Metsä Group’s production units generate approximately 12 million tons of wood-based carbon dioxide annually, and the company is now placing a stronger emphasis on large-scale carbon capture initiatives.
“Bio-based carbon dioxide is an important but still untapped side stream that could be harnessed more effectively as the technology and markets develop”, said Kaija Pehu-Lehtonen, the newly appointed project director of Metsä Group’s carbon capture project.
If carbon capture technology proves to be a viable solution, it could introduce a new high-volume wood-based raw material to the forest industry, potentially replacing fossil-based materials.
“We aim to use Nordic wood in a resource-efficient way and make ever greater use of our production side streams to convert wood into increasingly valuable products”, said Sari Pajari-Sederholm, executive vice president of Strategy at Metsä Group.
This autumn, the company is expected to complete its first survey, which will explore the technological and energy implications of large-scale carbon capture from the bioproduct mill’s flue gases.
Next year, Metsä Group will collaborate with the technology company ANDRITZ to pilot carbon capture at the Rauma pulp mill.
If successful, carbon capture could pave the way for a significant new chemical industry in Finland and strengthen the country’s hydrogen economy.
“For example, renewable hydrogen and wood-based carbon dioxide could be used to produce synthetic methane or methanol for further processing”, added Pajari-Sederholm.
