An environmental impact assessment of exported wood pellets from Canada to Europe

Magelli, Francesca; Boucher, Karl; Bi, Hsiaotao T.; Melin, Staffan; Bonoli, Alessandra

doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2008.08.016

Cited by 163 publications

(131 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…In describing the environmental impact of export wood pellets from Canada to Europe, Magelli et al [21] show that improvements in the efficiency of pellet production and transportation are equally important to reducing the environmental impact associated with wood pellet production and export. Sikkema et al [22] suggest that if pellets are produced elsewhere and transported long distances by freight train, lorries, and/or cargo ship, the environmental impact of the transportation will negate some of the environmental gains, particularly in the case of very long transport distances.…”

Section: Fig 2 Schematic Of the Wood Pellet Supply Chain Adapted Frommentioning

confidence: 99%

Logistical, economic, environmental and regulatory conditions for future wood pellet transportation by sea to Europe: The case of Northwest Russian seaports

Proskurina

Rimppi

Heinimö

et al. 2016

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

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International trade in biomass for energy is growing and wood pellets have become a very successful internationally traded bioenergy-based commodity. Russian wood pellets have captured an important share of European markets. The wood pellets are mainly transported to European markets by sea. The paper addresses challenges facing wood pellet logistics in Northwest Russia, through the ports of St. Petersburg, Vyborg, and Ust-Luga, focusing on options for seaborne transportation of pellets from producer to consumer from the economic, environmental and regulatory perspectives. The study shows that seaborne transportation of Russian wood pellets faces many constraints and without improvements in all stages of the wood pellet transportation chain through Northwest Russian seaports, the future for Russian wood pellet exports to Europe does not seem promising from the economic and environmental perspectives. Optimal logistics-related decisions require analysis of each specific situation, with detailed study of the investment and production capacities of the individual companies involved. Better knowledge of the respective stages of the wood pellet transportation chain and full consideration of the environmental aspects involved will enable effective optimization actions to be taken. This study represents a starting point for further discussion of possible improvements to seaborne wood pellet transportation to European consumers.

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Section: Fig 2 Schematic Of the Wood Pellet Supply Chain Adapted Frommentioning

confidence: 99%

Logistical, economic, environmental and regulatory conditions for future wood pellet transportation by sea to Europe: The case of Northwest Russian seaports

Proskurina

Rimppi

Heinimö

et al. 2016

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

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“…This study showed that up to 40% of the energy content is consumed in producing and transporting wood pellets from Canada to Europe. (Magelli et al 2009) Logistics models were also studied by Floden and Williamsson (2015) by means of a case study for Sweden. They investigate the use of intermodal transportation in integrated supply chains.…”

Section: Logisticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some key operational variables when transporting pellets are the transport distance, capacity, product weight, product volume, fuel consumption, load factor, and transfer time and cost. Magelli et al (2009) studied the logistics of transporting the product from Prince George to Vancouver, in which wood pellets were loaded onto a CN (Canadian National) train, and then transported to New Westminster before arrive at the Vancouver Port using the BNSF railway connection. This study showed that up to 40% of the energy content is consumed in producing and transporting wood pellets from Canada to Europe.…”

Section: Logisticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and Development of Logistics Models for Residential and Commercial Biomass Pellets for Heat and Power Generation in the U.S.

Lacoa¹,

Velarde

Kay³

et al. 2017

BioResources

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The U.S. is an important wood pellets producer for Europe, but in recent years there is special attention in the domestic market. This project developed mathematical logistics models in MatLab® that estimate distribution channels, transportation, and volumes for the domestic wood pellet demand. The models consider only demand in the northeastern U.S. based on current production in the Southeast. Two cases were studied: distribution to power plants and distribution to retail stores. Once the market needs were identified, logistics engineering principles and models were run to predict the distribution to different markets. Tools used in facility location and freight transportation analysis were run to provide an estimated logistic cost. One bulk pellet with 2 scenarios and 3 bagged pellet models (RISI 2016;2017; 2018) with 2 scenarios were developed. After analyses for each model, it was concluded that wood pellet industry should direct its efforts to negotiate lower transport rates, which could represent a 70% cost reduction. While the wood pellet industry volume is smaller than the coal and chemical industries, the considerable cost difference indicates an opportunity to negotiate lower rates. The models developed can be used as tools to minimize the cost of distributing wood pellets to the northeast.

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“…The majority of the literature pertaining to LCA studies of pellets focuses on the production of wood pellets. Both the emissions and the energy requirements of wood pellet production have been analysed in previous studies [45][46][47][48][49][50] with few relating to pellets from alternative sources, poplar [51], straw [3] and Miscanthus [52].…”

Section: Why Life Cycle Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Miscanthus production and processing in Ireland: An analysis of energy requirements and environmental impacts

Murphy

Devlin

McDonnell

2013

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

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The environmental impact of bioenergy supply systems can be determined using life cycle assessment methodologies. This study focuses on the impact of production of Miscanthus pellets and briquettes, potentially used to satisfy renewable energy requirements in Ireland.The impact categories considered are particularly important when assessing bioenergy systems; global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, and energy demand. The scope of the study incorporates Miscanthus cultivation, harvest, processing and transport to a biomass distributor. The aim of the research is to evaluate the effects of changes in keys variables on the overall environmental impacts of the system. The

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An environmental impact assessment of exported wood pellets from Canada to Europe

Cited by 163 publications

References 6 publications

Logistical, economic, environmental and regulatory conditions for future wood pellet transportation by sea to Europe: The case of Northwest Russian seaports

Logistical, economic, environmental and regulatory conditions for future wood pellet transportation by sea to Europe: The case of Northwest Russian seaports

Design and Development of Logistics Models for Residential and Commercial Biomass Pellets for Heat and Power Generation in the U.S.

Miscanthus production and processing in Ireland: An analysis of energy requirements and environmental impacts

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