IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v16y2012i5p3176-3199.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Developments in international solid biofuel trade—An analysis of volumes, policies, and market factors

Author

Listed:
  • Lamers, Patrick
  • Junginger, Martin
  • Hamelinck, Carlo
  • Faaij, André

Abstract

This paper presents and analyses international solid biofuel trade and concludes upon interactions with bioenergy policies and market factors. It shows that trade has grown from about 56 to 300PJ between 2000 and 2010. Wood pellets grew strongest, i.e. from 8.5 to 120PJ. Other relevant streams by 2010 included wood waste (77PJ), fuelwood (76PJ), wood chips (17PJ), residues (9PJ), and roundwood (2.4PJ). Intra-EU trade covered two thirds of global trade by 2010. Underlying markets are highly heterogeneous; generally though trade evolved whenever supply side market factors coincided with existing/emerging demand patterns. Market factors and policies both defined trade volumes; though policy changes did not have as prominent effects on trade developments as in the liquid biofuel sector. Economic viability is the key limiting factor. Main exporting countries have low feedstock costs and already existing wood processing industries. Trade-relevant aspects are the commodity's monetary value; determined by its homogeneity, heating value, and bulk density. Consumer markets are diverse: in residential heating, demand/trade patterns have been influenced by local biofuel availability and short-term price signals, i.e. mainly price competitiveness and investment support for boilers/stoves. Commodities are mainly sourced regionally, but price differences have triggered a growing trade. The industrial segment is greatly influenced by policy frameworks but more mature (e.g. established routes). Trade is strictly linked to margins (defined mainly by policies) and combustion technologies. Uncertainties in the analysis are due to data gaps across and within databases regarding import/export declarations. To estimate bioenergy related trade, anecdotal data was indispensable. We believe datasets should be streamlined across international institutions to eventually enable reporting of global trade beyond digit-6-level. Research is needed to provide further insights into informal markets. Interrelations between trade factors are particularly relevant when mapping future trade streams under different policy/trade regime scenarios.

Suggested Citation

  • Lamers, Patrick & Junginger, Martin & Hamelinck, Carlo & Faaij, André, 2012. "Developments in international solid biofuel trade—An analysis of volumes, policies, and market factors," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 3176-3199.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:16:y:2012:i:5:p:3176-3199
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2012.02.027
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032112001219
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2012.02.027?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Selkimäki, Mari & Mola-Yudego, Blas & Röser, Dominik & Prinz, Robert & Sikanen, Lauri, 2010. "Present and future trends in pellet markets, raw materials, and supply logistics in Sweden and Finland," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(9), pages 3068-3075, December.
    2. Lamers, Patrick & Hamelinck, Carlo & Junginger, Martin & Faaij, André, 2011. "International bioenergy trade--A review of past developments in the liquid biofuel market," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 2655-2676, August.
    3. Uslu, Ayla & Faaij, André P.C. & Bergman, P.C.A., 2008. "Pre-treatment technologies, and their effect on international bioenergy supply chain logistics. Techno-economic evaluation of torrefaction, fast pyrolysis and pelletisation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(8), pages 1206-1223.
    4. Hansson, Julia & Berndes, Gran & Johnsson, Filip & Kjrstad, Jan, 2009. "Co-firing biomass with coal for electricity generation--An assessment of the potential in EU27," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 1444-1455, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Svanberg, Martin & Ellis, Joanne & Lundgren, Joakim & Landälv, Ingvar, 2018. "Renewable methanol as a fuel for the shipping industry," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 1217-1228.
    2. Xinhua Shen & Raghava R. Kommalapati & Ziaul Huque, 2015. "The Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Power Generation from Lignocellulosic Biomass," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(10), pages 1-14, September.
    3. Proskurina, Svetlana & Rimppi, Heli & Heinimö, Jussi & Hansson, Julia & Orlov, Anton & Raghu, KC & Vakkilainen, Esa, 2016. "Logistical, economic, environmental and regulatory conditions for future wood pellet transportation by sea to Europe: The case of Northwest Russian seaports," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 38-50.
    4. Proskurina, Svetlana & Alakangas, Eija & Heinimö, Jussi & Mikkilä, Mirja & Vakkilainen, Esa, 2017. "A survey analysis of the wood pellet industry in Finland: Future perspectives," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 692-704.
    5. Elodie Le Cadre & Frederic Lantz & Pierre-André Jouvet, 2011. "The bioenergies development: the role of biofuels and the C02 price," Working Papers hal-02505389, HAL.
    6. Vincent Bertrand & Elodie Le Cadre, 2015. "Simulating the use of biomass in electricity with the green electricity simulate model: An application to the French power generation," Working Papers 1503, Chaire Economie du climat.
    7. Alsaleh, Mohd & Abdul-Rahim, A.S. & Mohd-Shahwahid, H.O., 2017. "An empirical and forecasting analysis of the bioenergy market in the EU28 region: Evidence from a panel data simultaneous equation model," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1123-1137.
    8. Bertrand, Vincent & Dequiedt, Benjamin & Le Cadre, Elodie, 2014. "Biomass for electricity in the EU-27: Potential demand, CO2 abatements and breakeven prices for co-firing," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 631-644.
    9. Pitak, Lakkana & Sirisomboon, Panmanas & Saengprachatanarug, Khwantri & Wongpichet, Seree & Posom, Jetsada, 2021. "Rapid elemental composition measurement of commercial pellets using line-scan hyperspectral imaging analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    10. Hoefnagels, Ric & Banse, Martin & Dornburg, Veronika & Faaij, André, 2013. "Macro-economic impact of large-scale deployment of biomass resources for energy and materials on a national level—A combined approach for the Netherlands," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 727-744.
    11. Wang, Zhiwei & Lei, Tingzhou & Chang, Xia & Shi, Xinguang & Xiao, Ju & Li, Zaifeng & He, Xiaofeng & Zhu, Jinling & Yang, Shuhua, 2015. "Optimization of a biomass briquette fuel system based on grey relational analysis and analytic hierarchy process: A study using cornstalks in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 523-532.
    12. Chai, Li & Saffron, Christopher M., 2016. "Comparing pelletization and torrefaction depots: Optimization of depot capacity and biomass moisture to determine the minimum production cost," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 387-395.
    13. Li, Jun & Brzdekiewicz, Artur & Yang, Weihong & Blasiak, Wlodzimierz, 2012. "Co-firing based on biomass torrefaction in a pulverized coal boiler with aim of 100% fuel switching," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 344-354.
    14. van Vliet, Oscar & van den Broek, Machteld & Turkenburg, Wim & Faaij, André, 2011. "Combining hybrid cars and synthetic fuels with electricity generation and carbon capture and storage," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 248-268, January.
    15. Qi, Jianhui & Zhao, Jianli & Xu, Yang & Wang, Yongjia & Han, Kuihua, 2018. "Segmented heating carbonization of biomass: Yields, property and estimation of heating value of chars," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 301-311.
    16. Elodie Le Cadre & Caroline Orset, 2010. "Irreversible investment, uncertainty, and ambiguity: The case of bioenergy sector," Working Papers 2010/03, INRA, Economie Publique.
    17. Batidzirai, B. & Mignot, A.P.R. & Schakel, W.B. & Junginger, H.M. & Faaij, A.P.C., 2013. "Biomass torrefaction technology: Techno-economic status and future prospects," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 196-214.
    18. Moiseyev, Alexander & Solberg, Birger & Kallio, A. Maarit I., 2014. "The impact of subsidies and carbon pricing on the wood biomass use for energy in the EU," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 161-167.
    19. Kargbo, Hannah & Harris, Jonathan Stuart & Phan, Anh N., 2021. "“Drop-in” fuel production from biomass: Critical review on techno-economic feasibility and sustainability," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    20. Roni, Md.S. & Eksioglu, Sandra D. & Searcy, Erin & Jha, Krishna, 2014. "A supply chain network design model for biomass co-firing in coal-fired power plants," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 115-134.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:16:y:2012:i:5:p:3176-3199. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.