Klíma hatások Magyarországon Nyugat-Dunántúl készül a klímaváltozásra

Leading researcher: Dr. Mihály Varga
Collaborators: Dr. Gábor Németh, Dr. Zoltán Pásztori, Dr. Sándor Molnár

Gradually increasing environmental pollution is one of the most serious problems of the mankind. Environmental pollution alters the Earth’s climate thus living conditions of the human being. Environmental pollution is responsible for the growing of the Antarctic Ozone Hole moreover the formation of an Ozone Hole occurring over the Arctic has already started according to observations. It influences the desertification of the Earth as well. Therefore, decreasing of the environmental pollution is essential. To reduce pollution, products and technologies, whose manufacture and use is the most harmful for our environment, should be known, however. Sustainable development is promoted by the use of products of forestry and wood industry combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS) because it is capable to mitigate the emitted carbon dioxide. One of the best ways for reducing environmental load during wood processing is the reduction of CO₂ emission of widely used heat consuming facilities such as kiln dryers and steam chambers contributing to the mitigation of the increasing CO₂ amount that intensifies the greenhouse effect.

Based on the above mentioned facts, as the first step, the conditions of formation, the quantity and the way of utilization of sawdust were investigated in woodworking factories since this by-product is often used to produce the necessary heat energy in kiln dryers. Conversion of the produced sawdust to energy value is also important because it reveals a portion of the renewable energy residing in wood industry, too. CO₂ emitted during the energetic utilization of sawdust does not lead to any extra load of the environment – this is particularly true compared to fossil energy sources – because heat extraction from wood (through direct firing, gasification) is considered to be CO₂ neutral. For a more precise and realistic knowledge, several direct surveys were done. The conclusion is that kiln drying and hydrothermal treatment are dominant among heat consuming technologies in wood industry. Therefore, technical parameters of these facilities were investigated to obtain an appropriate basis for finding possible technical solutions aiming at the reduction of energy consumption and the enhancement of the utilization rate of alternative energy.