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Obtaining cellulose from recyclable waste paper contributes to the sustainability of forest resources, water and energy savings, and the reduction of environmental pollution. However, waste paper collected under inappropriate conditions for recycling can be degraded in a short time, thus becoming economically useless. This study examined the factors affecting source-separated collection processes of waste paper in Istanbul hotels, as well as the correlation among these factors. The economic value of the assumed benefits of source-separated waste paper was also calculated. To achieve these objectives, various inputs and methods were used, including the percent tabulation technique and the chi-square independence test. As a result, it was determined that 70% of managers and employees of Istanbul hotels were sensitive to recycling waste paper, but they were not aware of the entire benefits of waste paper recycling. It was also determined that because of waste paper recycling, 18 thousand trees, 5 million kWh of electricity, 3 thousand tons of water, and 1.3 thousand tons of fuel oil were saved, and the generation of 27 thousand tons of CO2 was prevented annually. Hotels in Istanbul provide the economy with an annual average of 752 tons of waste paper, which corresponds to 78% of the foreign trade deficit of Turkey's paper and paper products sector in the last five years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forest products industry is one of the most powerful industry branches of Turkey, and as in other developing countries, Turkey has a persistent trade deficit. The present paper aims to evaluate the forest industry products of Turkey regarding their economic contribution by Entropy-TOPSIS, which is a hybrid multicriteria decision making method. The evaluation was done to specify the products which will be able to create currency inflow most for reducing the trade deficit and help economic development. According to computations, the most contributing products are medium-density fiberboard (MDF), high-density fiberboard (HDF), industrial roundwood, and particle board. In addition, household and sanitary papers, as well as other paper and paper board products were found to have great economic potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This literature review aims to provide a systematic analysis of studies on the financial aspects of producing torrefied biomass and torrefied pellets. There are substantial differences in the specific technologies, operating conditions, scale of the demonstration, and properties of biomass feedstock. There is a lack of reports that consider the entire supply chain, which is required for an understanding of the high-cost steps. To obtain a robust view of the torrefaction processes' financial prospects the authors have used both peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed papers that allowed the researchers to include thirty-one papers in this analysis. All these studies establish that the prices of the biomass and the final torrefied product are critical. The product yield and caloric content, which are related to pricing, were also key financial drivers. The lower freight costs due to high-energy density of the torrefied pellets was recognized and calculated, but some other benefits were not quantified. There is a need for a detailed and flexible torrefaction financial model that includes variations in financial assumptions and biomass properties. Given the uncertainty around many specific steps, there is value in including stochastic tools in these financial analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a previous paper, conceptual process design, simulation, and mass and energy balances were presented for an organosolv process with a hardwood feed of 2350 metric tons (MT) per day and ethanol, lignin, furfural, and acetic acid production rates of 459, 310, 6.6, and 30.3 MT/day, respectively. In this paper, the investment and operating costs of the process and the minimum ethanol selling price (MESP) to make the process economically feasible were estimated. The total capital investment of the plant was approximately 720 million USD. Lignin price was found to affect the MESP considerably. With a base case lignin price of 450 USD/MT, the MESP was approximately 3.1 USD per gallon (gal). Higher lignin price of 1000 USD/MT was required to equal the MESP with the December 2013 ethanol market price (2.0 USD/gal). In addition to lignin price, the MESP was found to be strongly affected by feedstock, enzyme, and investment costs. Variations in feedstock and investment costs affected the MESP by approximately 0.2 and 0.5 USD/gal, respectively. Changing the enzyme dosage and price from base case estimate of 5270 USD/MT and 0.02 g/g cellulose to more conservative 3700 USD/MT and 0.06 g/g cellulose, respectively, increased the MESP by 0.59 USD/gal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of the global economy on the forestbased sector in Slovakia in the early years of the 21st century. Indicators such as gross domestic product, production value of forestry-wood sectors, net exports, foreign direct investments, and the ratio indices of foreign direct investment to GDP in industrial production and foreign direct investment to production value were used to analyze this sector in the context of globalization. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the factors that significantly affect the development of the forest-based sector and to shed light on how globalization impacts the analyzed sector. The results showed that the forest-based sector had a minor impact of the Slovak economy with less than 5% share on the whole GDP. Using multiple regression analysis it was found that globalization factors such as foreign direct investment and net export did not have a significant influence (p > 0.44175) on the forest-based sector during the investigated period. Nevertheless, the highest globalization indicators were detected by the pulp and paper industry (x = 2.72; 29.14) and the furniture manufacturing (x = 1.60; 27.57). The highest variability of FDI was identified in the forest sector (vx = 72.38%; 67.32%) by influence of zero FDI in the last three years and in the wood industry (vx = 38.90%; 38.51%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Escalating demand, along with EPAct 2005, has led the United States government to assume a twofold leadership approach of energy security and environmental practices. This has initiated several important issues pertaining to cellulosic biofuel production. However, little is known about what is needed for the U.S. to lead long-term renewable energy security, how the US will develop and implement leading environmental energy practices, what supply capabilities and refining technologies are available to produce renewable fuels, and how funding can be used to adopt available technologies. This article examines geographical aspects, operational status, and barriers tending to prevent the successful commercialization of non-food cellulosic ethanol projects in the U.S. from secondary sources. Outcomes of this research can be used to further understand inhibitors that impact the production and commercialization of ethanol from non-food cellulosic sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Malaysian furniture industry is the country's fastest growing subsector within the wood-based industry, and its socio-economic importance cannot be taken lightly. The industry is driven primarily by comparative advantages derived from low cost factor inputs, which has eroded in recent years due to escalating production cost. Further, the increasing competition from other cheaper producing nations, particularly China and Vietnam, is also putting a damper on the future competitiveness of the industry in Malaysia. To remain competitive, the Malaysian furniture industry must transform and advance the value-chain through innovation and value-addition. Although the government has played a pivotal role in providing a broad policy framework to support value-adding and innovative activities, success has been limited. This study evaluated the extent of innovation and its sources in the Malaysian furniture industry through an internet-based survey. The results indicated that external sources of innovation were more important than internal sources. The factor analysis showed that external inputs, market demand, and in-house research and development were the most important drivers of the innovation in the Malaysian furniture industry. Therefore, the furniture industry in Malaysia will require policy support to enhance its inherent capability for innovation in the long-term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agro- and forest-industrial wastes are abundant and low cost sources of carbohydrates and phenolic compounds, which can be converted into biofuels, biomaterials, and high added-value compounds by different pathways in small and large biorefineries. The development of technologies based on hydrothermal treatments could improve the utilization of lignocellulosic wastes through the separation of its components (cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and extractives) in sequential processes. The adopted technologies for the separation and conversion of these lignocellulosic wastes into synthesis intermediates or products of high added value represent an important part of the total production cost. Low liquid to solid ratios and mild temperatures in the pretreatment are interesting ways of reducing energy costs, subsequently economizing both steam and electricity. This work focuses on the advantages of using low liquid to solid ratios in the hydrothermal treatment of different agro- and forest-industrial wastes, paying particular attention to the performance of separation, purification, and conversion of hemicelluloses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]