IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v198y2017icp385-400.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An integrated wood pellet supply chain development: Selecting among feedstock sources and a range of operating scales

Author

Listed:
  • Boukherroub, Tasseda
  • LeBel, Luc
  • Lemieux, Sébastien

Abstract

An approach to developing a wood pellet supply chain (SC) which selects among several sources of biomass feedstock is proposed. The approach is based on a downstream to upstream analysis of the SC and includes five phases: (1) Identifying potential markets and projected demands. (2) Determining feedstock types, locations, and available quantities. (3) Evaluation of raw material and final product transportation options, potential plant location, and logistics components that can be integrated with existing forest products SCs. (4) Cost estimation of raw material supply, production, and final product delivery. (5) Utilizing a spatially explicit optimization and generic model to determine the optimal operational conditions under which the wood pellet SC is profitable while taking into account economies of scale. The model selects the best feedstock locations and determines the optimal quantities to supply as well as the optimal production capacity. The associated ROI is calculated to assess economic feasibility. To show the value of the approach, we applied it to a real case study proposed by a regional development agency interested in developing the wood pellet sector in Eastern Canada. The results show that implementing a 100,000-tonne plant using biomass harvested in the forest as the sole feedstock is profitable. However, harvesting costs must be shared among the pellet mill and other forest companies and the government must provide financial support. The use of sawmill residues in the mix of feedstock allows implementing a highly profitable 50,000-tonne plant without any government support or harvesting cost sharing mechanism. Under a high wood pellet selling price, harvesting cost sharing and government support, the production capacity can reach 150,000tonnes/year. An important finding is that government support is not necessary for ensuring profitability in all cases. Government support has a significant impact on profitability in the case where sawmill residues are not available as a feedstock for manufacturing pellets or the selling price is high enough to allow operating a profitable plant of large size.

Suggested Citation

  • Boukherroub, Tasseda & LeBel, Luc & Lemieux, Sébastien, 2017. "An integrated wood pellet supply chain development: Selecting among feedstock sources and a range of operating scales," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 385-400.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:198:y:2017:i:c:p:385-400
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.12.013
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030626191631772X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.12.013?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mobini, Mahdi & Sowlati, Taraneh & Sokhansanj, Shahab, 2013. "A simulation model for the design and analysis of wood pellet supply chains," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 1239-1249.
    2. Sultana, Arifa & Kumar, Amit, 2012. "Optimal siting and size of bioenergy facilities using geographic information system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 192-201.
    3. Mansuy, Nicolas & Thiffault, Evelyne & Lemieux, Sébastien & Manka, Francis & Paré, David & Lebel, Luc, 2015. "Sustainable biomass supply chains from salvage logging of fire-killed stands: A case study for wood pellet production in eastern Canada," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 62-73.
    4. Truong, Nguyen Le & Gustavsson, Leif, 2013. "Integrated biomass-based production of district heat, electricity, motor fuels and pellets of different scales," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 623-632.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cantegril, Pierre & Paradis, Gregory & LeBel, Luc & Raulier, Frédéric, 2019. "Bioenergy production to improve value-creation potential of strategic forest management plans in mixed-wood forests of Eastern Canada," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C), pages 171-181.
    2. Mahmood Ebadian & Shahab Sokhansanj & David Lee & Alyssa Klein & Lawrence Townley-Smith, 2021. "Evaluating the Economic Viability of Agricultural Pellets to Supplement the Current Global Wood Pellets Supply for Bioenergy Production," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-19, April.
    3. Mathieu Béland & Evelyne Thiffault & Julie Barrette & Warren Mabee, 2020. "Degraded Trees from Spruce Budworm Epidemics as Bioenergy Feedstock: A Profitability Analysis of Forest Operations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-19, September.
    4. De Laporte, Aaron V. & Ripplinger, David G., 2019. "The effects of site selection, opportunity costs and transportation costs on bioethanol production," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 73-82.
    5. Vitale, Ignacio & Dondo, Rodolfo G. & González, Matías & Cóccola, Mariana E., 2022. "Modelling and optimization of material flows in the wood pellet supply chain," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    6. Nicolas Mansuy & Julie Barrette & Jérôme Laganière & Warren Mabee & David Paré & Shuva Gautam & Evelyne Thiffault & Saeed Ghafghazi, 2018. "Salvage harvesting for bioenergy in Canada: From sustainable and integrated supply chain to climate change mitigation," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(5), September.
    7. Zaher Abusaq & Muhammad Salman Habib & Adeel Shehzad & Mohammad Kanan & Ramiz Assaf, 2022. "A Flexible Robust Possibilistic Programming Approach toward Wood Pellets Supply Chain Network Design," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(19), pages 1-27, October.
    8. Santos, Andreia & Carvalho, Ana & Barbosa-Póvoa, Ana Paula & Marques, Alexandra & Amorim, Pedro, 2019. "Assessment and optimization of sustainable forest wood supply chains – A systematic literature review," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 112-135.
    9. Piyarath Saosee & Boonrod Sajjakulnukit & Shabbir H. Gheewala, 2020. "Life Cycle Assessment of Wood Pellet Production in Thailand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-23, August.
    10. Ahn, Yuchan & Han, Jeehoon, 2018. "Economic optimization of integrated network for utility supply and carbon dioxide mitigation with multi-site and multi-period demand uncertainties," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 723-734.
    11. Andrzej Bochniak & Monika Stoma, 2021. "Estimating the Optimal Location for the Storage of Pellet Surplus," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.
    12. Bruno Gagnon & Heather MacDonald & Emily Hope & Margaret Jean Blair & Daniel W. McKenney, 2022. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Biomass Supply Chains: The Case of the Canadian Wood Pellet Industry," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-18, April.
    13. Soares, Ricardo & Marques, Alexandra & Amorim, Pedro & Rasinmäki, Jussi, 2019. "Multiple vehicle synchronisation in a full truck-load pickup and delivery problem: A case-study in the biomass supply chain," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 277(1), pages 174-194.
    14. Lenka Štofová & Petra Szaryszová & Bohuslava Mihalčová, 2021. "Testing the Bioeconomic Options of Transitioning to Solid Recovered Fuel: A Case Study of a Thermal Power Plant in Slovakia," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-20, March.
    15. Giulio Sperandio & Alessandro Suardi & Andrea Acampora & Vincenzo Civitarese, 2024. "Eco-Efficiency of Pellet Production from Dedicated Poplar Plantations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-23, June.
    16. Maaz Hassan & Naveed Usman & Majid Hussain & Adnan Yousaf & Muhammad Aamad Khattak & Sidra Yousaf & Rankeshwarnath Sanjay Mishr & Sana Ahmad & Fariha Rehman & Ahmad Rashedi, 2023. "Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment of Biomass Pellets Biofuel in Hazara Division, Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-23, August.
    17. Visser, L. & Hoefnagels, R. & Junginger, M., 2020. "Wood pellet supply chain costs – A review and cost optimization analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    18. Esther S. Parish & Latha M. Baskaran & Virginia H. Dale, 2021. "Framework for assessing land‐management effects on at‐risk species: Example of SE USA wood pellet production and gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(1), January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zimmer, Tobias & Rudi, Andreas & Müller, Ann-Kathrin & Fröhling, Magnus & Schultmann, Frank, 2017. "Modeling the impact of competing utilization paths on biomass-to-liquid (BtL) supply chains," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 954-971.
    2. Emily Hope & Bruno Gagnon & Vanja Avdić, 2020. "Assessment of the Impact of Climate Change Policies on the Market for Forest Industrial Residues," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-20, February.
    3. Kanematsu, Yuichiro & Oosawa, Kazutake & Okubo, Tatsuya & Kikuchi, Yasunori, 2017. "Designing the scale of a woody biomass CHP considering local forestry reformation: A case study of Tanegashima, Japan," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 160-172.
    4. Nicolas Mansuy & Julie Barrette & Jérôme Laganière & Warren Mabee & David Paré & Shuva Gautam & Evelyne Thiffault & Saeed Ghafghazi, 2018. "Salvage harvesting for bioenergy in Canada: From sustainable and integrated supply chain to climate change mitigation," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(5), September.
    5. Zaher Abusaq & Muhammad Salman Habib & Adeel Shehzad & Mohammad Kanan & Ramiz Assaf, 2022. "A Flexible Robust Possibilistic Programming Approach toward Wood Pellets Supply Chain Network Design," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(19), pages 1-27, October.
    6. Durusut, Emrah & Tahir, Foaad & Foster, Sam & Dineen, Denis & Clancy, Matthew, 2018. "BioHEAT: A policy decision support tool in Ireland’s bioenergy and heat sectors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 306-321.
    7. Mohsen Jamali & Esmaeil Bakhshandeh & Mohammad Yaghoubi Khanghahi & Carmine Crecchio, 2021. "Metadata Analysis to Evaluate Environmental Impacts of Wheat Residues Burning on Soil Quality in Developing and Developed Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-13, June.
    8. Basile, Flavia & Pilotti, Lorenzo & Ugolini, Marco & Lozza, Giovanni & Manzolini, Giampaolo, 2022. "Supply chain optimization and GHG emissions in biofuel production from forestry residues in Sweden," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 405-421.
    9. Calise, Francesco & Cipollina, Andrea & Dentice d’Accadia, Massimo & Piacentino, Antonio, 2014. "A novel renewable polygeneration system for a small Mediterranean volcanic island for the combined production of energy and water: Dynamic simulation and economic assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 675-693.
    10. Stachowicz, Paweł & Stolarski, Mariusz J., 2024. "Pellets from mixtures of short rotation coppice with forest-derived biomass: Production costs and energy intensity," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    11. Soha, Tamás & Papp, Luca & Csontos, Csaba & Munkácsy, Béla, 2021. "The importance of high crop residue demand on biogas plant site selection, scaling and feedstock allocation – A regional scale concept in a Hungarian study area," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    12. Stanisław Bielski & Renata Marks-Bielska & Anna Zielińska-Chmielewska & Kęstutis Romaneckas & Egidijus Šarauskis, 2021. "Importance of Agriculture in Creating Energy Security—A Case Study of Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-20, April.
    13. Muth, D.J. & Bryden, K.M. & Nelson, R.G., 2013. "Sustainable agricultural residue removal for bioenergy: A spatially comprehensive US national assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 403-417.
    14. Höhn, J. & Lehtonen, E. & Rasi, S. & Rintala, J., 2014. "A Geographical Information System (GIS) based methodology for determination of potential biomasses and sites for biogas plants in southern Finland," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 1-10.
    15. Schipfer, Fabian & Kranzl, Lukas, 2019. "Techno-economic evaluation of biomass-to-end-use chains based on densified bioenergy carriers (dBECs)," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(C), pages 715-724.
    16. Seyed Hashem Mousavi-Avval & Sami Khanal & Ajay Shah, 2023. "Assessment of Potential Pennycress Availability and Suitable Sites for Sustainable Aviation Fuel Refineries in Ohio," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-14, July.
    17. Sanchez, Daniel L. & Callaway, Duncan S., 2016. "Optimal scale of carbon-negative energy facilities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 437-444.
    18. Eriksson, Anders & Eliasson, Lars & Sikanen, Lauri & Hansson, Per-Anders & Jirjis, Raida, 2017. "Evaluation of delivery strategies for forest fuels applying a model for Weather-driven Analysis of Forest Fuel Systems (WAFFS)," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 420-430.
    19. Gustavsson, Leif & Haus, Sylvia & Ortiz, Carina A. & Sathre, Roger & Truong, Nguyen Le, 2015. "Climate effects of bioenergy from forest residues in comparison to fossil energy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 36-50.
    20. Zygmunt Stanula & Marek Wieruszewski & Adam Zydroń & Krzysztof Adamowicz, 2023. "Optimizing Forest-Biomass-Distribution Logistics from a Multi-Level Perspective—Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-17, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:198:y:2017:i:c:p:385-400. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.