In Sweden good ideas really do grow on trees
Find out how Chemrec aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from heavy trucks by 95%, carbon dioxide emissions by 6 million tons and replace fossil fuel imports worth € 1 billion.
Absolut renewable. Black liquor, a by-product of the paper industry is gasified and turned into automotive fuel by Chemrec (Photo: Chemrec).
In September 2009, just ten days after breaking ground for the world’s first plant for the production of the renewable automotive fuel BioDME in the city of Piteå, Chemrec announce that they have been provided an investment grant of up to €49 million from the Swedish Energy R&D Board to build a similar plant at Dömsjö Fabriker in Örnsköldsvik. Whereas the Piteå plant is a pilot project, the plant at Dömsjö is a demonstration of full scale industrial production of BioDME and Biomethanol. Investment costs is calculated to €300 million for a capacity of 100 000 tons of renewable fuel per year. This is enough to supply well over 2000 heavy trucks with fuel.
Sweden’s black gold
BioDME and Biomethanol is made from gasified black liquor, a bio-mass by-product of the pulp and paper industry available at existing industrial sites in large quantities. The energy raw material for the biofuels is forest harvest residues, primarily branches and tree tops. Chemrec sees great potential in transforming paper mills into biorefineries:
- The Chemrec technology has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 95% compared to gasoline and diesel, replace imported fossil fuels with renewable and to create improved profitability and employment in the forest-based industry, says Chemrec COO Jonas Rudberg in a press release.
The sky is the limit
With fully implemented renewable fuels production at all pulp mills in Sweden, half of all heavy road transports could be propelled by BioDME. This would reduce Sweden’s fossil carbon dioxide emissions by 10% and replace fossil fuel imports worth about €1 billion annually. With the Chemrec technology, the global production potential for biofuels is on the order of 225 million barrels oil equivalent per year, and grows with the pulp industry by about 4% growth each year.
The investment grant is contingent on approval by th EU Directorate General for Competition.
Further reading
Swedish energy and climate policy
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