From side streams to soil improvement fibres and carbon storages – How fibre fractions from paperboard industry are utilised in agriculture
Metsä Board Corporation press release 10 May 2023
Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, is improving the soil of Finnish fields together with Soilfood by utilising the side stream fibre fractions created during paperboard production. What was once considered waste, is now effectively re-utilised into innovative soil improvement fibres. The result is a product that not only recycles the nutrients of wood fibre back into soil, but also stores the carbon of the wood into soil.
Soilfood, a Finnish circular economy company, produces wood-based soil improvement fibres from fractions produced as side streams at Metsä Board’s paperboard mills. These fibres increase the fertility of the soil and improve its water retention capacity. The use of wood fibre is also an effective method of water conservation as it can reduce the run-off of phosphorus from fields by up to 50%.
"Together with farmers and our industrial partners, we are replacing virgin raw materials with recycled ones and using natural resources wisely. The demand for recycled nutrients and soil improvement fibres has been growing strongly in recent years. The growth is currently limited mainly by the availability of raw materials." says Sampo Järnefelt, Chief Commercial Officer at Soilfood.
Soilfood currently collects at least two truckloads worth of side streams from Metsä Board's mills in Kemi and Äänekoski each weekday. In addition to Soilfood’s soil improvement fibres, the side streams from Metsä Board’s mills are being utilised for energy production and landscaping purposes.
Results backed up by research
Metsä Board's cooperation with Soilfood started with a research project initiated in 2015 by the Natural Resources Institute Finland to study the ability of wood based fibre sludge to stabilise the structure of field soil and thus reduce erosion and nutrient leaching from fields to water bodies. The field experiments of this study have found soil improvement fibres to reduce the risk of nutrient leaching by up to 50%. (Rasa, K, Pennanen, T, Peltoniemi, K, et al. 2021, Pulp and paper mill sludges decrease soil erodibility, https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20170)
Side streams included in Metsä Board’s sustainability targets
The utilisation of side streams is also included in Metsä Board's 2030 sustainability targets. "Currently, more than 99 per cent of our production side streams are used either as materials or energy. We aim to make 100% use of all production side streams to ensure our processes do not generate any landfill waste after 2030." says Markku Leskelä, Development Director at Metsä Board.
Side streams can be burned to create energy, but using them as soil improvement fibres is more valuable from a circular economy perspective. The nutrients in the wood-based material are returned to the soil and part of the carbon is stored for the long term. In one treatment cycle, the farmer adds up to 5 tonnes of carbon to the field, some of which is broken down by biological processes to feed the microbiota of the soil and some of which is sequestered in the soil forming a carbon storage for more than 20 years.
"Our cooperation with Soilfood is a good example of a circular economy that benefits all parties involved," says Leskelä.
For further information:
Marjo Halonen, VP Communications, Metsä Board
Mobile: +358 (0)50 598 7046
Email: marjo.halonen@metsagroup.com
Metsä Board
metsagroup.com/metsaboard
Metsä Board is a leading European producer of premium fresh fibre paperboards. We focus on lightweight and high-quality folding boxboards, food service boards and white kraftliners. The pure fresh fibres we use in our products are a renewable and recyclable resource, that can be traced back to sustainably managed northern forests. We are a forerunner in sustainability, and we aim to have completely fossil free mills and raw materials by the end of 2030.
Together with our customers we develop innovative packaging solutions to create better consumer experiences with less environmental impact. In 2022 our sales totaled EUR 2.5 billion, and we have around 2,250 employees. Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki.
Follow Metsä Board: Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Instagram
Metsä Group
metsagroup.com
Metsä Group leads the way in the bioeconomy. We invest in growth, developing bioproducts and a fossil free future. The raw material for our products is renewable wood from sustainably managed northern forests. We focus on the growth sectors of the forest industry: wood supply and forest services, wood products, pulp, fresh fibre paperboards, and tissue and greaseproof papers.
Metsä Group’s annual sales is approximately EUR 7 billion, and we have around 9,500 employees in 30 countries. Our international Group has its roots in the Finnish forest: our parent company is Metsäliitto Cooperative owned by over 90,000 forest owners.
Follow Metsä Group: Twitter LinkedIn Facebook YouTube Instagram Slideshare
