Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Biomass feedstock preprocessing and long-distance transportation logistics
AU - Lin, T.
AU - Rodríguez, L.F.
AU - Davis, S.
AU - Khanna, M.
AU - Shastri, Y.
AU - Grift, T.
AU - Long, S.
AU - Ting, K.C.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Biomass-based biofuels have gained attention because they are renewable energy sources that could facilitate energy independence and improve rural economic development. As biomass supply and biofuel demand areas are generally not geographically contiguous, the design of an efficient and effective biomass supply chain from biomass provision to biofuel distribution is critical to facilitate large-scale biofuel development. This study compared the costs of supplying biomass using three alternative biomass preprocessing and densification technologies (pelletizing, briquetting, and grinding) and two alternative transportation modes (trucking and rail) for the design of a four-stage biomass-biofuel supply chain in which biomass produced in Illinois is used to meet biofuel demands in either California or Illinois. The BioScope optimization model was applied to evaluate a four-stage biomass-biofuel supply chain that includes biomass supply, centralized storage and preprocessing (CSP), biorefinery, and ethanol distribution. We examined the cost of 15 scenarios that included a combination of three biomass preprocessing technologies and five supply chain configurations. The findings suggested that the transportation costs for biomass would generally follow the pattern of coal transportation. Converting biomass to ethanol locally and shipping ethanol over long distances is most economical, similar to the existing grain-based biofuel system. For the Illinois-California supply chain, moving ethanol is $0.24 gal-1 less costly than moving biomass even in densified form over long distances. The use of biomass pellets leads to lower overall costs of biofuel production for long-distance transportation but to higher costs if used for short-distance movement due to its high capital and processing costs. Supported by the supply chain optimization modeling, the cellulosic-ethanol production and distribution costs of using Illinois feedstock to meet California demand are $0.08 gal-1 higher than that for meeting local Illinois demand. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
AB - Biomass-based biofuels have gained attention because they are renewable energy sources that could facilitate energy independence and improve rural economic development. As biomass supply and biofuel demand areas are generally not geographically contiguous, the design of an efficient and effective biomass supply chain from biomass provision to biofuel distribution is critical to facilitate large-scale biofuel development. This study compared the costs of supplying biomass using three alternative biomass preprocessing and densification technologies (pelletizing, briquetting, and grinding) and two alternative transportation modes (trucking and rail) for the design of a four-stage biomass-biofuel supply chain in which biomass produced in Illinois is used to meet biofuel demands in either California or Illinois. The BioScope optimization model was applied to evaluate a four-stage biomass-biofuel supply chain that includes biomass supply, centralized storage and preprocessing (CSP), biorefinery, and ethanol distribution. We examined the cost of 15 scenarios that included a combination of three biomass preprocessing technologies and five supply chain configurations. The findings suggested that the transportation costs for biomass would generally follow the pattern of coal transportation. Converting biomass to ethanol locally and shipping ethanol over long distances is most economical, similar to the existing grain-based biofuel system. For the Illinois-California supply chain, moving ethanol is $0.24 gal-1 less costly than moving biomass even in densified form over long distances. The use of biomass pellets leads to lower overall costs of biofuel production for long-distance transportation but to higher costs if used for short-distance movement due to its high capital and processing costs. Supported by the supply chain optimization modeling, the cellulosic-ethanol production and distribution costs of using Illinois feedstock to meet California demand are $0.08 gal-1 higher than that for meeting local Illinois demand. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
KW - Biomass
KW - Cost
KW - Modeling and analysis
KW - Optimization
KW - Preprocessing
KW - Supply chain
KW - Transportation
KW - Biofuels
KW - Briquetting
KW - Cellulosic ethanol
KW - Coal industry
KW - Coal transportation
KW - Cost benefit analysis
KW - Costs
KW - Ethanol
KW - Feedstocks
KW - Renewable energy resources
KW - Supply chains
KW - Trucks
KW - Biofuel supply chains
KW - Model and analysis
KW - Pre-processing technology
KW - Renewable energy source
KW - Supply chain configuration
KW - Supply chain optimization
KW - Transportation-logistics
KW - alternative energy
KW - alternative fuel
KW - biofuel
KW - biomass
KW - economic development
KW - energy resource
KW - logistics
KW - modeling
KW - optimization
KW - transportation system
KW - California
KW - Illinois
KW - United States
U2 - 10.1111/gcbb.12241
DO - 10.1111/gcbb.12241
M3 - Journal article
VL - 8
SP - 160
EP - 170
JO - GCB Bioenergy
JF - GCB Bioenergy
SN - 1757-1693
IS - 1
ER -