Paving the way for biofuels
One important step towards a more sustainable society is to reduce the use of fossil fuels. In 2012 Sweden used fossil fuels to supply 31 percent (178 TWh) of its total energy needs. ÅF has led a study to improve prospects for district heating plant owners to make a successful transition from fossil fuels to liquid biofuels.
Today the transport sector is the biggest user of fossil fuels with the industry in second place. Fossil fuels supply 20.6 percent of industry’s energy, compared to 2.3 percent for the property sector. As a result more and more district heating plants are switching to liquid biofuels, but the market for these is underdeveloped and the knowledge needed to convert current facilities is undeveloped. ÅF has led a study to improve prospects for plant owners seeking to make a successful transition from fossil fuels to liquid biofuels.
Improved market transparency
At the request of the Swedish Thermal Engineering Research Institute (Värmeforsk), ÅF led a project with the Swedish Bioenergy Association (Svebio) to investigate how to improve market transparency in terms of the trade in and the management of liquid biofuels.
Three main aims
The aim has been threefold: to develop a system for classifying liquid biofuels to be used in stationary combustion plants; to simplify routines for testing and analyzing different types of liquid biofuels; and to formulate concrete advice for procuring equipment and converting plant. ÅF experts collated experiences and knowledge from the involved companies and organisations and a reference group with broad-based competence in this specialist field was also set up.