Download or read book WOODY BIOMASS TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS MODELING STUDIES FOR THE GREAT LAKES REGION written by and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract : Bioenergy has received increasing attention as potential replacement for fossil fuels in energy production. This is to a great extend due to the expected environmental benefits from such replacement. However, the share of the US energy generated by biomass has remained stagnant over the past decade, as the implementation of bioenergy can increase only if it can be justified from economic, environmental and social perspective. One of the critical aspects required for increase is cost-effective transportation. Transportation is critical to bioenergy production, as the intrinsic characteristics of biomass cause transportation to account for a high proportion of costs in the overall biomass supply chain. This also makes transportation one of the most important criteria in terms of optimized supply chain. This dissertation concentrates on investigation of multimodal alternatives for woody biomass transportation and logistics. More specifically, the research developed and three MILP transportation optimization models that use region specific data in the Great Lakes States to evaluate alternative logistics systems for dedicated and co-firing bioenergy plants. The research first reviewed peer-reviewed articles focusing on the biomass transportation and logistics to enhance the understanding of the current state of research on this topic (Chapter 1). Based on the knowledge obtained from past literature and the acquisition of region specific data set, analytical models were developed and tested in case studies. In addition, sensitivity analysis was used to investigate the importance of individual parameters on the modeling outcomes. The first analytical model was developed to investigate the relationship between sustainable transportation cost and location of a dedicated bioenergy plant. This sustainability is incorporated in the analysis by combining all three main sustainability components: economic, environmental, and social factors (Chapter 2). The next two models concentrated on transportation logistics as part of decision-making for biomass co-firing on existing coal power plants. To take advantage of co-firing, a plant must pay attention to the sourcing and blending strategy of feedstocks and combine them as efficiently as possible. An analytical model was developed to determine the preferred logistics system for biomass co-firing that compares the conventional woody biomass logistics system with the option for advanced woody biomass logistics system that includes torrefaction process to upgrade the feedstock (Chapter 3). Finally, an analytical model was developed to determine optimal co-firing ratio that minimized total logistics costs. The approach also integrated the advanced logistics system and the optimized co-firing ratio to investigate the impact of potential government tax credits on the strategy (Chapter 4). To test the models in Chapters 3 and 4, they were both applied to case studies of 26 actual coal power plants in the Great Lakes States. The studies covered in this dissertation revealed that 1) multimodal transportation is essential when establishing larger biomass plants or increasing the scale of co-firing. On the other hand, the larger plants help to reduce the transportation and logistics costs, and as such support the increase in the use of biomass. 2) Local conditions have great impact on biomass transportation logistics, as the performance of woody biomass logistics system highly depends on accessibility of local transportation network, such as loading/unloading sites along rail lines. 3) When investigating logistics cost differences, plant capacity, biomass availability nearby, and average distance from biomass collecting sites are parameters with consistently high impact on the preferred solution, although the impact of a certain parameter may be opposite on a specific model or case study. 4) There would be potential benefits from woody biomass in the Great Lakes States, but inclusion of transportation and logistics system analysis that consider various types of supply networks and torrefaction process are essential to select the most suitable system.

Download or read book Modeling and Optimization of Woody Biomass Harvest and Logistics in the Northeastern United States written by Damon S. Hartley and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Modeling and Optimization of Biomass Supply Chains written by Calliope Panoutsou and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2017-08-11 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Modeling and Optimization of Biomass Supply Chains: Top Down and Bottom Up Assessment for Agricultural, Forest and Waste Feedstock provides scientific evidence for assessing biomass supply and logistics, placing emphasis on methods, modeling capacities, large data collection, processing and storage. The information presented builds on recent relevant research work from the Biomass Futures, Biomass Policies and S2Biom projects. In addition to technical issues, the book covers the economic, social and environmental aspects with direct implications on biomass availability. Its chapters offer an overview of methodologies for assessing and modeling supply, biomass quality and requirements for different conversion processes, logistics and demand for biobased sectors. Case studies from the projects that inspire the book present practical examples of the implementation of these methodologies. The authors also compare methodologies for different regions, including Europe and the U.S. Biomass feedstock-specific chapters address the relevant elements for forest, agriculture, biowastes, post-consumer wood and non-food crops. Engineers in the bioenergy sector, as well as researchers and graduate students will find this book to be a very useful resource when working on optimization and modeling of biomass supply chains. For energy policymakers, analysts and consultants, the book provides consistent and technically sound projections for policy and market development decisions. Provides consistent ratios and indicators for assessing biomass supply and its logistical component Explores assumptions behind the assessment of different types of biomass, including key technical and non-technical factors Presents the existing modeling platforms, their input requirements and possible output projections

Download or read book Woody Biomass Availability for Energy written by Lana Landra Narine and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 13 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Non-industrial private forest (NIPF) landowners control 58% of all forests in the U.S. Great Lakes States consisting of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. A regional assessment of the availability of woody biomass for bioenergy will therefore be incomprehensive without a consideration of supply from the most dominant ownership group. This study aimed to evaluate the social availability of woody biomass for renewable energy in the U.S. Great Lakes States by examining NIPF landowners' willingness-to-harvest (WTH) their woodlands. Following the Tailored Design Method, surveys were mailed to 4,190 NIPF landowners from Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Results identified two latent factors summarizing landowners' bioenergy perceptions: (a) bioenergy support and (b) environmental degradation and four latent factors behind woodland ownership: (a) amenity, (b) personal use, (c) production and (d) legacy. A two-step cluster analysis approach was used to construct a landowner typology for the region based on landowners' bioenergy views and reasons for woodland ownership. Four types of landowners were consequently identified: recreationist, indifferent, preservationist and multiple-objective. Recreationists were found to own the majority or 51% of the total woodlands reported by sample respondents and were also most willing to harvest their woodlands with an estimated 38% potentially available for timber harvest and 46% for biomass harvest. A comparison of WTH by landowner type and state revealed that the greatest level of acceptance as indicated by potential acreage availability were from recreationists owning NIPFs in Michigan. Binary logit regression models were also used to determine significant factors influencing landowners' WTH timber and woody biomass. Findings indicated that non-timber objectives decreased the odds of harvesting and timber and biomass prices increased those odds. However, marginal probability effects of prices on WTH highlighted the substantial impact that timber price, rather than biomass price had on landowners' choice to harvest. These results suggested that the availability of woody biomass will be contingent upon timber prices.

Download or read book Woody Biomass for Bioenergy and Biofuels in the United States written by Eric M. White and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2010-11 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Woody biomass (WB) can be used for the generation of heat, electricity, and biofuels. Bioenergy production from WB has not been widely adopted because the price of WB energy has not been competitive with traditional fossil fuels. However, current projections of future energy use, renewable energy and climate change legislation suggest increased use of both WB and agr. biomass energy. This report provides a summary of the knowledge related to the production of WB from bioenergy with a focus on the econ. perspective. The most common WB feedstocks are described along with results of econ. modeling studies related to the provision of biomass from short-rotation woody crops, harvest residues, and haz.-fuel reduction efforts.

Download or read book Forest and Biomass Harvest and Logistics written by Jingxin Wang and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-11-26 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explains forest and woody biomass harvest, harvesting machines, systems, logistics, supply chain management, best management practices, harvest scheduling and carbon sequestration. It also covers applications of harvesting principles in forest and biomass management practices. The book provides an in-depth understanding of functions and applications of current and future harvesting technologies, the unique characteristics of harvesting machine with respect to cost, productivity, and environmental impacts. Special features include harvest machine illustrations and images of field operations, tabular presentations of filed studies of forest operations and detailed modelling processes for forest and biomass harvest logistics and supply chain management. Specifically, the book is designed for students, researchers, educators, and practitioners in the field of forest and biomass harvest and logistics. The book’s contents have been tested in teaching as the Harvesting Forest Product class for undergraduates and graduates in the Division of Forestry and Natural Resources at West Virginia University since 2000. The information contained in this book is a robust reference resource for students who would be future forest and biomass managers, timber contractors, entrepreneurs, researchers, and educators in the fields of forest and biomass operations, engineering, and resource management.

Download or read book Woody Biomass for Bioenergy and Biofuels in the United States a Briefing Paper written by Eric White and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-01-03 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Woody biomass can be used for the generation of heat, electricity, and biofuels. In many cases, the technology for converting woody biomass into energy has been established for decades, but because the price of woody biomass energy has not been competitive with traditional fossil fuels, bioenergy production from woody biomass has not been widely adopted. However, current projections of future energy use and renewable energy and climate change legislation under consideration suggest increased use of both forest and agriculture biomass energy in the coming decades. This report provides a summary of some of the existing knowledge and literature related to the production of woody biomass from bioenergy with a particular focus on the economic perspective. The most commonly discussed woody biomass feedstocks are described along with results of existing economic modeling studies related to the provision of biomass from short-rotation woody crops, harvest residues, and hazardous-fuel reduction efforts. Additionally, the existing social science literature is used to highlight some challenges to widespread production of biomass energy.

Download or read book Energy Research Abstracts written by and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 1180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book ASSESSING GROWTH YIELD AND CARBON DYNAMICS IN UPPER GREAT LAKES JACK PINE AND HYBRID POPLAR MANAGED FOR BIOMASS PRODUCTION written by and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract : Woody biomass for use as coal-replacing bioenergy has garnered increasing interest as federal and local governments require larger portions of energy production to come from renewable sources. Woody biomass can be produced from dedicated plantations grown and harvested solely for biomass production, or non-dedicated sources such as harvest residues from traditional timber operations. The creation of site index curves for hybrid poplar were established from the Michigan Technological University Hybrid Poplar Network in the upper Great Lakes Region. These site index models are to be used for landowners to assess the predicted yield at established plantations, or possibly within spatial models to assess production across the region. Research was also conducted to assess the efficacy of biomass creation within traditional timber production techniques by utilizing non-merchantable material from jack pine (Pinus banksiana) plantations currently planted and utilized for breeding habitat by the Kirtland's warbler (KW) (Setophaga kirlandii).

Download or read book Managing Woody Biomass Transportation for Improved Biomass Economics written by Sang-Kyun Han and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With rising fuel costs and enhanced environmental concerns, the use of renewable energy has been steadily considered and widely expounded as a solution to the challenges of global energy security and climate change. The use of woody biomass, in particular, has received considerable attention for energy production due to the potential availability of large volumes from fuel reduction thinning operations and healthy forest restoration plans. However, woody biomass utilization is not as economically attractive as fossil fuel due to the high production and transportation costs compared to the relatively low market values of these materials. Therefore, identifying or developing cost effective production and transportation systems has become an economically critical issue to expand biomass utilization. In woody biomass production, the transportation of wood raw materials from the sources to the conversion facilities is the largest single component of production costs for many suppliers around the world. Therefore, small increases in transportation efficiency could significantly reduce the overall production costs. The purpose of this study was to provide new knowledge which leads to improvements in the economic feasibility of using woody biomass for energy through reductions in transportation costs. This dissertation: [1] Developed prediction models to estimate the travel times including terminal (loading and unloading) times to haul woody biomass from non-forest sources to conversion facilities in western Oregon and determined the effects of off-forest road classes on transportation times and costs. The travel time prediction model developed was shown to be a good predictor for travel time through a validation procedure. The average percent difference between actual and predicted travel times was only 6 percent. [2] Developed a computer model, named BIOTRANS, to estimate the biomass transportation productivity and cost and evaluated the effects on transportation costs of different truck configurations, transported material types, and travel route characteristics. Different truck configurations and transported material types significantly affected transportation costs. A 4 axle truck and single trailer was the most cost efficient hauling configuration for the conditions studied and shavings have 30 percent higher trucking costs than other material types. [3] Developed an optimization model to solve a truck scheduling problem for transporting four types of woody biomass in western Oregon. For an actual 50-load order size, the truck scheduling model produced significant improvements in solution values within 18 seconds. The average reductions in transportation cost and total travel time were 18% and 15%, respectively. [4] Reviewed collaborative management systems and described the potential implementation of collaborative transportation management in the woody biomass transportation industry.

Download or read book Modeling Work Plan Logistics for Biomass Recovery Operations Using Spatial Analysis written by Timothy D. Montgomery and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through the use of spatial and network analysis, this study demonstrates how operational managers can develop a comprehensive work plan that provides a framework for centralized woody biomass harvesting operations. This was achieved by identifying the locations of landings, the amount and distribution of available biomass, modeling the forest freight supply chain, and the estimating the cost of transportation. The resulting models identified the location and amount of available biomass within 94 harvest units, 95 possible centralized landing locations, 15 trailer landing locations, and transportation routes and cost from the stump to the energy plant.

Download or read book Modeling Biomass Transport on Single Lane Forest Roads and Monitoring GPS Accuracy for Vehicle Tracking Under Different Forest Canopy Conditions written by Matamyo Simwanda and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The transportation of wood and biomass resources from landing and other collection locations to processing and distribution sites is a substantial cost within the wood supply chain. These high costs provide a basis for research aimed at improving biomass transportation planning decisions and potentially reducing biomass transportation costs. Chip vans have been identified to be the most cost-efficient mode of transporting biomass provided the roads are suitable for the trucks which are generally built for highway use. Research to develop chip van performance simulation models for travel time prediction could potentially reduce biomass transportation costs by improving transportation planning decisions. GPS technology has the ability to record information such as location (longitude, latitude and elevation), movement (speed, heading) and travel time which makes it an attractive tool for data collection to develop, test and validate vehicle simulation models. In spite of several studies investigating the accuracy and performance of GPS under different forest conditions, the reliability of GPS receiver measurements for moving vehicles under forest canopy and in mountainous terrain has not been examined. This dissertation includes two manuscripts. One manuscript presents a Chip Van Travel Time Prediction Simulation Model (CHIP-VAN) that was developed using data collected by GPS receivers to track and monitor chip vans. The vans were exclusively used for transporting chipped (ground) biomass from forest operation sites in western Oregon. The other manuscript examines the accuracy and reliability of GPS for vehicle tracking under different forest canopy conditions and mountainous terrain. The model, CHIP-VAN, is developed based on the maximum limiting speeds on each road segment as limited by road grade, stopping sight distance (SSD) and road alignment as well as modeling the driver's behavior as these road conditions change. A two pass simulation was used in the model; the first pass simulation calculates the maximum limiting speeds on each road segment and the second pass simulates the driver's behavior and calculates the travel time. To emulate the driver's behavior, four cases that determine whether a driver will accelerate, decelerate or continue at current speed, were developed. The model has been tested for validation using the data collected for the study. The validation tests suggest that the model is appropriate for predicting travel time for chip vans on single lane forest roads with acceptable accuracy. The findings in the second study demonstrate that the GPS tracking accuracy of vehicles on forested roads are clearly influenced by the composition of the surrounding canopy, with the strongest influence being from heavy forest canopy cover. Accuracy is generally improved in areas with less forest canopy. The study concludes that the consumer-grade GPS receiver measurements determined are acceptable for tracking and improving biomass transport from forest supply locations to distribution and processing centers. The analysis of the range of accuracies found for vehicles operating within heavy forest canopy cover demonstrates that the accuracies are probably acceptable for many forest transportation monitoring and planning applications, including the mapping of forest road locations and other forest transportation operations. It is expected that the CHIP-VAN model and GPS accuracy studies will aid forest transportation managers in decision making and transportation planning in biomass operations. Most importantly it is hoped that the results of this research will increase transportation management planning efficiency for biomass and lead to improved methods for developing biomass cost assessments

Download or read book Biomass Supply Chains for Bioenergy and Biorefining written by Jens Bo Holm-Nielsen and published by Woodhead Publishing. This book was released on 2016-02-23 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biomass Supply Chains for Bioenergy and Biorefining highlights the emergence of energy generation through the use of biomass and the ways it is becoming more widely used. The supply chains that produce the feedstocks, harvest, transport, store, and prepare them for combustion or refinement into other forms of fuel are long and complex, often differing from feedstock to feedstock. Biomass Supply Chains for Bioenergy and Biorefining considers every aspect of these supply chains, including their design, management, socioeconomic, and environmental impacts. The first part of the book introduces supply chains, biomass feedstocks, and their analysis, while the second part looks at the harvesting, handling, storage, and transportation of biomass. The third part studies the modeling of supply chains and their management, with the final section discussing, in minute detail, the supply chains involved in the production and usage of individual feedstocks, such as wood and sugar starches, oil crops, industrial biomass wastes, and municipal sewage stocks. Focuses on the complex supply chains of the various potential feedstocks for biomass energy generation Studies a wide range of biomass feedstocks, including woody energy crops, sugar and starch crops, lignocellulosic crops, oil crops, grass crops, algae, and biomass waste Reviews the modeling and optimization, standards, quality control and traceability, socioeconomic, and environmental impacts of supply chains

Download or read book Great Lakes Regional Biomass Energy Program written by and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Woody Biomass for Bioenergy and Biofuels in the United States written by Eric M. White and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 45 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Woody biomass can be used for the generation of heat, electricity, and biofuels. In many cases, the technology for converting woody biomass into energy has been established for decades, but because the price of woody biomass energy has not been competitive with traditional fossil fuels, bioenergy production from woody biomass has not been widely adopted. However, current projections of future energy use and renewable energy and climate change legislation under consideration suggest increased use of both forest and agriculture biomass energy in the coming decades. This report provides a summary of some of the existing knowledge and literature related to the production of woody biomass from bioenergy with a particular focus on the economic perspective. The most commonly discussed woody biomass feedstocks are described along with results of existing economic modeling studies related to the provision of biomass from short-rotation woody crops, harvest residues, and hazardous fuel-reduction efforts. Additionally, the existing social science literature is used to highlight some challenges to widespread production of biomass energy.

Download or read book 1st World Conference on Biomass for Energy and Industry written by Spyros Kyritsis and published by Earthscan. This book was released on 2001 with total page 1170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 1st World Conference and Technology Exhibition on Biomass for Energy and Industry, held in Sevilla in June 2000, brought together for the first time the traditional European Conference on Biomass for Energy and Industry and the Biomass Conference of the Americas, thus creating the largest and most outstanding event in the worldwide biomass sector. The conference elaborated innovative global strategies, projects and efficient practice rules for energy and the environment at a key stage in the industry's development. New concepts and projects were highlighted to increase the social and political awareness for a change in worldwide resource consumption and to promote economically, socially and environmentally sustainable development for the next millennium. In 2 volumes, the Proceedings include some 470 papers essential to an understanding of current thinking, practice, research and global developments in the biomass sector - a vital reference source for researchers, manufacturers, and policy makers involved or interested in the use of biomass for energy and industry.

Download or read book A Supply Chain Model for Optimizing Fixed and Mobile Bio oil Refineries on a Regional Scale written by Pantea Mirzaie and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 103 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The use of fossil fuels and their related impact on the environment and global warming have encouraged societies to pursue more sustainable and renewable alternatives, e.g., forest-based bio-oil. Thus, a vital need to decrease the level of greenhouse gas emissions and the tendency of nations to reduce their dependency on imported oil have created a new mission for society: To increase the robustness of the environmental and economic aspects of woody biomass to bio-oil supply chains. Prior studies have focused on developing novel methods and approaches for improving single stages of biomass supply chains. Others have focused on ameliorating biomass supply chain performance from a systems perspective for a host of different biomass types, e.g., agricultural residues and forest residues, and logistics issues, e.g., transportation distance and storage. Bio-oil can be produced from woody biomass through the fast pyrolysis process, among different methods. Mobile processing has been developed in recent years to facilitate bio-oil production from woody waste and to reduce overall bio-oil supply chain cost, however, questions surrounding the environmental and economic benefits of using mobile processing plants in combination with large-scale non-mobile (fixed) processing plants remain unanswered. The research presented develops a mathematical model capable of assisting decision makers in determining the optimal combination and location of fixed and mobile bio-refinery plants for a known woody waste supply stream and set of harvesting areas. The major cost elements in the optimization model are transportation costs and capital costs. The model is applied to hypothetical case for northwest Oregon by using historical harvesting data for state-owned and private forests in the region. Distances between locations are obtained by using a geographical information system to elucidate roadway effects. The model is optimized for cost by using an integer linear programming solver. Supply chain environmental impacts are then assessed by considering the carbon footprint (CO2 equivalent mass) of transportation activities and the bio-refinery infrastructure. Sensitivity analysis is conducted for six major factors within the mathematical model to assess their effects on the estimated supply chain cost and carbon footprint, as well as on the number and location of the mobile and fixed bio-refineries. The application of the model indicates that the utility of a mobile processing plant aligned with a fixed processing plant is more obvious when transportation cost and distance increase. In addition, this study seems to confirm the premise that transferring bio-oil to a processing facility is often more preferable than transporting woody biomass. However, results indicate that the capital intensity (cost and environmental impact) of mobile processing plants can greatly degrade their relative utility within a mixed mode supply chain.