One of the weak links in the energy-wood chain is the transport of wood chips from the forestry yard to the power station. This operation is critical because the vehicles used must be very versatile to suit different operating conditions and, at the same time, to have low operating costs. The goal of this study has been that of implementing the information on this subject by examining different categories of vehicles considered appropriate for this purpose. For each of these, working time, working rate, fuel consumption and energy and economic cost were processed. Field trials were conducted using both “agricultural convoys” (tractor + trailer) and “industrial vehicles” (lorry). All vehicles were tested on two itineraries with different length: one of short length (about 25 km) and one of medium length (about 50 km). In the first itinerary were used only agricultural vehicles, while in the second itinerary were tested both agricultural vehicles (only the ones with bigger load capacity) and lorries. The study showed the highest average transfer speed (42 km h-1) for lorries use, while the lowest speed (24 km h-1) for agricultural vehicles (value obtained on routes longer than 25 km). The transport costs depending by the distance and the type of vehicle used and the cost per kilometer traveled is high especially for distances less than 20 km (up to 5 € km-1). If these values are applied to a thermal power unit of 1 MW fed with biomass with an annual use of 2,000 hours and a supply of biofuels of the radius of 70 km, it appears that the duration of bestowal of chips needed for its power (37,000 tss) is 1,500 h year-1 with a total cost of approximately 148,000 € year-1 if done with a lorry and about 4 times higher if performed with agricultural convoys. The energy required to perform the wood chips transportation is only about 90 MJ m3-1 for agricultural vehicles and 35 MJ m3-1 for lorries. These values, in any case, represent to small claim (2%) of energy value of biomass transported.
Evaluation of the performaces of some vehicles for wood chips transport.
MANZONE, Marco;BALSARI, Paolo
2012-01-01
Abstract
One of the weak links in the energy-wood chain is the transport of wood chips from the forestry yard to the power station. This operation is critical because the vehicles used must be very versatile to suit different operating conditions and, at the same time, to have low operating costs. The goal of this study has been that of implementing the information on this subject by examining different categories of vehicles considered appropriate for this purpose. For each of these, working time, working rate, fuel consumption and energy and economic cost were processed. Field trials were conducted using both “agricultural convoys” (tractor + trailer) and “industrial vehicles” (lorry). All vehicles were tested on two itineraries with different length: one of short length (about 25 km) and one of medium length (about 50 km). In the first itinerary were used only agricultural vehicles, while in the second itinerary were tested both agricultural vehicles (only the ones with bigger load capacity) and lorries. The study showed the highest average transfer speed (42 km h-1) for lorries use, while the lowest speed (24 km h-1) for agricultural vehicles (value obtained on routes longer than 25 km). The transport costs depending by the distance and the type of vehicle used and the cost per kilometer traveled is high especially for distances less than 20 km (up to 5 € km-1). If these values are applied to a thermal power unit of 1 MW fed with biomass with an annual use of 2,000 hours and a supply of biofuels of the radius of 70 km, it appears that the duration of bestowal of chips needed for its power (37,000 tss) is 1,500 h year-1 with a total cost of approximately 148,000 € year-1 if done with a lorry and about 4 times higher if performed with agricultural convoys. The energy required to perform the wood chips transportation is only about 90 MJ m3-1 for agricultural vehicles and 35 MJ m3-1 for lorries. These values, in any case, represent to small claim (2%) of energy value of biomass transported.
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