Finland is well-positioned to become a global leader in carbon capture, using its extensive forest resources to produce and export carbon dioxide—and hydrogen-based chemicals, polymers, and transport fuels.
That is according to researchers from the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and LUT University, who together found new ways to capture and convert carbon dioxide produced by the forest industry during waste incineration into polypropylene and polyethylene—two raw materials used to manufacture common, everyday plastic products.
Part of a three-year Forest CUMP project, the researchers have been working with Metsä Group and Borealis, one of the world’s largest petrochemical companies, to develop higher-value industrial products:
“The capture of wood-based carbon dioxide offers a significant opportunity for Finland to build new industrial value chains while reducing the use of raw fossil materials. The work and piloting conducted within the Forest CUMP project provide valuable insights into the potential of carbon dioxide as a raw material for plastics.”
Kaija Pehu-Lehtonen, the project manager of Metsä Group’s carbon capture initiative.
As it stands, Finland has significant biogenic carbon dioxide reserves, which can be used to replace fossil-based carbon feedstock: “Finland’s potential is based on large, relatively easily exploitable individual sources of bio-based carbon dioxide, such as forest industry production facilities. These types of renewable carbon dioxide sources are rarely found in Europe outside the Nordic countries,” the researchers, led by Juha Lehtonen, VTT’s research professor, said in a statement.
In addition to a stable, large-scale, and year-round supply of bio-based carbon dioxide, its energy and hydrogen infrastructure is well-placed to support the growing use of renewable energy sources and hydrogen. “As we move away from fossil hydrocarbon products, one of the main challenges will be securing an adequate supply of green hydrogen. (But) Finland’s energy infrastructure provides the potential for large-scale green hydrogen production through electrolysis.”
That’s where Forest CUMP saw an opportunity – capturing bio-based carbon dioxide in long-lasting polymer products like plastics: “In our vision, bio-based carbon can be bound into long-lasting plastic products like coatings and in insultations for electrical cabling, various pipe applications, and recyclable packaging,” according to Ismo Savllampi, Borealis manager for renewable feedstock research projects, adding that widespread use will require improvements in hydrogen technology.
According to Lehtonen, Finland has immense potential to become a leader in utilising biogenic carbon dioxide: “Each year, around 30 million tonnes of biogenic CO₂ are generated in Finland. If captured and converted into valuable products, Finland could be a major producer and exporter of carbon dioxide and hydrogen-based chemicals, polymers, and transport fuels.”
- To read more about the opportunity to turn carbon captured during the production of forest waste into raw materials used to manufacture plastics, click here.
