Utilization of organic sludge in the metal industry - OSMET 3.0

The metal and pulp & paper industries are the two largest industrial sectors in Sweden and cover over 70% of industrial energy use. These industries face major challenges in reducing fossil carbon dioxide emissions and waste materials to landfill, in order to achieve climate and environmental goals. In the OSMET project, it is proposed that residues from pulp & paper mills be upgraded to valuable components (C and CaO) that are utilized in various metallurgical applications. In the project, we apply industrial symbiosis to thereby maximize the entire value chain for industrial waste materials. This helps to reduce climate change, minimize the amount of material for landfill, and save natural resources.

The project applies a systems perspective, where LCA is used to quantify environmental performance and spatial system analysis to evaluate national capacity. Different system levels and actors are taken into account, such as the forest industry, energy companies, the transport sector, etc. Business models are further developed to maximize the value chains even after the end of the project. Through integrated efforts, we intend to demonstrate a Nordic concept towards the vision of achieving the global goals in Agenda 2030.