finland is characterized by two or three selective thinnings during rotation period. Integrated harvesting methods can be applied to the first thinnings and to the spruce-dominant regeneration fellings. The annual potential of wood fuel production with integrated harvesting methods is in the first thinnings 0.9-1.2 million toe and in the spruce-dominant regeneration fellings 0.6-0.8 million toe. The increased amount of wood fuel allows mills either to decrease the amount of purchased fuel or with new power plant technologies the amount of purchased power. In the typical pulp and paper mills the energy content of additional wood fuel produced with integrated harvesting methods can be 50-60 MW. By pressurized gasification of bark and additional wood fuel, by integrated methods and from other mills, the power generation can be increased with 70-90 MW.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 115266
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/CP-200-8098; CONF-9508104-; ON: DE95009230; TRN: 95:006736-0047
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 2. meeting on biomass of the Americas, Portland, OR (United States), 21-24 Aug 1995; Other Information: PBD: [1995]; Related Information: Is Part Of Second biomass conference of the Americas: Energy, environment, agriculture, and industry. Proceedings; PB: 1741 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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