Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2020
Life-cycle assessment of the production of cationized tannins from Norway spruce bark as flocculants in wastewater treatment
Carlqvist, Karin; Arshadi, Mehrdad; Mossing, Torgny; Ostman, Ulla-Britt; Brannstrom, Hanna; Halmemies, Eelis; Nurmi, Juha; Udell, Gunnar; Borjesson, PalAbstract
It will be necessary to make efficient use of our resources if our society is to be converted into a bio-based economy. Every year large side streams of bark are produced in sawmills and pulp mills. In addition to utilizing the bark for heat and electricity production, as happens today, high-value chemical components could be extracted prior to energy conversion. These components include tannins. Cationized tannins have already been indicated as promising renewable flocculants in wastewater treatment. However, today's industrial production of tannins uses species from subtropical or temperate climates, and there has so far been little attention to the use of tannins from Norway spruce (Picea abies), an important species in forestry in the subarctic climate. The present life-cycle assessment (LCA) was undertaken to understand the environmental performance of the production of cationized tannins from the bark of Norway spruce and how the environmental impact is distributed along the production system. This work was connected to the Interreg Botnia-Atlantica TanWat research project, which studies the production and use of cationized tannins from Norway spruce for wastewater treatment at a pilot scale. The present LCA shows that the main environmental impact stems from the reagents used in the cationization step. The purification step could also be a significant issue depending on the possibility of reusing the eluent (ethanol) and the lifetime of the resin. The importance of running the processes with as concentrated streams as possible to minimize the need of process water and energy was also confirmed (c) 2020 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts, and Biorefining published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Keywords
biorefinery; bark; tannins; extraction; wastewater treatment; life cycle assessmentPublished in
Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining2020, volume: 14, number: 6, pages: 1270-1285
Publisher: WILEY
Authors' information
Carlqvist, Karin
Lund University
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Biomaterials and Technology
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Biomaterials and Technology
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Biomaterials and Technology
Brannstrom, Hanna
Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)
Halmemies, Eelis
Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)
Nurmi, Juha
Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)
Udell, Gunnar
Lund University
Borjesson, Pal
Lund University
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG7 Affordable and clean energy
SDG6 Clean water and sanitation
SDG12 Responsible consumption and production
UKÄ Subject classification
Water Treatment
Publication Identifiers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/bbb.2139
URI (permanent link to this page)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/107868