Economic analysis of forest residues supply chain options to produce enhanced‐quality feedstocks

Sahoo, Kamalakanta; Bilek, Edward; Bergman, Richard; Kizha, Anil R.; Mani, Sudhagar

doi:10.1002/bbb.1958

Economic analysis of forest residues supply chain options to produce enhanced‐quality feedstocks

Journal Article · Wed Dec 19 00:00:00 EST 2018 · Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/bbb.1958· OSTI ID:1488610

Sahoo, Kamalakanta ^[1]; Bilek, Edward ^[2]; Bergman, Richard ^[2]; Kizha, Anil R. ^[3]; Mani, Sudhagar ^[4]

Forest Products Laboratory, United States Forest Service, Madison, WI 53726, USA and College of Engineering University of Georgia Athens GA USA
Forest Products Laboratory United States Forest Service Madison WI USA
School of Forest Resources University of Maine Orono ME USA
College of Engineering University of Georgia Athens GA USA

Abstract

Woody biomass feedstock that is both high quality and low cost has become increasingly important for the bioenergy and bioproducts industries. Logging generates forest residues – low‐quality feedstock – and additional operations that also incur additional costs, such as biomass sorting and treetops processing (BSTP), micro‐chipping, and screening, which are required to improve the feedstock's quality. Considering recent developments in technologies and BSTP to generate high‐quality feedstocks, economic models were developed in this study to estimate various forest‐residue logistics operational costs and to analyze the economics of delivering feedstocks to biomass conversion technology (BCT) sites near woods or power plants located far away in the form of chips, hog fuel, and bales. The results show that the cost of BSTP can vary between $30 and $82/ODMT (oven dry metric ton) based on the biomass sorting intensity. The most economical way to deliver forest residues was transporting processed stem‐wood from landings to near‐wood BCT sites and comminuting it into woodchips there (~$20/ODMT, assuming a one‐way (32 km) road distance and no cost of BSTP at landings). Grinding slash at the landing and transporting ground‐biomass (i.e., hog fuel) to a plant (< 22 km away) was more economical than transporting bales from landings and grinding at the plant. The economic feasibility of baling and BSTP requires a substantial productivity improvement or recognition and incorporation of benefits including reduced wildfire risk and improved forest health. High bulk density and strong shape of forest residues/slash bales compared to hog fuel may provide additional cost benefits during storage, for example through lower handling costs, which can be studied in the future. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

View Accepted Manuscript (Publisher)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0006297

OSTI ID:: 1488610

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1613336

Journal Information:: Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining, Journal Name: Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 13; ISSN 1932-104X

Publisher:: Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United Kingdom

Language:: English

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