Energy use of cork residues in the Portuguese cork industry

Abstract

Cork oak ecosystems play a very important environmental and socio-economic role in the Mediterranean basin. Their maintenance relies highly on the cork industry, which in turn, is dependent on these ecosystems. Despite the positive impacts of the cork industry, this is an energy-intensive sector, with a strong need for process heat. Therefore, a careful management of heat consumption is important to minimize its impacts. Being Portugal the world leader in the cork industry, this paper characterizes the Portuguese cork industry and gathers information on the production processes of cork products, with special focus on the generation of residues, heat consuming processes, heat production technologies and energy sources. The study relies on a compilation of data from several sources: statistic offices, industrial companies and associations and scientific literature. Cork powder is the main waste of the cork industry. It is already being valorised for heat generation in many industrial units, but it can further contribute to the reduction of the carbon footprint of this industrial sector.