Energy-based break-even transportation distance of biomass feedstocks

Journal Article · 02 April 2024 · Frontiers in Energy Research

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fenrg.2024.1347581 · OSTI ID:2396911

Tumuluru, J. S. ^[1]; Igathinathane, C. ^[2]; Archer, D. ^[3]; McCulloch, R. ^[4]

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1. US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), Las Cruces, NM (United States). Southwestern Cotton Ginning Research Laboratory
2. North Dakota State Univ., Fargo, ND (United States)
3. US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), Mandan, ND (United States). Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory
4. Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

The distance a solid biomass feedstock could be used to transport the feedstock when used as biobased fuel is critical information for transportation analysis. However, this information is not available. The break-even transportation distance (BTD) of various fuels from biomass feedstocks and fossil sources was analyzed for truck, rail, and ship transport modes based on bulk density, moisture content, and specific energy. Fourteen different biomass feedstocks, such as crop residues (e.g., corn stover), woody biomass (e.g., wood chips), including thermally pretreated (torrefied) and densified forms (pellets), cattle feedlot compost, and three standard fossil fuels, namely, coal, lignite, and diesel, were considered for BTD analysis and comparison. The BTD values were derived by comparing the energy content of biomass feedstocks with the energy expended in transporting the fuels through selected transportation modes. For ready reference, an alternative derivation of BTD equations and example calculations were also presented. Among the biomass feedstocks, torrefied pellets had the highest BTD (4.16 × 10⁴, 12.47 × 10⁴, and 54.14 × 10⁴ km), and cattle feedlot compost had the lowest BTD (1.29 × 10⁴, 3.88 × 10⁴, and 9.23 × 10⁴ km), respectively, for truck, rail, and ship. Higher bulk density and higher specific energy of the biomass feedstocks increased the BTD for all modes of transport. Transport is most efficient when mass-limited. Biomass feedstock bulk densities where transportation becomes mass-limited are 223, 1,480, and 656 kg/m³ for truck, rail, and ship, respectively. Truck transport is typically mass-limited (payload limit restriction; increased BTD), whereas rail transport is entirely volume-limited (cargo space restriction; decreased BTD), and ship transport is mostly volume-limited for biomass feedstocks and mass-limited for densified biomass feedstocks. Ship transport is the most efficient, followed by rail and truck; on average for the materials (17) studied, rail is 3.1 times and ship is 9.2 times the truck's BTD. Based on the bulk density and higher specific energy of the biomass feedstocks, regardless of the refinery location, interstate truck transport of these feedstocks is not a limiting factor in the bio-refining process., with the studied biomass feedstock BTD per truckload representing between 0.89 and 2.88 times the US perimeter.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); USDA
• Grant/Contract Number: AC07-05ID14517
• OSTI ID: 2396911
• Journal Information: Frontiers in Energy Research, Journal Name: Frontiers in Energy Research Vol. 12; ISSN 2296-598X
• Publisher: Frontiers Research FoundationCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English