Recycling

Biography

Biography: Anna Liza S Bais

Abstract

In recent years, wood energy has regained importance due to the concern on increasing human-induced climate change, mainly caused by the combustion of fossil fuels. Wood biomass is increasingly promoted by governments as a carbon-neutral source of energy, based on the idea that for biomass, only the amount of carbon previously absorbed in the course of plant growth will be released to the atmosphere. The European Union set an ambitious and strict 20% renewable energy target by 2020, where wood –based energy plays a significant role in its strategies to expand the use of bioenergy. In consequence, the consumption of modern use of woodfuels (e.g. wood pellets and wood for heat and electricity) increased significantly in the EU in the past years. Bioenergy is not just the primary industrial use of wood biomass resources. Biomass is also widely used for various industrial processes for the production of pulp and paper, construction materials, furniture, among other uses. Wood biomass is also increasingly used as feedstocks for biomaterials due to the growing interest in the so called “bioeconomy” (i.e. an economy in which biomass displaces petroleum and other conventional materials). The increase in the consumption of bioenergy, in line with the growing interest in bioeconomy strategy might lead to an increased pressure on wood biomass resources and the forest ecosystem. Maximizing the efficiency of wood biomass conversions along the life cycle of wood products by the cascading use (i.e. the prioritization of wood biomass for higher added-value products, and as material input over energy use) of biomass can contribute to alleviate this increased pressure. This paper will present results of the current and potential resource efficiency gains based on established global biomass account and GHG emission reductions by utilization of recycled wood waste materials (i.e. post-consumer wood and paper wastes) for the manufacture of paper, paperboard and particleboard .