Evaluating the System Logistics of a Centralized Biomass Recovery Operation in Northern California

Bisson, Joel A.; Han, Sang-Kyun; Han, Han-Sup

doi:10.13073/fpj-d-14-00071

Cited by 19 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…In the national forests (Six Rivers, Klamath and Shasta-Trinity), biomass harvesting was typically conducted via relatively expensive thinning operations to achieve environmental benefits such as fire hazard reduction and forest restoration. As a result, industrial timberlands generated forest residues at a lower stump-to-truck cost range of $26 to $30/BDT (Bisson et al 2015;Harrill and Han 2012), while in the national forests, stump-to-truck biomass costs were approximately $52/BDT (Vitorelo et al 2011). Both of these costs represent the direct cost of the operation in the field and did not accommodate any allowance for mobilization of equipment, overhead or profit.…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We assumed an average secondary transportation cost based on road types from a recent study in the region (Bisson et al 2015) of 42-foot chip trailers carrying an average of 23.17 green tons of 25% moisture content wet basis hog fuel (wood chips and shavings). At this unit hauling cost, the TCZ thresholds of $10/BDT, $20/BDT and $30/BDT fell at 20, 41 and 61 miles.…”

Section: Transportation Model For Biomass Feedstocksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Exclusive timberland zones were regions around a power plant from which Information presented in this table is based on recent studies on wood residue transportation (Bisson et al 2015;Han and Murphy 2012;Harrill and Han 2012). The cost of operating the truck (i.e., machine cost) was assumed to be a constant regardless of road type and distance.…”

Section: Transportation Model For Biomass Feedstocksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the $30/BDT TCZ, there was only room to accommodate $20 to $30/BDT for the rest of the biomass harvesting operation. However, the stumpto-truck cost in industrial timberlands could account for about $26/BDT for biomass recovery operations (Bisson et al 2015) and $30/BDT for biomass harvesting along with sawlog operations in Northern California (Harrill and Han 2012). Costs for mobilization of equipment, overhead and profit allowance were not included in the stump-to-truck cost figures.…”

Section: Transportation Model Economicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To evaluate the total cost of delivery (round-trip) from timberlands to power plants, we conducted a sensitivity analysis using a unit cost of $0.24/BDT-mile (Bisson et al 2015) on distance traveled and the stump-to-truck biomass cost (table 6). As the stump-to-truck cost increased, the accessible distance to the timberlands decreased, and total delivery cost increased.…”

Section: Transportation Model Economicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Biomass power plant feedstock procurement: Modeling transportation cost zones and the potential for competition

Kizha¹,

Han²,

Montgomery³

et al. 2015

Cal Ag

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Transportation of comminuted (processed) woody biomass from the production site to a utilization point is one of the most costly operational components in feedstock procurement. This study identified potential sources of feedstock based on transportation cost from which three woody biomass power plants in Humboldt County, California, could economically obtain their supply. We conducted service area and locationallocation network analyses for timberlands and sawmills, respectively, and created inclusive and exclusive networks to model three transportation cost zones (TCZs). The area within the $20/bone dry ton TCZ had the highest potential supply of woody biomass in the county (709,565 acres). All sawmills in the county were within an economically viable distance of the power plants. Even though there was no competition for raw materials at the time of this study, a competition risk analysis suggested that this could change with shifts in the demand for biomass or the price of electricity. The methods we developed for this study could be adapted to other regions with managed timberlands and a strong forest products industry.H umboldt County, California, has approximately 1.7 million acres of forestland and maintains a strong forest products industry. Electrical power imports to the county are constrained by its remote location and lack of infrastructure. Consequently, it is a prime location for wood-based biomass energy plants. However, transportation costs have been a fundamental barrier to woody biomass utilization (Han and Murphy 2012). Even at 50 miles or less, transportation costs can be $10 to $30 per bone dry ton (BDT) (Galik et al. 2009). The fixed maximum weight limit on a chip truck of 40 tons in California increases transportation cost compared to neighboring states, which allow an increase of weight limits with an increase in the number of axles and axle spacing in a truck.Therefore, the first objective of this study was to determine the transportation cost zones (TCZs) for procuring woody biomass (the byproducts, or residues, of forest management and sawmill operations) from various timberlands and sawmills to fuel wood energy power plants in the county.Humboldt County has three power plants that are primarily fueled by woody biomass: DG Fairhaven in Samoa, Blue Lake Power in Blue Lake, and Green Leaf (Eel River plant) in Scotia. Together, the plants have the ability to generate 54 megawatts (MW) of electricity (table 1). However, in the recent past, the Blue Lake Power and Green Leaf power plants have shut down temporarily due to the low price of electricity, emission permit issues and the inability to secure supply at an economical price (Sims 2012). Even though competition for raw materials among these three power plants does not seem severe in this region, high demand for renewable energy (e.g., woody biomass) or entry of an additional competitor for fuel resources can lead to increased competition for resources (Walter Nystrom, Blue Lake Power LLC, pers. comm.). Consequently, the second objectiv...

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Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Transportation Model For Biomass Feedstocksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Transportation Model For Biomass Feedstocksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Transportation Model Economicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Transportation Model Economicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Biomass power plant feedstock procurement: Modeling transportation cost zones and the potential for competition

Kizha¹,

Han²,

Montgomery³

et al. 2015

Cal Ag

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

Sahoo

Bilek

Bergman

et al. 2018

Biofuels Bioprod Bioref

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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

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Processing and sorting forest residues: Cost, productivity and managerial impacts

Kizha

Han

2016

Biomass and Bioenergy

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Forest residues generated from timber harvesting operations, in the form of dead trees, branches, tree tops, chunks (offcuts), non-merchantable tree species and small-diameter trees, have traditionally been regarded as economically low value products. These by-products are generally utilized as feedstock for energy production, as they are widespread, renewable, and can be used to offset the use of fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions [1].In regions where there are markets for biomass or pulp, a variety of treatments, including debarking stems, removing foliage, field drying, etc. are carried out [2,3]. Such treatments have been found to accelerate drying, reduce contamination, and eventually enhance the quality of the feedstock [4]. The cost associated with these treatments, while documented, often cannot be compared , because the harvest operations are species, site, and practice specific [5]. However, documenting these operations can help in formulating specific strategies that can be adopted in regions with limited bioenergy markets.In northern California, approximately 157 and 110 oven dry metric tons (ODMT) ha -1 of forest residues can be recovered from a typical even-age managed ground-based and cable yarding operations, respectively [6]. However, the markets (primarily restricted to wood based power plants) for these woody biomass are limited by the transportation distance due to the low price [7]. This means, forest residues generated from most of the timber harvest units out of the power plant procurement regions are piled and burned on-site. These slash burning are additionally restricted to specific burn windows of the year [8]; and can have a negative impact on air quality and human health [9].One of the greatest barriers for utilizing traditional feedstock is due to the low price paid by the prevailing markets such as power plants. This price (approximately 50 $ BDT -1 ) in large prohibits from implementing any commercial biomass removal projects [10,11]. Emerging biomass conversion technologies (BCT) such as torrefaction, briquette, and gasification can increase the economic potential of

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Evaluating the System Logistics of a Centralized Biomass Recovery Operation in Northern California

Cited by 19 publications

References 5 publications

Biomass power plant feedstock procurement: Modeling transportation cost zones and the potential for competition

Biomass power plant feedstock procurement: Modeling transportation cost zones and the potential for competition

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

Processing and sorting forest residues: Cost, productivity and managerial impacts

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