Utilization of Residual Forest Biomass

Abstract

Growth in income and population results in an increasing demand for forest products. The FAO estimates the annual growth in consumption as 1.2% for sawn wood, 2.7% for wood-based panels, and 3.7% for paper and paperboard. The gross wood-in-the-rough required to meet the growth projections of the forest industries is expected to rise to 2388 million m³ in 2000, without eliminating double counting of industrial residuals used in further processing. The share of mill residues is presently 11.4% of the total consumption of industrial raw material and expected to peak around 1990 at about 12.7%. By that time the industrialized regions should have fully tapped their economically accessible mill residues. The net demand on the forest created by forest-based industries is projected to grow from 1456 million m³ in 1984 to 2085 million m³ in 2000. The expected growth is thus 43% (FAO 1982, 1986a).