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  1. Optimizing biomass feedstock logistics for forest residue processing and transportation on a tree-shaped road network

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    Author(s): Hee Han; Woodam Chung; Lucas Wells; Nathaniel Anderson
    Date: 2018
    Source: Forests. 9: 121.
    Publication Series: Scientific Journal (JRNL)
    Station: Rocky Mountain Research Station
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/f9030121
    PDF: Download Publication  (2.0 MB)

    Description

    An important task in forest residue recovery operations is to select the most cost-efficient feedstock logistics system for a given distribution of residue piles, road access, and available machinery. Notable considerations include inaccessibility of treatment units to large chip vans and frequent, long-distance mobilization of forestry equipment required to process dispersed residues. In this study, we present optimized biomass feedstock logistics on a tree-shaped road network that take into account the following options: (1) grinding residues at the site of treatment and forwarding ground residues either directly to bioenergy facility or to a concentration yard where they are transshipped to large chip vans, (2) forwarding residues to a concentration yard where they are stored and ground directly into chip vans, and (3) forwarding residues to a nearby grinder location and forwarding the ground materials. A mixed-integer programming model coupled with a network algorithm was developed to solve the problem. The model was applied to recovery operations on a study site in Colorado, USA, and the optimal solution reduced the cost of logistics up to 11% compared to the conventional system. This is an important result because this cost reduction propagates downstream through the biomass supply chain, reducing production costs for bioenergy and bioproducts.

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    Citation

    Han, Hee; Chung, Woodam; Wells, Lucas; Anderson, Nathaniel. 2018. Optimizing biomass feedstock logistics for forest residue processing and transportation on a tree-shaped road network. Forests. 9: 121.

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    Keywords

    forest residue, slash forwarding, in-woods grinding, equipment mobilization, mixed-integer programming

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