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Sustainable transport – Progress with Grönsamhet
From forest to fuel tank with Pyrocell
Climate-smart raw material
Sustainable transport
Setra is sitting on one of the solutions for increasing domestic production of renewable biofuel. In partnership with fuel company Preem, a joint production facility is currently being built to produce bio-oil at the sawmill in Kastet outside Gävle.
THE JOINTLY-OWNED company Pyrocell will pro-
duce bio-oil from sawdust. Setra is responsible for the raw material, sawdust, and Preem for refineries and filling stations. “For several years, we’ve been looking at how we can improve profitability and secure revenue for our bioproducts and develop our sawdust business. A lot of pieces fell into place when we found a partner in Preem,” explains Pontus Friberg, SVP Enterprise Risk Management at Setra and Chairman of the Board of Pyrocell. Used where it does the most benefit Today sawdust has various uses, including district heating. But it produces the greatest benefit as a raw material for biofuel, a product that is in short supply in Sweden. Today, 85% of renewable fuels are imported or based on imported raw materials. At the same time, use of renewable fuels needs to more than double if we are to attain our target of a 70% reduction in carbon emissions in the transport sector by 2030. “Sawdust has long been seen as a waste product. Now we have assessed where we think it can produce the greatest climate benefit, and the answer is by reducing carbon emissions in the transport sector. The investment in Pyrocell is sustainable from a commercial and environmental perspective,” says Pontus Friberg. The project has been awarded SEK 117 million in investment grants from the government’s Klimatklivet initiative, which supports local and regional measures to reduce climate gas emissions. This support shows that the project is considered to have potentially wide-ranging benefits for the climate. Direct impact on the roads Pyrolysis oil can replace fossil oil and be used in heating boilers in the energy sector and in industry more widely, or, as in Pyrocell’s case, to produce biofuel. Once Preem has refined the bio-oil, it will replace part of the fossil raw material in ordinary petrol and diesel. It will have a direct impact on emissions on the roads and make a real contribution to the transition to a fossil-free transport sector.
Sustainability Report 2019 — Setra Group
Other advantages of domestic biofuel production are that it will be easier to control the environmental impact of production and ensure that acceptable working conditions are provided. “Pyrocell’s plant at Kastet will be the first production facility for pyrolysis oil in Europe, and possibly the world, linked to a refinery. What is unique about the project is that we are linking up the whole value chain from forest to fuel tank,” says Pontus Friberg. Pyrocell will also produce steam that goes back to the sawmill, where it will be used in the drying process. The factory, which will be completed in 2021, will produce about 25,000 tonnes of pyrolysis oil per year. This is equivalent to the annual fuel consumption of up to 17,000 cars. “Exactly how big the overall climate impact will be is hard to say, but we have estimated that we could attain a reduction in carbon dioxide compared with fossil fuel of 80 to 90%,” says Pontus Friberg. At the moment, many actors are looking to make their products greener. Demand is outstripping supply and Pontus Friberg is not opposed to the idea of more production plants adjoining Setra’s sawmills. “The investment in bio-oil makes us an attractive business partner and employer, and results that demonstrate Grönsamhet will increase the value of our brand.
Pyrolysis Pyrolysis is a process in which a substance is rapidly heated to a high temperature without adding oxygen so that the solid material is vaporised and can be condensed into a liquid. Through pyrolysis, branches, roots, tops and sawdust can be turned into oil, which can then be refined into renewable petrol and diesel. Pyrolysis oil is a dark brown liquid with a strong, slightly smoky odour and a low pH value. According to the CLP Regulation, which contains rules on the classification, labelling and packaging of chemical products, the oil is not classified as flammable or hazardous to the environment. Read more at pyrocell.se
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