Global biomass trade for energy— Part 2: Production and trade streams of wood pellets, liquid biofuels, charcoal, industrial roundwood and emerging energy biomass

Abstract

Many countries have limited low‐cost biomass resources to satisfy their own demand for bioenergy; consequently, international trade in biomass in various liquid and solid forms is increasing. The aim of this study is to present a quantitative overview of the development of international biomass trade for energy purposes. This paper focuses on the main biomass producing and consuming countries, as well as exporters and importers of liquid and solid biofuels, such as wood pellets, biodiesel, and bio‐ethanol, and biomass products, for example industrial roundwood. The study discusses changes in trends that have occurred over the past decade, and investigates emerging energy biomass trade streams. Due to increased demand for wood pellets from the heating and industrial sectors, global wood pellet markets and international trade have increased significantly in the past decade. The United States and Brazil remain leaders in bio‐ethanol production with about 45 Mt and 24 Mt respectively. In recent years, Asian markets such as China (industrial roundwood), South Korea (wood pellets), Malaysia, and Indonesia (palm oil) have developed considerably. In the EU‐28, more than 60% of total palm oil consumption is used for energy purposes. The EU is the global leader in biomass for energy utilization and also the main importer of most biomass products, particularly wood pellets. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

The future of biomass and bioenergy deployment and trade: a synthesis of 15 years IEA Bioenergy Task 40 on sustainable bioenergy trade

“…From a bioenergy perspective, trade of industrial roundwood is important to emphasize as a number of by-products after trade and post consumption can be used indirectly for energy purposes, see more in Proskurina S et al (2018). 5 Similarly, wood chips and particles are also traded for material purposes and then can be used for energy purposes in a form of a by-product. However, wood chips and particles are mostly local product and traded for a short distance.…”

“…Overall, more than 90% of the global ethanol consumption is used as biofuel, see more in. 5 With regard to biodiesel, Argentina is the main exporter to the US, whereas Malaysia and Indonesia are the exporters to the EU, see Fig. 5.…”

CO2 Efficiency Break Points for Processes Associated to Wood and Coal Transport and Heating

“…In study [40], an initial overview of the global status of the production and biomass trade for energy is presented. Proskurina, Junginger, and Heinino [41] investigated emerging energy biomass trade streams, in other words, biomass producing and consuming countries regarding liquid and solid biofuels (including roundwood).…”

“…Environmental break points were not established for the efficiency of these processes, as we proposed, and a comparison with the combined process for fossil fuel was not included. Many other sources have been found, e.g., [38][39][40][41][42], addressing either the combination of transport and biofuels, or the determination of fossil fuel emissions. However, they examine the problem from a different point of view, with a different range and context.…”

The Potential Contribution of Imported Biomass to Renewable Energy Targets in the EU–the Trade-off between Ambitious Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Targets and Cost Thresholds

“…A limiting factor in this is the availability of sustainable and affordable feedstock. Discrepancies between supply and demand in different countries have resulted in an emerging trade in fuel wood, wood chips and especially wood pellets between countries and world regions [4,5]. In 2018, the EU supplemented 17 Mt of wood pellet production with the importation of 8 Mt from the US and 2 Mt from other European countries [6].…”