Abstract
This work aims to provide a comprehensive in-depth analysis of the life cycle environmental and economic performance of some key global supply chains for torrefied wood pellets (TWP) used as bulk fuel, including their contribution to the bio-economy of the region where they are produced, and the effects of carbon accounting and carbon tax policies on the TWP trade. TWPs produced in British Columbia (BC), the western-most province of Canada, are taken as a specific example, with the results compared with pellets produced in other Canadian provinces, Southeast US and Vietnam. It is found that BC has comparative advantages in TWP production, benefiting from abundant biomass resources, availability of low-carbon electricity, existence of a well-developed forest product industry, and accessibility to international markets. The suitability of different domestic and overseas markets is assessed. In Canada, there is great potential demand for BC TWPs in the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. In the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, BC pellets are not cost-competitive compared with pellets from Vietnam and Southeast US, due to higher production costs arising in part from BC's high carbon tax. However, BC producers have supply advantages over producers in Vietnam and the Southeast US in the province's abundant biomass and clean electricity supply. Transforming production from conventional to torrefied pellets can increase the contribution of the industry to the regional economy. The carbon accounting and carbon tax policies in different countries/regions will impact the TWP trade, and merit further study.
•Several key global torrefied wood pellet (TWP) supply chains are compared.•BC has comparative advantages in TWP production compared with other Canadian provinces.•The domestic overseas markets of BC TWPs are identified.•The contributions of TWP to the regional bio-economy are identified.•The effects of carbon accounting and carbon tax policies on TWP trade are discussed.