Wood Waste Management in Europe through the Lens of the Circular Bioeconomy

Over 30% of the world’s land area is covered by forests. Approximately 761 million m3 of wood is harvested annually in Europe (2017). The aim of the paper is to assess the amount of wood (biomass) produced in Europe per year, as it determines the amount of carbon dioxide released from wood because o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energies (Basel) 2022-06, Vol.15 (12), p.4352
Main Authors: Zbieć, Marcin, Franc-Dąbrowska, Justyna, Drejerska, Nina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alternative energy sources
Analysis
Biodiesel fuels
Biofuels
Biomass
By products
Carbon dioxide
circular bioeconomy
Combustion
Consumption
Emission analysis
Energy
Forestry
Manufacturing
Manufacturing industry
Raw materials
Refuse and refuse disposal
Statistical analysis
Technology assessment
Timber
Waste management
Wood products
Wood waste
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Summary:Over 30% of the world’s land area is covered by forests. Approximately 761 million m3 of wood is harvested annually in Europe (2017). The aim of the paper is to assess the amount of wood (biomass) produced in Europe per year, as it determines the amount of carbon dioxide released from wood because of combustion for heating and energy purposes. The circular bioeconomy was applied as the theoretical framework for this study. The study employs official statistics on material flows and also uses a technology assessment, which allows for more precise estimations. It can be estimated that 110 million tons of harvested woody biomass are converted into energy every year. This constitutes nearly 69% of processed wood, with burned wood treated as zero-emission. From the analysis of the compiled results, it can be concluded that, in Europe, more than 50% of the mass of raw wood material harvested per year is used for energy in the first stage of processing by manufacturing industries. These processes produce products that become the raw material for further processing, as a result of which, further amounts of wood biomass are used for energy purposes.
ISSN:1996-1073
1996-1073
DOI:10.3390/en15124352