Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Transport, Storage and Drying of Woody Biomass Richard M. Schroeder & Matt Langholtz, BioResource Management, Inc.

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Major Considerations in Handling Biomass Delivering energy, not volume or weight, is the objective Transport costs can exceed 50% of total costs Energy values are lower than most traditional wood markets—less handling the better

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, Size reduction and method of loading 2.Moisture Content and ash content 3.Energy content in actual Btus per dry ash-free pound 4.Payload capacities of transport vehicles Four Major Factors in Transport Costs

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Grinding and loading by conveyor or front loader Open top trailers Lower density per cu.ft. With live floor trailers, less payload but backhaul options

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Trailers with hydraulically driven slats in floor that “walk” the load from front to rear. Trailers can serve as controlled feed fuel bins. They can also unload where there are no truck dumpers available. So what is a live floor Trailer?

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Chipping and loading using closed top trailers Thrown chips pack at higher densities Trailers are usually fixed floor, lighter weight Higher payload capacities, but few backhaul possibilities.

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Biomass Supply Area By 50- mile Radius and county-level analysis Primary Area-8 counties Secondary Area-12 counties The crayon- on-a-string method of predicting transport costs

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Transport Costs based upon existing roads, speed limits, and freight times.

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Storage and Pre-Processing of Biomass Storage after size reduction difficult and expensive. In-field storage may represent best possibility in humid South. Transpirational drying can add significantly to energy value per truckload.

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 More air space allows more drying, but requires more storage space. Field drying is best at low densities. Equal weights of biomass in different forms

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 More handling Fuel storage losses On-site fuel storage may be worse than leaving it in the field

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Differences in density, payload, moisture and dry wood energy content can mean up to 56% difference in net delivered energy per trailer load. The net result of attention to detail

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Est. Florida Coal Price, 2012 Florida Coal Price, 2000 Projected 2012 Florida coal price allows biomass from over 2-1/2 hours away to compete. Summary: Transport and Preprocessing can determine project feasibility!

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Example Application: Transportation Impacts for Gainesville Regional Utilities

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Three Delivery Scenarios a)Delivered directly to Deerhaven by truck. b)Delivered to remote site by truck, processed, and transported to Deerhaven by truck (truck-truck concentration yards) c) Delivered to remote site by truck, processed at site, and delivered to Deerhaven by rail (truck-rail concentration yards)

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Scenario A: Delivered directly to Deerhaven by truck Advantages: Eliminates yard costs. Similar to most forestry operations in the South. Disadvantages: Potential for increased traffic/handling at the facility.

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Scenario A: Delivered directly to Deerhaven by truck

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Scenario A: Delivered directly to Deerhaven by truck

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Scenario A: Delivered directly to Deerhaven by truck Total round-trip truckloads per day for 40MW plant: about 183 trucks/day. Current daily traffic is about 38,400 vehicles per day, or about 3,840 trucks/day. An increase in truck traffic of about 5%

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Scenario B: Truck-truck concentration yards Allows use of off-road transportation equipment to yards for transfer to highway ready/larger trucks. Reduces traffic to facility. Expands supply area. May facilitate preprocessing difficult to do in-woods. Opportunity sort for multiple products. Opportunity for QC and rejection of material away from the facility. Increases storage space (seasonal harvesting).

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Scenario B: Truck-truck concentration yards Disadvantages: Additional cost of yard operation. Is the cost worth the benefit?

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Scenario B: Truck-truck concentration yards Disadvantages: Additional cost of yard operation. Is the cost worth the benefit?

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Scenario B: Truck-truck concentration yards Delineation of transportation corridors. One concentration yard can’t serve all corridors. Material probably won’t come “out and back”.

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Scenario B: Truck-truck concentration yards Difficult to cover all corridors with one yard. Additional costs may range from $2.47-$9.89 per dry ton ($0.15-$0.62/MMBtu). Very few truck-truck concentration yards are in existence.

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Scenario C: Truck-rail concentration yards Advantages : Similar benefits as truck-truck concentration yards. Traffic reduction benefits in urbanized areas. Can greatly expand supply area.

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Scenario C: Truck-rail concentration yards Disadvantages: Same as truck-truck yard (cost of yard, cost of handling, access) Rail adds operational constraints. Requires additional analysis/contracts/etc.

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Scenario C: Truck-rail concentration yards Transportation corridors. Access. “out and back”.

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Scenario C: Truck-rail concentration yards Similar challenges as with truck-truck concentration yards. May have advantages in urbanized areas (VT example) and/or access remote resources. May be popular with public opinion.

Woody Biomass Outreach Training, September 11-12, 2007 Questions