As a consequence of increasing demand for wood fuels, the management of forest-fuel production chains has become an important logistics issue in FinlandandSweden. Truck-based transportation has been the dominant metho...As a consequence of increasing demand for wood fuels, the management of forest-fuel production chains has become an important logistics issue in FinlandandSweden. Truck-based transportation has been the dominant method in fuel supply from the areas around power plants. However, increasing demand has led to enlargement of supply areas and greater variety in supply methods, including also railway and waterway transportation. This study presents a GIS-based calculation model suitable for cost calculations for power plants’ forest-fuel supply chains. The model has multimodal properties—i.e., it provides transfer of forest-fuel loads between transportation modes—and enables case-specific adjustment of transportation and material-handling cost parameters. The functionality of the model is examined with a case study focusing on a region of intense forest-fuel use. The results indicate that truck transportation is competitive with railway transportation also for long transport distances. However, increasing the proportion of multimodal transportation for other than economic reasons (e.g., for supply security) could be reasonable, since the impact on total supply costs is marginal. In addition to honing of the parameters related to biomass availability and transport costs, the model should be developed through inclusion of other means of transportation, such as roundwood carriers.展开更多
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 sit...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.展开更多
文摘As a consequence of increasing demand for wood fuels, the management of forest-fuel production chains has become an important logistics issue in FinlandandSweden. Truck-based transportation has been the dominant method in fuel supply from the areas around power plants. However, increasing demand has led to enlargement of supply areas and greater variety in supply methods, including also railway and waterway transportation. This study presents a GIS-based calculation model suitable for cost calculations for power plants’ forest-fuel supply chains. The model has multimodal properties—i.e., it provides transfer of forest-fuel loads between transportation modes—and enables case-specific adjustment of transportation and material-handling cost parameters. The functionality of the model is examined with a case study focusing on a region of intense forest-fuel use. The results indicate that truck transportation is competitive with railway transportation also for long transport distances. However, increasing the proportion of multimodal transportation for other than economic reasons (e.g., for supply security) could be reasonable, since the impact on total supply costs is marginal. In addition to honing of the parameters related to biomass availability and transport costs, the model should be developed through inclusion of other means of transportation, such as roundwood carriers.
文摘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.
