Evaluation of energy efficient techniques in the wood working and wood processing industry Final report THERMIE - Action no. DIS-0059-95-DE

With the entrance of Austria, Finland and Sweden in the European Union beginning of 1995 the pattern of industrial energy consumption has changed considerably in some branches which are large energy consumers in the Northern countries. The wood working and wood processing industry is one of those branches. It comprises the preparation of wood from primary processing in sawmills up to the production of finished products, and is highly energy-intensive although to a somewhat smaller extent than the large energy consumers such as the iron and steel production or glass manufacturing. It can further be assumed that official statistics underestimate the real importance of the energy consumption in the wood sector because most official statistics do not indicate waste wood as a fuel. Waste wood is a renewable fuel and has as such not the same impact in terms of CO_2-emissions as fossil fuels. Nevertheless, renewable energy sources should be also used efficiently because they can replace fossil fuels for other purposes. The objective of this study on the wood sector were to analyse and summarise the present status of energy consumption in the fifteen countries of the EU and the two EFTA countries Norway and Switzerland, to evaluate present day energy technology in the wood industry, and to investigate existing application barriers to these techniques in order to inform, support and to motivate small and medium-sized companies in particular, thus simulating the wide spread use of such techniques. (orig./SR)Available from TIB Hannover / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman