Biowood: Facilitating the development of a new wood-based biorefinery value chain in Flanders with Sim4Tree and MooV DSS
Biowood is a large project sponsored by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) and contributing to the development of a new wood-based bioeconomy in Flanders through multidisciplinary research in forest and chemical engineering and economics. This research will focus on (i) quantifying the current woody biomass feedstock supply in Flanders, (ii) predicting the future woody biomass in Flanders using the Sim4Tree decision support system (DSS), (iii) creating added value for wood flows based on a lignin-first process opening up opportunities for using the new derived molecules in the agro-industry and (iv) evaluating the sustainability of the lignin-first derived products including optimising locations of the biorefineries using the MooV DSS.
Estimating the current and future wood supply using the sim4tree DSS.
A first DSS-related task of the project is to accurately predict the woody biomass supply until 2050. To correctly estimate the current and future expected quantities of forest production in Flanders (Belgium), upscaling in space and time of the present forest resource and growth data is necessary. This will be done using the sustainable forest management DSS, Sim4Tree. This tool developed at KU Leuven, uses a combination of empirical yield tables different climate scenarios, and soil information as input data, Iterative Ideal Point Thresholding (IIPT) as the optimization algorithm, and an intuitive global GUI as a user interface, to guide forest managers to the optimal sustainable option to attain their tactical and strategic forest management goals. The software estimates the future age and species composition of the forest as well as the delivered ecosystem services in terms of wood production and nature conservation value of forest stands. Practically the DSS works in a similar way as the EFISCEN model but offers the significant advantage of having a higher spatial resolution of 1 hectare or 0.1 hectare depending the provision of additional input data (1 hectare for the whole of Flanders and 0.1 hectare for individual forest complexes if additional information is provided). An important drawback of the Sim4Tree model is that it is based on empirical growth models, making its applicability under climate change questionable. Consequently, a large part of this research will be dedicated to the incorporation of mechanistic or hybrid models that enable more precise estimations of forest growth and other ecosystem services under changing environmental conditions. The DSS will be designed in such a way that it allows for easy plug-in and plug-out options of different models (e.g. forest growth models, soil models, climate models, policy restrictions), making the core of the tool possibly more accessible to other parts of the world.
Optimising the bio-refinery value-chains with MooV DSS.
A second DSS-related task of this research is the coupling of the DSS MooV to Sim4Tree. MooV uses mixed integer linear programming to perform an integral value chain assessment at macroscale, taking into account the geographical fragmentation and temporal variations of the biomass supply. The major advantage of MooV compared to other value chain DSS is that it (i) allows for integral value chain assessment, (ii) includes spatial and temporal characteristics, both can be decisive for the long-term feasibility of wood-consuming bio-factories, and (iii) enables a straightforward representation of all kinds of resource-based value chains. Linking this value chain optimisation tool to the Sim4Tree DSS allows steering future wood supplies towards the most optimal applications, taking into account economic, environmental and energetic criteria.
Ensuring a practical implementation of the DSS
In the last DSS-related task of the project, several sessions will be organised with different stakeholders of the forestry and wood-based economy sector to illustrate the approach, functioning and advantages of the newly developed DSS. This will ensure smooth practical implementation of the DSS, in collaboration with the Flemish Agency of Nature and Forests (ANB), and guide stakeholders towards a blooming bio-economy while maintaining sustainable forestry practices.
The BioWood project is collaboration between KU Leuven: division Forest, Nature and Landscape, division, Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis, division Animal and Human; The Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) and the University of Antwerp.
For more information please contact:
Ilié Storms: ilie.storms@kuleuven.be
Bruno Verbist: bruno.verbist@kuleuven.be
Jos Van Orshoven: jos.vanorshoven@kuleuven.be
Bart Muys: bart.muys@kuleuven.be
