Feedstock Contract Considerations for a Piedmont Biorefinery

Cundiff, John S.; Grisso, Robert D.; Fike, John H.

doi:10.3390/agriengineering2040041

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…A 6-month (24-week) harvest schedule (September to February) at the start of the 48-week load-out operation was selected to emulate the schedule studied by Cundiff et al [19]. This study used a database of potential production fields within a 50 km radius of Gretna, VA (the "Gretna database") [18].…”

Section: Description Of Harvest Schedule and Production Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Central Control for Optimized Herbaceous Feedstock Delivery to a Biorefinery from Satellite Storage Locations

2022

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The delivery of herbaceous feedstock from satellite storage locations (SSLs) to a biorefinery or preprocessing depot is a logistics problem that must be optimized before a new bioenergy industry can be realized. Both load-out productivity, defined as the loading of 5 × 4 round bales into a 20-bale rack at the SSL, and truck productivity, defined as the hauling of bales from the SSLs to the biorefinery, must be maximized. Productivity (Mg/d) is maximized and cost (USD/Mg) is minimized when approximately the same number the loads is received each day. To achieve this, a central control model is proposed, where a feedstock manager at the biorefinery can dispatch a truck to any SSL where a load will be available when the truck arrives. Simulations of this central control model for different numbers of simultaneous load-out operations were performed using a database of potential production fields within a 50 km radius of a theoretical biorefinery in Gretna, VA. The minimum delivered cost (i.e., load-out plus truck) was achieved with nine load-outs and a fleet of eight trucks. The estimated cost was 11.24 and 11.62 USD/Mg of annual biorefinery capacity (assuming 24/7 operation over 48 wk/y for a total of approximately 150,000 Mg/y) for the load-out and truck, respectively. The two costs were approximately equal, reinforcing the desirability of a central control to maximize the productivity of these two key operations simultaneously.

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Section: Description Of Harvest Schedule and Production Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The eight-load-out simulation is used as an example. The load-out number is followed by the number of moves between SSLs in parenthesis: L1 (19), L2 (18), L3 (18), L4 (22), L5 (29), L6 (30), L7 (31), and L8 (25) for a total of 192 moves over the 49-week season. On average, the equipment hauler must complete 3.9 moves per week.…”

Section: Service Truck Costmentioning

confidence: 99%

Central Control for Optimized Herbaceous Feedstock Delivery to a Biorefinery from Satellite Storage Locations

2022

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“…We present a scenario that builds on a concept first proposed by Cundiff et al 15 The goal is to provide maximum opportunity for all farm owners, resident or absentee, to obtain a feedstock contract. In practical terms, the smallest contract would be 40 ha.…”

Section: Feedstock Contract Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on the above estimates, the totals were 223.9 million USD for VA (8 zones), 179.6 for NC (7 zones), 104.6 for SC (6 zones), 170.0 for GA (11 zones), and 28.6 for AL (2 zones) for a total of 706.7 million USD (Table 4). Cundiff et al 15 accounted for harvest and storage losses and calculated a 93.49 USD Mg -1 average price paid for feedstock across a 6 month harvest season. Using this value, the total becomes 604.9 million USD across the Piedmont.…”

Section: Feedstock Contract Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of herbaceous feedstock supply for locating biorefineries in the Piedmont, USA

Resop

Cundiff

2021

Biofuels Bioprod Bioref

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The push for renewable energy sources has local government agencies striving to optimize their limited resources. Various energy sources are often explored depending on the region – for example, wind, solar, geothermal, and bioenergy. The Piedmont region of the USA has the potential to be a significant player in the production of biomass to supply a biorefinery. However, before local agencies and private biorefineries can invest in such an endeavor, the potential feedstock supply must be quantified. The goal of this study was to perform a land‐use assessment for the 166 counties spanning five states (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama) that make up the bulk of the Piedmont region. For each county, the potential for producing and supplying herbaceous feedstock (i.e., switchgrass) was quantified based on 2017 land use. Only 48% of the counties had the potential to supply a biorefinery larger than 0.5 round bales per min (bpm) (97 000 Mg year–1). To supply a more reasonably sized biorefinery, the Piedmont counties were organized into 34 multi‐county zones. For these zones, the potential switchgrass production to supply a biorefinery ranged from 50 000 Mg year–1 to 360 000 Mg year–1. The total feedstock production for the region was 6 470 000 Mg year–1, equal to a potential production of about 3.3% of the current US consumption of ethanol for blending with gasoline. The development of a bioenergy industry in the Piedmont will require local leadership and initiative; however, this study provides the first step in envisioning the potential of such an industry. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

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“…A rack system for hauling round bales has been described [1][2][3][4]. The overall concept envisions that the biorefinery will contract for the loading of bales into racks at the SSL, a contract hereafter referred to as a "load-out operation".…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Load and Unload Technology to Improve Round-Bale Hauling Efficiency

Cundiff

Grisso

2021

AgriEngineering

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There are two key parameters in short-haul truck operations to deliver biomass to a biorefinery: (1) mass of the load and (2) cycle time (load, travel, unload, and return). A plan to optimize both these parameters is outlined in this study. Operation of a logistics system to deliver 20-bale racks to a biorefinery for continuous 24/7 operation, 48 weeks/year is described. Round bales are stored in satellite storage locations (SSLs) by feedstock producers. A truckload consists of two tandem trailers (40, 0.4 Mg bales), a specification that maximizes load mass. Load-out at the SSL (loading bales into racks) is performed by a contractor and paid by the biorefinery. Subsequent hauling (truck tractor to pull the trailers) is also contracted for by the biorefinery. Central control is specified; the “feedstock manager” at the biorefinery decides the order SSLs are loaded out and can route a truck to any SSL where a load is ready. Tandem trailers with empty racks are dropped at the SSL, and the trailers with full racks are towed to the biorefinery. Uncoupling the loading and hauling in this manner reduces the time the truck waits for loading and the SSL load-out waits for a truck; thus, productivity of both operations is increased. At the biorefinery receiving facility, full racks are removed from the trailers and replaced with empty racks. The objective for this transfer is a 10 min unload time, which completes a logistics design that minimizes cycle time. A delivered rack is placed in a rack unloader to supply bales for immediate processing, or it is placed in central storage to supply bales for nighttime and weekend operations. Three biorefinery capacities were studied: 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 bale/min. The analysis shows that rack cost to supply a biorefinery processing a bale/min for 24/7 operation is ~3.00 USD/Mg of annual biorefinery capacity, and the rack trailer cost is ~3.25 USD/Mg. Total delivery cost, beginning with bales in SSL storage and ending with a rack being placed in an unloader to deliver individual bales for processing, is 31.51, 28.42, and 26.92 USD/Mg for a biorefinery processing rates of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 bale/min, respectively.

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Feedstock Contract Considerations for a Piedmont Biorefinery

Cited by 4 publications

References 47 publications

Central Control for Optimized Herbaceous Feedstock Delivery to a Biorefinery from Satellite Storage Locations

Central Control for Optimized Herbaceous Feedstock Delivery to a Biorefinery from Satellite Storage Locations

Assessment of herbaceous feedstock supply for locating biorefineries in the Piedmont, USA

Load and Unload Technology to Improve Round-Bale Hauling Efficiency

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