Bosnia and Herzegovina has abundant forests, with 46 % of the country area covered by forests. The production, harvesting and processing of timber is one of the country’s oldest economic activities, and currently has major strategic importance for the country’s economic development.

High forest predominates and deciduous species are the most dominant with beech (Fagus spp.) accounting for almost 40% of all species cover in the country. Oaks (Quercus spp.) contribute another 20%. Spruce and fir, located in the higher elevations and generally on the steepest terrain comprise an additional twenty percent of the forest cover in BiH. Annual allowable cut is calculated to 7,44 million m3 according to an ongoing UNDP Project, while actual harvest was 5,60 million m3 in 2008 [3]. From the 4,33 million m3 of roundwood that were produced in 2008, 1,69 million m3 were used as fuel wood (~40%), while 2,64 million m3 were directed towards the wood industry (~60%). Furthermore, around 1,18 million m3 of forest residues were produced at the logging sites.

The tradition of use biomass as energy source in Bosnia and Herzegovina has existed for a long time, but that use is characterized with a very low rate of utilization, mainly in rural and sub-urban areas as primary source for heating and cooking purposes in households and buildings. According to the recent findings from the total 77.19 PJ of final energy consumption in households, biomass makes 45.84 PJ. However, since energy demand and prices of fossil fuels rise rapidly other forest based biomass resources apart from fuelwood are also being considered for energy exploitation. These include forest residues and bark as well as residues/by-products arising from the processing of industrial wood.

Forest residues in BiH that can be utilized for energy production include tops, branches and stumps that are left at the logging sites. According to forest expert’s estimation, forest residues that are available for energy purposes amount to 20% and 10% of the harvested volume of industrial roundwood and fuelwood respectively. However, no more than half these residues can be harvested due to difficulties in their collection [5].

Wood industries produce residues, such as chips and particles, sawdust, slabs, edgings and shavings. These residues can either be used in particleboards or pulp production or used for energy purposes in industrial boilers and for densified wood fuels production (pellets and briquettes). Bark is also included in industrial residues, since industrial wood is mainly debarked at the sawmills. However, in order to estimate the produced residues one needs to know the products output.

Wood industry production figures were not available on a regional level and therefore information on a national level from the Industrial Bulletin for FBiH and RS was used [1,2]. In 2008, almost 1 million m3 sawmill products, 40.733 m3 plywood and veneer sheets products and 2.428 m3 particleboards were produced on a country level. Furniture and secondary wood industry products, such as doors, windows and parquets, were not included in this study’s calculations, since they are given in different units (pieces, m2, etc.).

Feedstock was calculated by employing FAO conversion factors for each wood processing industry. Sawmill residues (excluding bark) were assumed to comprise 40% of sawmill feedstock, while plywood and veneer sheets industry residues were assumed to comprise 45% of feedstock. Bark was separately calculated as 7% of sawmill feedstock [5]. These factors depend on a number of assumptions with regards type and modernization level of each process, the production capacity of each industry, the tree species processed, etc. The factors were found to be in good agreement with literature values for the Western Balkans region. Furthermore, the availability of wood industry residues is restricted by various technical factors and was assumed equal on average to 80% for all types of wood industry residues with the exception of bark for which availability was assumed to be 60%.

Black liquor is a byproduct of the chemical wood pulp production process. According to the Industrial Bulletin for FBiH and RS Statistics, 32.809 t of unbleached coniferous chemical wood pulp (90% dry substance) were produced in 2008 in FBiH, which in terms of energy is equivalent to 74.476 m3 of fuelwood Moreover, 98.041 t of paper and paperboard were produced on a country level in 2008 [1,2]. Paper production is not a significant source of woody biomass in BiH, since the solid waste produced is very heterogeneous and contains non paper components, such as sand, metal, and glass, which cannot be used as a fuel [5].

Forest timber (fuel wood and forest residue) and wood waste from wood processing industry represent the major source of biomass for energy production in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Biomass residues from agricultural production have a significant energy potential in parts of northern and north-eastern Bosnia. Forests are one of the most important natural resources of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the richest countries in Europe by the criteria of the forest coverage and diversity considering the total size of the State territory. The largest areas are covered by forests of broadleaf or deciduous trees, while about 10% of the country is covered by barren soils (i. e. one fifth of the forest soils). The total growing wood stocks in the forests of Bosnia and Herzegovina amount to 317,565,740 m3 or 203.6 m3/ha (62% broadleaf trees and 38% conifers). The annual volume increment of forests in Bosnia and Herzegovina is 9,500,600 million m3 or 6.1 m3/ha, the annual allowable level of wood cutting is 7,451,450 million m3 or 4.75 m3/ha [3].

The energy potentials of the natural wood residue resources in Bosnia and Herzegovina are presented in Table 1.

The production, harvesting and processing of timber is one of the oldest economic activities in the Country, and has a strategic importance for the country’s economic development. Some statistical estimations shows that the wood export value within the total Bosnia and Herzegovina export value is probably in order of 15%. It is further estimated that 15% of the total population receives its livelihood through the activities in forestry and forest industry.

Fuel wood is considered to have high value for local, small scale energy use, i. e. stoves, open fires and ovens. While this is clearly neither efficient nor perhaps environmentally optimal use of resource, it is nevertheless an essential, low cost resource for large numbers of rural people. From the 18,45 PJ estimated by this study, it is assumed that 20% will be available for new, efficient small scale wood fired boilers, stoves, etc. This would account for 820 GWh heat production annually.

Saw mill waste production is generally high due to a low process efficiency of sawmills: the net end product (lumber) represents an estimated 40 — 45% of the log (a well managed mill in Europe runs at up to 50% efficiency). The waste produced consists of wet sawdust, slabs, and the trimmings from cutting to length and width. Based on this ratio, waste from the primary and secondary wood processing industries would amount to approximately 1.14 x 106 m3.[6]