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ePaper created 2014-06-03, 15:03:20 | version 1.30.01
36 02 MARKET AND INDUSTRY TRENDS and impacts on poverty, land tenure, food security, and social equity.90 In addition, some corporate social responsibility (CSR) schemes are including social programmes.91 The industry has also responded by producing a number of co-products from biomass feedstocks, such as chemicals and animal feeds. This practice, known as “bio-refining,” can maximise value and enhance profitability while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. “bio-refinery” industry has expanded steadily, and, in 2013, it counted some 211 facilities that were producing a range of co-products with ethanol; another 165 were expanding or under construction.92 Biorefineries also exist in many other countries and include the newly opened Amyris plant in Brazil, which converts sugarcane plant sugars into a variety of renewable ingredients, including farnesene (used inter alia in flavourings) and patchouli (used in fragrances), together with renewable diesel and jet fuel.93 Solid Biomass Industry During 2013, a large number of companies were actively engaged in supplying equipment and bioenergy plants that convert solid biomass—mainly wood chips and pellets—to heat and electricity. Businesses in the United States, Europe, Asia, and elsewhere were busy constructing new biomass heat and power plants.94 Particularly in the forest and sugar industries, CHP plants typically are used for providing process heat on site, with surplus electricity sold off-site as a source of revenue. Global waste-to- energy plants together with landfill gas plants provided revenue of around USD 12 billion in 2012, an amount that is projected to increase by around 30% over the next 3–4 years.95 Global pellet production reached 23.6 million tonnes in 2013, an increase of nearly 13% over 2012 volumes.96 (See Figure 7). The EU accounted for nearly half of global production, followed by North America (33%).97 Companies in Canada and the United States were busy building new pellet production facilities to keep up with European demand; their 2013 shipments were up 50% over 2012 and almost double those of 2011, reaching a value of more than USD 650 million.98 The production of torrefied pellets remained below 200,000 tonnes per year.99 In response to the increase in international trade of solid biomass, several shipping ports have begun to upgrade their handling facilities to remain competitive.100 For example, the Port of Amsterdam had invested around USD 138 million (EUR 100 million) in biomass handling and storage as of early 2014. The port handled the import of 100,000 tonnes of pellets and wood chips in 2013, and expects the quantity to rise rapidly.101 Further investment is planned for the construction of dedicated biomass storage capacity, with importers such as Cargill (United States) and CWT Europe (Netherlands) watching developments at several ports before committing their future business.102 In 2013, Korea Southern Power and other Korean energy and trading companies, including GS, LG, and Samsung, were exploring pellet import opportunities with suppliers from Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, the United States, Thailand, Vietnam, and elsewhere.103 Gaseous Biomass Industry In 2013, worldwide manufacture and installation of farm and community-scale biogas plants continued for the treatment of wet-waste biomass, including that from wastewater treatment plants. The year also saw a further expansion of efforts to upgrade biogas, sewage gas, and landfill gas to higher-quality biomethane for use as a vehicle fuel or for injection into the natural gas grid. Many food and fibre processing businesses continued to find innovative ways to produce energy from their own waste materials. Productionofbiogasisexpandingrapidlyinanumberofcountries, although the actual volume of biogas produced is not known.104 In the United Kingdom, the number of plants producing biogas rose Source: See Endnote 60 for this section. Figure 6. Wood Pellet Global Production, by Country or Region, 2000–2013 World Total 23.6 Million Tonnes 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 25 20 15 10 5 0 Million Tonnes Rest of World Rest of Asia China Russia United States and Canada European Union (EU-27) Figure 7. Wood Pellet Global Production, by Country or Region, 2000–2013