IS THE FOREST READY TO BE FUEL?

摘要

Following the COP21 conference in Paris, most of the industrial countries around the world have decided to lower the GHG production. Canada among many have set very ambitious targets of reducing emissions 30% below 2005 by 2030. Part of the country such as Quebec even pushed further by aiming at a 37.5% reduction below 1990 level by 2030. In most cases, one of the biggest challenge is transportation which, in Canada, comes in as the second biggest GHG emitter (while being the first in Quebec). Despite the market implementation of the electric cars, countries such as Australia, Canada and New-Zealand have to cope with a small population density on a very large territory. Hence classical engines will most probably be required at least for the next 10 years, while a minimal penetration of electrical alternatives is envisioned to cope for the heavy transportation, railways, aviation and maritime demand. The Canadian forest industry has been integrated for decades, starting from wood harvesting down to the lumber market. However, the decline of the newspaper market has significantly influenced the pulp and paper industry which used to be a pillar of the Canadian economy. At the same time the lumbering industry is still fully operating, and forest residues are starting to become a significant issue. In Quebec only, a minimum of 2MT of wood residues and 1MT of bark are available each year with price ranges varying from 60$(CAN) to 10$(CAN) per tonne respectively. One possible use of this biomass is for CHP applications; however, Quebec also has access to very cheap green (hydro) electricity which restrain potential electricity production (except in remote locations).