Biofuels in lime kilns – the true story

NiNa interviewed managers in mills that use solid, liquid or gasified biofuels to replace fuel oil or natural gas in their lime kilns. We also conducted two broader surveys, one related to fuel consumption and one related to operations and maintenance. The goal was to provide a comprehensive picture of experiences of using fuels other than oil and natural gas with the aim of providing a better basis for investment decisions that can reduce fossil carbon dioxide emissions.

In Sweden and Finland there were ten mills in 2020 using biomass powder or gasified biomass as the primary fuel in the lime kiln, and two more installations are under construction. There are also eight installations in operation or under construction outside the Nordic countries. Seven of these are gasifiers. Fourteen mills in Sweden and two mills in Finland used tall oil pitch as the main fuel.

Energy used in Swedish lime kilns was 3.8 TWh in 2020 and 90% of this energy was supplied with biofuels. Of about 4.2 TWh used in Finnish lime kilns, approximately 45% was supplied with biofuels.

If you are interested in reading the full report, please contact us here.