Sustainability

Transcription

1 Sustainability sekab.com/sustainability

2 Sustainability Declaration Contents Page What we have done Plant for green chemical production 4 One hundred years of cellulosic ethanol for the environment 5 E85 how Sweden got the most biofuel in Europe 6 Verified sustainable ethanol for sustainability throughout the production process 8 What we are working on ED95 reduces emissions from heavy goods transports 10 Green chemicals are crucial to a climate-safe society 12 Refining waste products with cellulose technology 13 Environmental management systems and certification help us on the way 15 Our challenges Food vs. fuel 16 How do we reach the CO 2 targets? 17 Sufficient resources now and in the future 18 The supply of ethanol fluctuates why is that? 20 SEKAB is one of Europe s leading players in ethanol production and carries out unique research through further development and scale-up of new technologies for ethanol production, so-called second-generation bioethanol based on cellulosic raw materials. The SEKAB Group, headquartered in Örnsköldsvik, has over 100 employees and an annual turnover of about SEK 2 billion. For more information, visit us at

3 Sustainability Declaration SUSTAINABILITY purely a question of resources The world population is growing rapidly, but the resources we need to share are not increasing at all. More and more of us have to share less and less. To reverse this trend, we need to become better at identifying sustainable solutions for the future. That s why we do what we do with a focus on supplying industry and society with renewable alternatives that can reduce fossil fuel and chemical consumption in a number of different industries. We want to help meet today s needs without compromising the opportunities for future generations. As one of Europe s leading players in ethanol production, we want to be at the forefront and actively promote the long-term sustainable production, distribution and commercialisation of bioethanol and green chemical products. So that we consume a little bit less of tomorrow. now and in the future.

4 WHAT WE HAVE DONE A sustainable plant for green chemical production SEKAB is one of the world s few (perhaps the only) producers of entirely green chemical alternatives. The heart of production is the chemical plant the biorefinery facility in Örnsköldsvik where, using renewable energy, we can produce green products from biomass and purified emissions. Green raw materials in efficient processes In the plant, we produce basic chemicals that are important in the chemical industry mainly acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate and acetic acid. We have the capacity to produce sustainable acetaldehyde and ethyl acetate from bioethanol with renewable energy input. This makes us an ideal chemical partner for companies looking to reduce their climate impact. A sustainable product requires sustainable energy input Our goal is to always be able to provide an entirely green product of bio-based raw materials. This requires that we use sustainable energy input in our processes. We acquire this energy in the form of vapour from Övik Energy s biomass-fired power and heating plant. In this way, our process delivers a very low carbon footprint, perhaps the lowest in the world in comparison with equivalent industries. An efficient process under constant evolvement We work with catalytic processes in which our raw materials maintain very high efficiency levels. Our largest waste product is ordinary water. The energy consumption of the process is continuously monitored and we work constantly to streamline our processes. The goal is to continually reduce energy consumption so that our chemical products will be even more sustainable. Advanced purification produces low emissions The degree of gas purification at our chemical plant is extremely advanced and exceeds 99 per cent. The organic process-generated residues undergo biological purification through process run jointly with other industries in the area. Biogas generated through this process is used to produce energy. 4

5 WHAT WE HAVE DONE One hundred years of cellulosic ethanol for the environment SEKAB is situated in the centre of Örnsköldsvik s biorefinery area. Sulphite ethanol has been produced in Örnsköldsvik for over one hundred years from Domsjö Biorefinery waste products, providing chemicals and fuels that deliver an extremely low carbon footprint. At SEKAB we refine, sell and deliver ethanol produced as it has been for the last 100 years from Domsjö Biorefinery waste products. Today, we deliver a cellulose-based waste product to a number of market operators with extremely high operational environmental standards. It is a product we are very proud to be able to provide. Originally a by-product of pulp production Pulp has long been an important industrial product in Sweden. Pulp was produced mechanically until the 1870s, after which chemical methods were used. Sulphite and sulphate processes became common in the new paper mills. Cellulosic ethanol for environmental reasons, both then and now With the sulphite process, nearly half of the cellulose meant to produce paper was wasted as it dissolved in the cooking liquor. The huge volume of generate waste product was, at that time, pumped directly into the nearest stream or river. It soon became clear that this was bad practice, both for the environment and the economy. A 1933 government report found that around one million tonnes of organic material was emitted by Swedish paper mills. There was therefore an incentive to utilise as much as possible of what was left after the paper had been produced. Cellulose consists of sugar Sulphite lye, which contains a great deal of sugar, was a natural source for ethanol production. Sulphite ethanol was first produced from cellulose in Sweden in the autumn of Ethanol production became common in Sweden s sulphite plants and a chemical industry based on ethanol as a raw material developed in Domsjö. Ethanol was also used as fuel during the First World War, when imports of petrol to Sweden were stopped. Ethanol from Domsjö protects the environment, even today Today, cellulosic ethanol from the sulphite plant in Domsjö is still used by SEKAB in the production of both fuel and green chemicals. The use of waste as a raw material from existing production provides an end product with excellent climate characteristics. Consequently, our products that have the best climate characteristics are based on ethanol from Domsjö. The biorefinery, Domsjö Factories, has evolved from a traditional paper pulp mill to an advanced biorefinery that produces specialty cellulose, viscose and lignin. 5

6 WHAT WE HAVE DONE E85 how Sweden got the most biofuel in Europe Introducing a new fuel is not easy. Nobody wants to buy a car until they can fill it up, and no one wants to install a pump until they have customers. Even so, E85 became an established fuel in Sweden in just a few decades SEKAB was one of the major driving forces behind this process. Sweden has better accessibility to biofuels than almost any other country, primarily due to our wide-spread commitment to E85. Today, ethanol is an established alternative to petrol, while rising oil prices make flexifuel vehicles increasingly profitable. The story of E85 in Sweden started in 1994, when the municipality of Örnsköldsvik, the Swedish Ethanol Development Foundation SSEU (later BAFF) and SEKAB imported three Ford Taurus FlexiFuel vehicles to Örnsköldsvik. The cars were initially fuelled directly at the SEKAB plant in Örnsköldsvik. E85 was already available in the USA. In Brazil, customised cars were driven on a mixture of 95% ethanol and 5% water. E85 was introduced in Brazil in 2003, but ethanol was not used as a tool to combat climate emissions rather, it was used to reduce the country s dependence on imported oil. More ethanol cars meant more filling stations with E85 Another 50 cars were imported and soon there were as many as 350. SEKAB and BAFF maintained the initiative throughout the entire process, travelling throughout the country to educate representatives from companies, organisations and the public sector. An enormous amount of work was achieved with limited resources but with considerable commitment. With more ethanol cars being driven, E85 was provided at more and more filling stations. A challenge that produced results A key component in efforts to increase the number of flexifuel vehicles was the challenge put to municipalities and businesses throughout Sweden: if they were able to organise a fleet of ten flexifuel cars in one place, OKQ8 and SEKAB would guarantee that the cars could be refuelled at a local filling station. Following the Taurus era there were 23 flexifuel filling stations things took off only after the advent of the Focus. One important reason for this is that municipalities, county councils, etc. stipulated requirements for the provision of E85 in conjunction with the procurement of petrol and diesel. The initiative had a great impact and ethanol cars were seen more and more often. In 2011 there were 1,740 pumps and 222,000 ethanol cars on the streets of Sweden. 6

7 The Pump Act provided more filling stations with renewable fuels The Pump Act that came into force in 2005 also improved opportunities to fill up with E85. The law requires all filling stations that sell more than a certain amount of petrol and diesel to also supply a renewable fuel. The law has been criticised for forcing filling stations to close down, but studies show that filling station deaths were due to other causes. SEKAB delivered E85 to Sweden SEKAB the market player with the right production and distribution connections for many years delivered most of the E85 sold at Swedish filling stations. As the market matured, it became natural for fuel companies to gradually take over purchasing and production. SEKAB delivers no E85 today, but instead focuses on ethanol admixture ED95 for heavy goods vehicles and green chemical products. In Sweden, ethanol is sustainable The E85 delivered by SEKAB over the years always met high sustainability standards. The Swedish Energy Agency has been in compliance with EU sustainability regulations since 1 February 2012, although it nearly always meets much higher standards. 7

8 WHAT WE HAVE DONE Verified sustainable ethanol for sustainability throughout the production process Since there are no defined criteria for sustainable biofuels, SEKAB drew up its own sustainability criteria: the Verified Sustainable Ethanol Initiative, launched in These strict criteria guarantee climatic and environmental benefits throughout the whole production chain. As E85 became a common fuel alternative in Sweden, a debate on ethanol arose and called into question climate benefits and labour protection issues at Brazilian sugarcane plantations. At the same time, many people compared ethanol used in Sweden with old production techniques for cereal-based ethanol, which normally used natural gas as an energy source and had poorer climatic characteristics. Ethanol began to lose credibility and SEKAB saw the need for third-party verification of the ethanol we imported. Considering the long-drawn-out legislative process, we took it upon ourselves to set up an ethanol verification process based on environmental and sustainability as well as social and ethical perspectives. SEKAB created its own verification process In 2007, in collaboration with a number of ethanol producers in the São Paulo area of Brazil, SEKAB started up a massive project aimed at developing a verification process. Periodically, several people worked full-time on the project that would make it possible to ensure that ethanol was sustainably sourced. The results became evident in 2008 when SEKAB, after an eighteen-month effort, launched the Verified Sustainable Ethanol initiative that made it possible to follow production all the way from sugarcane field to filling station in Sweden. One of the major objectives of the Verified Sustainable Ethanol initiative was to establish an international regulatory framework for sustainable fuels. The first legislative requirements for biofuels used in Sweden were issued in February SEKAB was already well advanced in sustainability efforts and was among the first four companies to be granted Swedish Energy Agency s Sustainability Decision for biofuels and bioliquids. Today, we comply with and follow seven EU-approved certification systems. The initiative garnered an international prize for sustainable ethanol 8

9 At the 2009 Green Power World Conference in Brussels, SEKAB was awarded the Sustainable BioEthanol Award for its work on sustainable ethanol. An independent jury comprising seven international researchers and scientists led the highly competitive selection process. Sustainability criteria for verified sustainable ethanol Zero tolerance for child labour At least 85% reduction of fossil carbon dioxide as compared to petrol At least 30% mechanised harvesting today and a plan to increase the degree of mechanisation to 100% by 2014 Zero tolerance for the felling of rainforests Employee rights and safety in line with UN guidelines Ecological considerations in accordance with UNICA s Environmental Initiatives Continuous monitoring of compliance with the criteria Why Verified Sustainable Ethanol? To physically ensure Swedish consumers that they are filling up with good ethanol To increase the supply of verified sustainable ethanol in close collaboration with the Brazilian sugar industry To influence other European countries to develop systems for quality and sustainability assurance To hasten an international regulatory framework for sustainable biofuels 9

10 WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON ED95 reduces emissions from heavy goods transports Nearly all heavy goods vehicles are run on diesel, a fuel that has a negative impact on our climate, the local environment and people s health. SEKAB has developed ED95, an ethanol fuel that reduces emissions of fossil CO 2 by up to 80 per cent. Additional benefits are near-zero particle pollution and low nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. Heavy goods transports are powered almost entirely by diesel, causing emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. The efficient transport of goods and people is absolutely essential in our society, but the substantial environmental impact of transports must somehow be reduced. The solution SEKAB has worked with for 20 years is called ED95. ED95 is an ethanol-based fuel for customised diesel engines. Ethanol s potential can be utilised up to 40 per cent better in a diesel (compression ignition) engine than in a petrol (Otto) engine. With ED95, energy efficiency is as high as in diesel-powered engines, making it the best technique for ethanol. Over the past 40 years, heavy goods road transport has increased nearly 30 per cent a paradox considering that the volume of goods transported has actually decreased. It seems that goods are transported farther and less efficiently today than in the past, and some goods previously transported by rail and sea are now transported by lorries, which is worse for the environment. According to EU forecasts, freight tonne kilometres (FTK) will increase by a total of 50 per cent between 2010 and 2030, and the proportion of heavy goods transports is expected to increase from 73 to 77 per cent. Scania s ethanol buses have been running since the 80s Scania has extensive experience with ethanol engines, having produced its first in the early 1900s. The first real ethanol diesel was produced in the mid 80s in conjunction with Stockholm Local Transport s initial shift towards renewable fuels. The first ethanol-powered buses were on the roads in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden in 1986, when the technology was refined through collaboration between SEKAB and Scania. Today, ED95 consists of 95 per cent ethanol and five per cent additives that lubricate and protect against corrosion and improve engine ignition. 10

11 ED95 provides all the advantages of ethanol Today, nearly a thousand ED95 buses are in operation around the world, and the technology is established and appreciated. There are many benefits of ethanol-powered buses and lorries: Ethanol is the world s most prevalent biofuel and can be produced in large quantities and in many countries Ethanol diesels meet emissions standards for hazardous particles without requiring particle filters Comparatively low health effects that are relatively easy to manage A diesel engine utilised ethanol s energy 40 per cent better than a petrol engine An ethanol diesel is just as efficient as a conventional diesel engine ED95 emits up to 80 per cent fewer climate-changing CO 2 equivalents than diesel The most recent Scania ethanol diesels are certified under the most stringent emissions standards: Euro V and EEV Substantially lower nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbon emissions than in diesel engines ED95 can be produced locally Biofuels and increased energy utilisation efficiency are not enough to tackle transport sector climate emissions. We must also reduce the total transport volume. It is therefore highly advantageous that ED95 can be easily made from locally-produced ethanol. SEKAB is also involved in discussions on the licensed production of ignition improvers, which can be used to further reduce the need for transports. 11

12 WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON Green chemicals are crucial to a climate-safe society Cosmetics, paint and even food many everyday products begin as fossil raw materials and therefore contribute to climate change. But there are alternatives. SEKAB produces green chemicals with much lower carbon footprints that will help wean us from oil dependency. SEKAB is part of a long tradition of chemical industries built up during World War II based on ethanol production at pulp mills. Ethanol was both a domestic fuel and a raw material for chemicals that were difficult to import during the war years due to border closures. The ethanol industry and the production of green chemicals remain firmly in place and, from SEKAB s perspective, we see how renewable materials and the sustainable production of chemicals gains in importance every year. The chemical industry s share of the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions is estimated at approximately five per cent. This means that using bio-based raw materials for chemicals and renewable energy in production processes can create significant climate savings. We compete with fossil and cheap raw materials Today, SEKAB has the capacity to produce 42,000 tonnes of green acetaldehyde, 36,000 tonnes of green ethyl acetate and 24,000 tonnes of green acetic acid annually. Since SEKAB was founded in 1985, our process has (with few exceptions) been able to compete on price with similar chemicals from fossil raw materials. We take great pride in being able to offer a competitive product that is also renewable. Stopping dependency on fossil raw materials Replacing chemicals made from fossil raw materials with biochemicals is important for two reasons: firstly, it reduces the chemical industry s impact on the climate and, secondly, it helps us reduce our dependence on oil. Decreasing supply and increasing demand for crude oil will lead to higher prices and, together with a substantial environmental and climate impact, this implies that the chemical industry must shift to sustainable and renewable raw materials. Influence the demand for entirely green products Most of what is currently produced from fossil raw materials (e.g., coal, oil and gas) could just as well be made from ethanol. Up to now, fossil raw materials have been cheaper and most market players make their purchases based entirely on price. It is therefore important to stimulate a debate on the fossil-dependent chemical industry and increase demand for green chemicals and products within the industry and among consumers. 12

13 WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON We use the cellulose method to refine forestry and agricultural waste products Fractionation of cellulose gives us carbon-neutral fuels, chemicals and raw materials for industry. This method works everywhere biomass is available. Over the past 20 years SEKAB, together with researchers from the universities of Lund, Umeå and Luleå, has developed a process using heat, weak acids and enzymes to extract sugars from cellulose. The sugar can then be converted into ethanol for sustainable fuels and green chemicals. Cellulosic technology is now in place pre-studies for its establishment are ongoing SEKAB s cellulosic technology is in place and is ready for commercialisation. Pre-studies are currently being conducted in which SEKAB, together with various actors, is exploring possible forms of co-operation. The first goal is to see how waste products can be converted into more high-grade products using SEKAB s fractionation technology. Cellulose is the best bio-based raw material The use of cellulose as a raw material has two major advantages. Firstly, it is found in such large quantities that the issue of using agricultural land and re-sources becomes less important. Secondly, it also has better climatic characteristics than traditionally manufactured bioethanol. Ethanol used as a biofuel is produced mainly from cultivated products such as sugarcane, wheat and maize. Produced in a sustainable way, it provides a CO2 reduction of 80 per cent, a very high figure. One disadvantage is that the raw material requires a lot of energy and water and cannot be grown just anywhere. Today, most of the chemicals used in the chemical industry are synthetic i.e., produced from fossil fuels such as gas and oil. Such chemicals have equally poor climatic characteristics as fossil raw materials. A process for the refinement of waste products The cellulose process has many advantages, including the option of using waste products from, for example, agriculture. If straw rather than grain from the wheat is used to produce ethanol, no claims are made with respect to foodstuffs and farmland is better utilised. In maize production, the cob can be utilised when the corn has been harvested. 13

14 The fractionation of biomass has huge potential This process is currently used mainly in ethanol production, but it can just as easily be used to produce other products, such as butanol. Ethanol is also an extremely versatile chemical that can replace oil as both a fuel and a raw material in a variety of chemical processes. Cellulosic technology is a fractionation technique, which means that a raw material is divided up into its component parts. Lignocellulose is split up into lignin and cellulose, which is then broken down into different sugars. The sugar can be fermented to ethanol or, for example, to butanol. It can also be used directly as a raw material in other processes. Another product of the process is lignin, a substance that binds together the cellulose fibres in wood. This is a solid material with a high energy content that can be burned to produce electricity, heat and steam, or as a raw material in the chemicals industry. A third useful product in SEKAB s cellulosic process is biogas, which can be refined and used as fuel or in energy production. 14

15 WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON Environmental management systems and certification help us on the way At SEKAB, we continually strive to develop our operations while impacting as little as possible on the environment. This is work that every business can, of course, do on its own, but there are international standards and management systems that help companies to know that they have reached a goal. We work with a number of such systems for environmental management and sustainability - read more about this here. Reduced environmental impact with ISO 14001:2004 In our environmental work, we work in accordance with the environmental management system ISO 14001:2004 and SEKAB BioFuels & Chemicals is certified according to the ISO standard. This standard gives us control over the progress of the environmental work and helps us to continually reduce the overall environmental impact of our operations. Quality work We work according to the quality management system ISO By conforming to this international standard, we achieve both increased customer satisfaction and reduced operational costs. Responsible Care SEKAB is committed to the international environmental programme Responsible Care. This means that in our operations we put the health and safety of our staff, the surroundings and the environment first. 15

16 OUR CHALLENGES Food vs. fuel A question we need to consider is the wide-spread food versus fuel objection to the production of biofuels. Should we use energy and agricultural land to produce biofuels, when we could grow food instead? As a major player in the ethanol industry, SEKAB must constantly work to ensure that our fuels and chemicals do not compete with food production. Our ultimate goal is to sell only ethanol produced from waste products. In the future, we will not be talking about waste products but about raw materials at different stages. We should be able to produce both food and bioenergy There needn t be any conflict between food production and biofuels. There is no shortage of food in the world in fact, from a global perspective, there is a surplus of agricultural products. This surplus is unevenly distributed in the world and food shortages are almost always caused by poverty, war and corruption. The majority of the world s poorest people live in rural areas and subsist on agriculture. Agriculture in the western world is highly efficient and produces high returns. When our cheap products are sold on the world market, price pressure is so strong that farmers in poorer parts of the world cannot compete and are wiped out. This means that higher prices for agricultural products could benefit a large number of the world s poor people by increasing the demand for their products. At the same time, higher demand for bioenergy can boost the market, since many developing countries can provide a product required by Western countries. A third factor to consider is that there is currently a surplus of agricultural land in the world; huge swathes of arable land lie fallow. Combined with the fact that there is great agricultural potential in many poor countries, this means that the question of food versus fuel is not simple mathematics but it remains a problem that the industry needs to address. Bad and good ethanol and various raw materials Biofuels can be produced from various raw materials, grown in different locations and with different types of input energy. When talking about ethanol, one usually talks about bad ethanol and good ethanol. The right raw materials, the right place and the right input energy produce good ethanol with good climatic characteristics. Our goal is to use this good ethanol in fuels and chemicals. 16

17 OUR CHALLENGES How do we reach the CO 2 targets? The Government has determined that the Swedish vehicle fleet shall be fossil fuel-independent by The EU has set a target of 50 per cent fewer greenhouse gas emissions by Swedish greenhouse gas emissions are relatively low compared with other OECD countries and have fallen in recent years, but they still must be substantially reduced. Thousands of puzzle pieces must fit together if we are to succeed in making our society climate-neutral. At SEKAB we work closely in two areas that promote sustainable development: green chemicals and biofuels. Green chemicals According to several forecasts, the chemical industry s share of total emissions is approximately 5 per cent. By using chemicals from biological raw materials produced using bio-based energy input, we can reduce the chemical industry s climate impact. Biofuels Biofuels that form part of the natural cycle already provide us with climate-friendly transport. We can further reduce emissions by using the cellulose in forestry and agricultural by-products as raw materials for biofuels, in addition to today s residual streams from industry and society. Biofuels are an important contribution to reducing traffic emissions, but more is required. We face enormous logistical challenges. We must transport significantly fewer goods than we do today, and means of transport must be improved. Emissions from heavy goods transport have increased significantly over the past 20 years, while emissions from cars have been reduced Our vehicles must use energy more efficiently. Today, a great deal of energy is wasted in the form of heat and noise Passenger transport must be improved through better public transport. Today, cars are too often used to transport only one person, which is not sustainable from an energy perspective 17

18 OUR CHALLENGES Sufficient resources now and in the future Our society is totally dependent on fossil energy and fossil raw materials such as oil, coal and gas. We need petrol for our cars, diesel for our buses, gas for our cookers, coal for our power plants and industry is dependent on chemicals and plastics from fossil sources. Food is not free from this dependency; many foodstuffs are derived from fossil sources (vinegar, for example). This not only affects the climate, but is also directly linked to an energy and commodity crisis: the resource that has brought us to today s level of development is about to run out. The concept of Peak Oil implies that oil production reaches a maximum level and then decreases. Some analysts believe that this point has already been passed; others believe that we will soon be there. Either way, it is urgent. A decreasing supply of crude oil will increase market prices and the competition for resources will intensify. We cannot replace oil We will never be able to replace oil. Instead, we must find new sources of energy, new materials, and above all we must learn to use less energy. Vehicles must use less fuel and energy must be derived from renewable sources. We must find new ways of manufacturing plastics and the world s coal plants must be replaced. We must learn to conserve our resources. This is an enormous adjustment that will take a long time, especially considering that while small steps in the right direction are being taken in some places large areas of the world are moving towards higher energy consumption and more general economic consumption. How did this happen? Fossil energy made its inroads back in the 1600s, when man began to burn coal for energy. This reduced the need for wood for heating and cooking. Consequently, large forests became less important larger areas of land were cleared to cultivate more food. 18

19 The new source of energy laid the foundation for the industrial revolution. Fewer people were needed to run the farms, freeing up more people for industrial work and spurring rapid advanced in technological development. Thanks to oil, penicillin, modern health care and the green revolution, the Earth s population exploded. The Earth s population today is over seven billion and growing. The question is: how will we be able to sustain ourselves when one of the prerequisite for our prosperity is gone? Resources are insufficient even today We who are members of today s richest population group live far beyond our means. Due to our lifestyle and high energy and resource consumption, the planet is basically unable to support us. The Footprint Network organisation illustrates this every year with its Earth Overshoot Day campaign, the day by which we will have exhausted all of the resources that the planet can regenerate in a year. In 2012 this day fell on 22 August, meaning that in eight months time Earth s human population consumed the amount of resources that it takes the Earth one full year to regenerate. 19

20 OUR CHALLENGES The supply of ethanol fluctuates why is that? The supply of bioethanol raw material is not constant. Most of the ethanol produced today originates from cultivated commodities such as sugarcane, wheat and maize. This means that bioethanol is produced under general agricultural conditions. Climate, weather conditions, droughts and floods can affect harvests and thus the supply of ethanol. Modern agriculture is relatively stable, but yield fluctuations still occur and the effects of global warming are already a hot topic for global agriculture. The ethanol market is controlled by supply and demand The ethanol market is international, with pricing controlled by ethanol supply in relation to demand. Accordingly, prices may rise as demand on the world market increases. Energy is also quite often an important national issue, so the amount of ethanol exported by a producer country may be affected by political decisions and considerations. In order to be best able to offer our customers a steady supply and a steady price, SEKAB tries whenever possible to reach fixed long-term agreements with suppliers. This provides greater security to us, our customers and the producers. Renewable raw materials and sustainable production We work with bio-ethanol, a product that being renewable has a great climatic advantage compared with fossil products. Renewable products from sustainable agriculture are a prerequisite for biofuel s environmental performance and this is what makes them a part of the future. How SEKAB broadens its raw material base It is also important to be able to manufacture chemicals and biofuels from raw materials other than those that can be used as food or feeding stuffs (such as wheat and maize). The cellulose technology developed at SEKAB is therefore extremely valuable, since it enables the production of ethanol and other essential products from forestry and agricultural waste products (such as straw, wood chips and bagasse). This allows us to utilise the Earth s resources as efficiently as possible. SEKAB s technique for the fractionation of cellulose is progressing towards commercialisation. 20

21 sekab.com/sustainability