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Research Trends in European Forest Fuel Supply Chains: A Review of the Last Ten Years (2007- 2017)

Authors:
Martin Kühmaier at BOKU University
Martin Kühmaier
Gernot Erber at BOKU University
Gernot Erber
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Overview of research trends in forest biomass supply in Europe considering the years 2007 to 2017. Classification according to key supply processes. Identification of future research needs to both industrial and academic development.
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Photo: C. Kanzian
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Photo: Lederer
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Research Trends in European Forest Fuel Supply Chains
Research Trends in European Forest Fuel
Supply Chains: A Review of the Last Ten
Years (2007- 2017)
Innovating the competitive edge: from research to impact in
the forest value chain
50th International Symposium on Forestry Mechanization
(FORMEC), 25-29 September 2017, Braşov (Romania)
Martin Kühmaier, Gernot Erber
Institute of Forest Engineering,
Department of Forest and Soil Sciences,
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna
Research Trends in European Forest Fuel Supply Chains
Background
Biomass is considered a contributor to climate
change mitigation and energy security
Potential is not exploited due to difficult operating
conditions, low efficiency and high costs in the
supply chain
Several overviews of research on technologies and
procedures suitable for increasing the efficiency in
fuelwood supply are existing
No paper covers relevant and promising research
trends in the field of forest fuel supply chains
Photo: C. Kanzian
Research Trends in European Forest Fuel Supply Chains
Objectives
Overview of research trends in forest biomass
supply in Europe considering the years 2007 to 2017
Covering “harvesting”, “storage”, “comminution”
and “transport”
Classification according to key supply processes
and further into research trends
Identification of future research needs to both
industrial and academic development
Photo: Lederer
Research Trends in European Forest Fuel Supply Chains
Material and methods
Online literature review using search engines
Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar
Combination of keywords:
harvesting, extracting, storage, comminution,
chipping, transport
fuelwood, energy wood, supply chain
145 papers were relevant for review
Papers could fit to more than one supply process or
research trend and were therefore counted multiple
times
Research Trends in European Forest Fuel Supply Chains
Research Trends in Harvesting
Photos: Fixteri Oy
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Number of publications
Multi tree handling Compressing and bundling
Research Trends in European Forest Fuel Supply Chains
Research Trends in Harvesting
Fuelwood harvesting heads
Evaluation of productivity, cutting quality
Configuration
Boom-corridor thinning
Bundling of trees
Improvement of productivity
Efficiency of multi-tree handling
Forwarder-mounted bundler
Compressing fuelwood loads
Evaluation of different concepts
Photo: BOKU
Research Trends in European Forest Fuel Supply Chains
Research Trends in Storage
Photos: Leitner, Erber, Kanzian
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Number of publications
Storage season and duration
Pile size and shape, position in the pile and fuelwood size
Covering, debarking, splitting, bundling and pre-drying in the stand
Dry matter losses
Meteorological data based drying models
Research Trends in European Forest Fuel Supply Chains
Research Trends in Storage
Effects of storage season on drying performance
Pile size and shape, position in the pile and fuelwood
size
Beehive pile vs. windrow pile
Moisture content gradient from inside to outside
Covering, debarking, pre-drying
Positive effects in Nordic countries
Faster drying when debarking or splitting
Pre-drying reduces the moisture content
Dry-matter losses
Treatment of residues Photos: Walki, Erber, Lederer
Research Trends in European Forest Fuel Supply Chains
Research Trends in Storage
Meteorological data based drying models
species, material type and treatment
defined period or the period required to reach a
defined moisture content
Monitoring by sampling by chainsaw or weighing
stems or parts of the pile in intervals or “continuous
weighing approach”
Photo: Kanzian
Research Trends in European Forest Fuel Supply Chains
Research Trends in Comminution
Photos: BOKU
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Number of publications
Allocation of the comminution process within the supply chain
Effects of wood characteristics on chipper performance
Effects of wood characteristics on product quality
Evaluating the effects of chipper design
Evaluating the effects of knife configuration
Evaluating the effects of screens and sieves
Effects of comminution on and human’s health
Research Trends in European Forest Fuel Supply Chains
Research Trends in Comminution
Allocation of the comminution process
Terrain, roadside, terminal, plant
Effects of wood characteristics on chipper
performance and on product quality
Evaluating the effects of chipper configuration
Chipper design, crane size, in-feed mode, blower
setting, hybrid chippers
Knife configuration, knife angle, wearing chipper
knives, intervals on knife sharpening, cut length
setting, piece breaker option, cutterhead diameter
Screens and sieves, mesh size
Effects of comminution on human’s health Photos: Spinelli, BOKU
Research Trends in European Forest Fuel Supply Chains
Research Trends in Transport
Photos: Fenz, Kanzian
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Number of publications
Selecting suitable transportation modes
Improving the efficiency of fuel wood transportation
Coordination of supply processes
Economic assessment of supply chains
Environmental assessment of supply chains
Research Trends in European Forest Fuel Supply Chains
Research Trends in Transportation
and Logistics
Selecting suitable transportation modes
Working time, working rate, fuel consumption, energy
costs and economic costs
Improving the efficiency of fuelwood transportation
Payload, loading and unloading time, transporting
distance, hourly costs and operational delays, moisture
content
Coordination of supply processes
Optimization and simulation
Economic and environmental assessment of supply
chains
Photos: BOKU
Research Trends in European Forest Fuel Supply Chains
Conclusions
Harvesting
Adapting machine configuration and working
techniques
Future performance of bundling is unclear
Storage
Improving the season of harvesting, storage layout and
treatment
Higher accuracy of drying models and expanding their
field of application
Photos: BOKU
Research Trends in European Forest Fuel Supply Chains
Conclusions
Comminution
Interlinkage between chipper, crane and grapple
Optimal positioning of the comminution process
Improvement of chipper design
Transportation & Logistics
Optimization of the design of supply areas
Optimization of vehicle capacity
Intermodal and multimodal transport
Linkage between supply processes
Additional focus on environmental impacts (LCA)
Photos: K. Stampfer
Research Trends in European Forest Fuel Supply Chains
Thank you for your attention!
Martin Kühmaier
University of Natural Resources and
Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU)
E-mail: martin.kuehmaier@boku.ac.at
... Tree size (DBH, unit volume or weight) is the most common explanative variable in felling and bunching productivity equations [30][31][32][33][34][35][36]. ...
... The time exclusively dedicated to bundling, described in [9] as the time when no other work element was being performed, was between 13% and 34%, significantly larger than [9]. The recorded waiting times of the feller-buncher unit due to the apparent lower speed of the bundling unit feeding system seem to contradict previous studies, emphasizing the greater capacity of the bundling unit when compared to the felling head [9,34,38]. These facts may be explained by the use of a crane Logmer C 140-11, with greater reach and speed than that used in these studies (Loglift FT 100 in [9], without specification in the other references). ...
Biomass Harvesting from Salvage Clearcuts on Young Eucalypt Stands and Post-Wildfire Pine Thinnings with Fixteri FX15a Feller-Bundler in Spain
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2023
We studied two Eucalyptus globulus salvage clearcuts—after a wildfire and a Gonipterus attack—and a strong thinning on a dense Pinus pinaster stand which was regenerated 20 years after a wildfire and also affected by a Matsococcus pest. Biomass harvesting was performed using the feller-bundler Fixteri FX-15a, which was time-studied during several weeks using GNSS combined with an automatic weight/time registration system (WNexus-2®). Detailed in situ time studies were applied during shorter periods as well. The productivity equations found as main explanative factors for the salvage clearcuts the unit weight per tree and the felling reason (wildfire vs. pest); for the thinning, besides the unit weight, the percentage of extracted basal area explained the productivity. Biomass collection did not allow an economic positive balance: in the Gonipterus-affected plantation the cost was reduced to 125 €·ha⁻¹, reaching a zero balance for unit weights greater than 33 kg (dry matter) per tree; the restoration cost in the pine stand was 265 €·ha⁻¹, much lower than the cost without biomass harvesting. In the burned eucalypt, the zero cost would be achieved for a dry unit weight much greater than the observed values. Although Fixteri performance and utilization were remarkable, recommendations about possible improvements of its design and operation were concluded from the detailed time studies.
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Bibliometric Analysis of Trends in Biomass for Bioenergy Research
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2020
This paper aims to provide a bibliometric analysis of publication trends on the themes of biomass and bioenergy worldwide. A wide range of studies have been performed in the field of the usage of biomass for energy production, in order to contribute to the green transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies. Over the past 20 years (from 2000 to 2019), approximately 10,000 articles have been published in the “Agricultural and Biological Sciences” field on this theme, covering all stages of production—from the harvesting of crops to the particular type of energy produced. Articles were obtained from the SCOPUS database and examined with a text mining tool in order to analyze publication trends over the last two decades. Publications per year in the bioenergy theme have grown from 91 in 2000 to 773 in 2019. In particular the analyses showed how environmental aspects have increased their importance (from 7.3% to 11.8%), along with studies related to crop conditions (from 10.4% to 18.6%). Regarding the use of energy produced, growing trends were recognized for the impact of biofuels (mentions moved from 0.14 times per article in 2000 to 0.38 in 2019) and biogases (from 0.14 to 0.42 mentions). Environmental objectives have guided the interest of researchers, encouraging studies on biomass sources and the optimal use of the energy produced. This analysis aims to describe the research evolution, providing an analysis that can be helpful to predict future scenarios and participation among stakeholders in the sector.
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Uncertainty Simulation of Wood Chipping Operation for Bioenergy Based on Queuing Theory
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2019
Managing uncertainty is the way to secure stability of the supply chain. Uncertainty within chipping operation and chip transportation causes production loss. In the wood chip supply chain for bioenergy, operational uncertainty mainly appears in the moisture content of the material, chipping productivity, and the interval of truck arrival. This study theoretically quantified the loss in wood chip production by applying queuing theory and stochastic modelling. As well as the loss in production, the inefficiency was identified as the idling time of chipper and the queuing time of trucks. The aim of this study is to quantify the influence of three uncertainties on wood chip production. This study simulated the daily chip production using a mobile chipper by applying queuing theory and stochastic modelling of three uncertainties. The result was compared with the result of deterministic simulation which did not consider uncertainty. Uncertainty reduced the production by 14% to 27% compared to the production of deterministic simulation. There were trucks scheduled but not used. The cases using small trucks show the largest daily production amount, but their lead time was the longest. The large truck was sensitive to the moisture content of material because of the balance between payload and volumetric capacity. This simulation method can present a possible loss in production amount and enables to evaluate some ways for the loss compensation quantitatively such as outsourcing or storing buffer. For further development, the data about the interval of truck arrival should be collected from fields and analyzed. We must include the other uncertainties causing technical and operator delays.
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