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Karttunen K., Lättilä L., Korpinen O.-J., Ranta T. (2013). Cost-efficiency of intermodal container supply chain for forest chips. Silva Fennica vol. 47 no. 4 article id 1047. 24 p. Highlights• The combined availability and simulation study method obtains more realistic results for use in practical decision-making in supply chain management.• The total costs of forest chips with intermodal composite container supply chains were lower than traditional options in all scenarios.• The most advantageous way to expand the procurement area for forest chips is either to use composite container trucks or start using train transportation instead of trucks for procurement from longer distances. AbstractCost-efficient solutions of supply chains for energy wood are required as part of endeavors to reach targets for renewable energy utilization. Long-distance railway transportation is an interesting area of research, especially for high-volume sites where the forest-to-site distance is considerable and rail facilities already exist. The aim of the study was to compare the cost-efficiency of an intermodal container supply chain and traditional multi-modal supply chain with corresponding direct truck logistics for long-distance transportation of forest chips. In the study, site-dependent information for forest biomass transport was integrated into a simulation model to calculate the cost-efficiency of logistic operations related to forest chips transportation in central Finland. The model was tested with several truck and railway transportation scenarios for varying demand of forest chips at the case power plant. The total costs of traditional supply chains were found to be 5-19% more expensive than container supply chain scenarios. The total unit costs of forest chips varied between 15.3 and 20.0 €/MWh depending on the scenario. It is concluded on the basis of the scenario study that intermodal light-structure container logistics and railway transportation could be developed as a viable option for large-scale supply of forest chips.

Finnish forest companies aim to produce biodiesel based on the Fischer-Tropsch process from forest residues. This study presents method to evaluate biomass availability and supply costs to the selected biorefinery site. Forest-owners’ willingness to sell, buyers’ market share, and regional competition were taken into account when biomass availability was evaluated. Supply logistics was based either on direct truck transportation deliveries from forest or on railway/waterway transportation via regional terminals. The large biomass need of a biorefinery demanded both of these supply structures, since the procurement area was larger than the traditional supply area used for CHP plants in Finland. The average supply cost was 17 €/MWh for an annual supply of 2 TWh of forest biomass. Truck transportation of chips made from logging residues covered 70% of the total volume, since direct forest chip deliveries from forest were the most competitive supply solution in terms of direct supply costs. The better supply security and lower vehicle capacity needs are issues that would favour also terminal logistics with other raw-material sources in practical operations. One finding was that the larger the biomass need, the less the variation in biomass availability and supply costs, since almost the whole country will serve as a potential supply area. Biomass import possibilities were not considered in this study

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Commercial-scale liquid-biofuel production utilizing forest-based biomass would require feedstock supply from a large geographical area. Feedstock composition, supply chains' arrangements, and the resulting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are location dependent, and case-specific assessments are needed if one is to guarantee the fulfillment of GHG reduction requirements by a specific biofuel product. This work assessed GHG emissions derived from the feedstock supply and transportation chain to three possible commercial-scale biodiesel plant locations in Finland (Rauma, Porvoo, and Kemi) at site-specific level. The supply of 7.2 PJ yr À1 (approximately 1 million m 3 solid ) of forest biomass (harvesting residues, stumps, and small-diameter energy wood) was assessed for each location, including four distinct scenarios for truck and railway transportation and two scenarios for biomass availability. Biomass availability and transportation-network assessments were conducted through utilization of geographical information system methods, and the GHG emissions were assessed by means of lifecycle assessment. The results showed that the GHG emissions of the supply chains can be effectively reduced through use of railway transportation from distant supply areas. Furthermore, even though the supply-chain GHG emissions differed by up to 30% between the case-study locations, the GHG emissions of the feedstock supply chain, from roadside stores of uncomminuted biomass to comminuted biomass delivered to the plants, were relatively low (2-4%) when compared with the GHG emissions of fossil diesel.