WOOD WASTE POTENTIAL AS FORESTRY COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE (BY THE EXAMPLE OF THE ARCTIC INLAND TERRITORIES OF THE RUSSIAN EUROPEAN NORTH)
The research subject is to give consideration of up-to-date best practices of wood waste commercial use, aimed at enhancing forestry competitiveness in the Arctic zone. The research aim is to provide an insight into the potential of wood waste obtained from various logging modes on the territory of the Russian European North and possibilities of its use for commercially successful production. Results of the analysis of business activities of the Russian European North logging enterprises has identified that between 16 and 22 % of wood waste of the total harvested volume are left on cutting area. Between 1.6 to 2.2 mln m3 of wood waste and firewood suitable for further use are left annually on cutting areas in Arkhangelsk Region only. According to estimations, the potential of wood waste obtained from thinning in protected forests in the Arctic zone mainland of the Russian European North is about 1 mln m3 annually for coniferous species only. The calculation of resources based on the total available forest fund, as well as harvesting forest fund was done. One of the main reasons of wood waste recycling inhibition on the Arctic territory is insufficient and unevenly developed transport network. Floating factories at the estuaries of the Arctic rivers could possibly mitigate this disadvantage. Tschudi Shipping Company from Norway has made a conceptual design of a forest FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading) that can process waste wood into high value sugar (wood molasses) and high-energy wood pellets. Estimation of commercial appeal of wood waste recycling has been analyzed through the example of the Arkhangelsk Region. The benchmarking study of competitive advantages of up-to-date Norwegian and Russian experiences of wood waste exploitation has been conducted. The Norwegian Research Council has funded the project through their NORRUS program.