Puuenergiaketjujen ympäristönäkökohtien hankekokonaisuus: PUUT11

Life cycle methodology was developed and applied to assess environmental burdens and impacts of the logging and sawmill residues throughout the whole fuel chain from the forestry to energy production. Environmental aspects of the sawmill residue chains and the terrain and the roadside chipping chains for logging residues, including both the fresh and the dry chipping options, were analysed for a variety of air emissions from the chipping and the transportation machinery. The data for the energy production was acquired with emission measurements and the material balance calculations made for a energy plant. Thus the study provided a good first stage database for the life cycle assessments of wood based energy. However, many important issues, such as the processes and the time span of the forestry, nutrient economy of the forests including the various options of nutrient generation, recycling and compensating fertilisation, soil emissions, carbon cycle, radiative forcing, and biodiversity, were excluded from the agenda of the study.