Claes M. Ribbing and Henrik G. Bjurstrom

Abstract The Swedish Ash Programme is an applied R&D programme aimed at demonstrating uses for combustion residues (ash) and providing an improved understanding of these residues for the purpose of resolving regulatory questions. Fuels are biomass, wastes, peat — any solid fuel but coal. The progress in the Ash Programme since its inception in 2002 is reviewed. The hierarchy for biomass ash is recycling to forest soils as compensation for the removal of mineral nutrients first, and use in civil works second. Assessment of the environmental impact in view of permitting procedures for civil works and ecotoxicity are particularly addressed.

11.1 Introduction

The Swedish Ash Programme is an applied R&D programme aimed at demonstrat­ing uses for combustion residues (ash) and providing an improved understanding of these residues for the purpose of resolving regulatory questions. It is a collaborative undertaking implemented since 2002 by Varmeforsk, the Swedish Thermal Engi­neering Research Institute, and co-financed by the ash producers, i. e. the combus­tion plants, and the government, principally through the Swedish Energy Agency. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the Swedish Road Administra­tion also contribute financially.

The vision moving the Ash Programme is:

“Combustion residues are resources in a sustainable society”

Since its inception in 2002, the Ash Programme has supported more than 100 applied R&D projects, most of them co-financed by other organisations. Including

C. M. Ribbing (*)

Svenska Energiaskor AB, Torsgatan 12, 111 23 Stockholm, Sweden e-mail: claes. ribbing@energiaskor. se

H. G. Bjurstrom

AF-Engineering AB, 169 99 Stockholm, Sweden e-mail: henrik. bjurstrom@afconsult. com

H. Insam and B. A. Knapp (eds.), Recycling of Biomass Ashes,

DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-19354-5_11, © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011 currently ongoing projects to be concluded by the end of 2011, they represent an investment of approximately €9 million. All of these are short actions aimed directly at a specific question, demonstrating on a large scale the utilisation of combustion residues or monitoring the environmental impact of a large-scale application. The programme does not support traditional university research over a period of several years.

The results achieved in the Ash Programme between 2002 and 2008 were reviewed in a contribution to the 2009 International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium (Bjurstrom et al. 2009). They are also described in a synthesis in English available from Varmeforsk’s Web site (Bjurstrom and Herbert 2009). These results will be summarised briefly in this review, as a background to the themes focused on here, ash from solid biofuels and the regulatory process, which will be developed in more detail.

The areas of use targeted by the Ash Programme are (1) as a geotechnical material, e. g. in roads or other civil works, (2) in landfill construction and closure and (3) as mineral nutrients in wood ash recycled to forest soils. Issues common to all these areas are the chemistry of ash and environmental aspects.

The results obtained and the conclusions presented within the projects are those of the scientists. Environmental authorities do not automatically agree with the conclusions. To be more specific, bones of contention are the official environmental target “A non-toxic environment” and whether considering wastes as a resource is politically correct.