Projects / Programmes
Economic, environmental and social aspects of wood processing and its use and carbon sequestration
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 4.01.00 |
Biotechnical sciences |
Forestry, wood and paper technology |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 4.01 |
Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences |
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries |
Wood material flows, environmental impacts of wood products, production of wood products, Model for distribution of wood in the wood processing industry, development scenarios of the forestry, timber and paper sector, LCA, LCC, development policies of the forestry, wood and paper sector
Researchers (13)
| no. |
Code |
Name and surname |
Research area |
Role |
Period |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
51924 |
PhD Domen Arnič |
Forestry, wood and paper technology |
Junior researcher |
2021 - 2022 |
65 |
| 2. |
51616 |
PhD Balazs David |
Computer science and informatics |
Head |
2021 - 2023 |
70 |
| 3. |
51449 |
PhD David Brian DeVallance |
Forestry, wood and paper technology |
Researcher |
2021 - 2022 |
86 |
| 4. |
39463 |
PhD Igor Karlovits |
Chemical engineering |
Researcher |
2021 - 2023 |
225 |
| 5. |
17034 |
PhD Nike Krajnc |
Forestry, wood and paper technology |
Researcher |
2021 - 2023 |
965 |
| 6. |
31274 |
PhD Andreja Kutnar |
Forestry, wood and paper technology |
Researcher |
2021 - 2023 |
408 |
| 7. |
39385 |
PhD Gregor Lavrič |
Chemical engineering |
Researcher |
2021 - 2023 |
74 |
| 8. |
50087 |
PhD Jaka Gašper Pečnik |
Forestry, wood and paper technology |
Researcher |
2021 - 2023 |
43 |
| 9. |
29428 |
PhD Peter Prislan |
Forestry, wood and paper technology |
Researcher |
2021 - 2023 |
364 |
| 10. |
52406 |
PhD Erwin Andreas M Schau |
Forestry, wood and paper technology |
Researcher |
2021 - 2023 |
38 |
| 11. |
38471 |
Darja Stare |
Forestry, wood and paper technology |
Researcher |
2021 - 2023 |
231 |
| 12. |
36223 |
Špela Ščap |
Forestry, wood and paper technology |
Researcher |
2021 - 2023 |
282 |
| 13. |
19719 |
PhD Črtomir Tavzes |
Forestry, wood and paper technology |
Researcher |
2021 - 2023 |
196 |
Organisations (3)
Abstract
Wood from sustainably managed forests is a renewable source of material and energy that stores carbon over its lifetime, while consuming significantly less fossil resources than other materials in its extraction and processing. As a result, wood products’ manufacture emits less greenhouse gases, and their use as replacement of non-wood products is the only viable route to a low-carbon society and the introduction of a circular economy, especially if used in a cascade. Slovenia is dominated by softwood industrial timber production, and is a strong net exporter of unprocessed roundwood. Softwood roundwood production is dominated by sawlogs and veneer, and hardwood roundwood by firewood. The processing chains are not optimised, with opportunities to improve our position in several areas, with concomitant loss of full information on economic, environmental, and social performance (loss of key data on timber flows and production processes). There is a clear need to upgrade the system for the integrated collection of data on stakeholders and timber flows in all aspects of the sector. The proposed project will upgrade the system and develop a model that will allow multi-criteria optimisation of timber volumes for processing across the entire forestry, wood, and paper sector, thereby contributing to a long-term policy, coordinated with the widest range of stakeholders. The proposed project will provide solutions to challenges in several areas, including proposals to optimise the production of softwood sawnwood, where traditional forest-timber chains dominate in Slovenia. By considering information from all relevant stakeholders, we will seek to address the difficulties in securing larger volumes of raw material to meet the objectives of the development strategies of the forestry, timber and paper sectors. In particular, we will address the lack of efficient technological solutions and production capacities for the processing of low-quality wood and the material recovery of salvaged wood. We will develop the scientific basis and expert proposals for the development of modern policies in the field of timber extraction, processing, and utilisation, which requires transparent sectoral statistics. The lack of models showing the carbon sequestration in wood products, which comprehensively capture the multi-faceted evaluation of investments in individual technologies, will be addressed through research to upgrade the current system for the official valuation of the "biogenic carbon sink" in finished products. This will allow a holistic evaluation of the positive impacts of wood extraction, processing, and use, and encourage investments in processing capacity and the purchase of products made from natural materials from renewable sources. The objective of the project is to create a model based on the development needs, business, and investment plans of various stakeholders, with a holistic evaluation of different scenarios for the development of wood extraction, processing and use in Slovenia. It will also provide the value of the biogenic carbon embedded in wood products and will allow for the expansion, modernisation and optimisation of solutions from an economic and environmental perspective (and, where possible and reasonable, from a societal perspective). The objective will be achieved by building on existing data sources and spatial data, identifying the most promising processing technologies, and developing scenarios for the location of investments. At the same time, a basis and policy proposals will be developed for an integrated evaluation of the positive impacts of wood extraction, processing, and use, which would also recognise the carbon sink in products as a contribution to meeting the targets set out in the commitments in the energy and climate legislative packages. Through a wide range of communication and dissemination activities awareness of the benefits of using wood instead of unsustainable products will be raised.
