IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v54y2013icp55-62.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions of biomass based haulage in Ireland – A case study

Author

Listed:
  • Devlin, Ger
  • Klvac, Radomir
  • McDonnell, Kevin

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyse how biomass based haulage in Ireland performed as a measure of efficiency under 4 main criteria; distance travelled, fuel consumption, fuel consumption per unit of biomass hauled and diesel CO2 emissions. The applicability of truck engine diagnostic equipment was tested to analyse the schedule of engine data that could be recorded in real-time from a 5 axle articulated biomass truck. This identified how new on board truck technology in Ireland could be used to monitor data in real-time, specifically fuel consumption, litre/km, litre/ton and distance to allow for informed analysis of how efficient new biomass trucking operations currently are in Ireland. Fleet Management System (FMS) monitoring systems are a relatively new technology in biomass and log transport in Ireland. They are more common place in the food supply chain with refrigerated units travelling across continental Europe where food temperature and truck movements are controlled data from a central dispatch. A GPS asset tracking monitoring system was also installed on the truck over the test period to record trip log data. The BT (biomass truck) was a 5 axle, 2004 DAF XF Euro III 430hp 4*2. Initial results showed that for the BT, the average daily fuel consumption varied from 0.23 L/km to 0.47 L/km. The thresholds of travelled distance were between 20.92 km and 434.91 km respectively with average fuel consumption per tonnage of woodchips of 0.16 L/ton and 5.68 L/ton. When the total daily distance is limited to 1 load within 200 km roundtrip versus 1 load at approximately 400 km trip, the % difference in logistic cost (€/T) is 56%. Delivering 2 loads per 400 km trip shows a 5.4% decrease in logistic costs versus the Trip 1 scenario confirming the increased efficiency of a more localised transport approach. A maximum percentage difference in costs of 45% that exists between a 2 load and 1 load trip occurs for Trip 22 and Trip 5 but this increases to 72% when analysing for 2 load versus 1 load for distances over 400 km. Trip 7 and 12 are both below 50 km and seem to be the exception and to compare could possibly show an element of distortion. The closest logistic cost to Trip 12 is Trip 5 with 113% higher costs confirming how a 50 km roundtrip can impact significantly on lowering biomass transport costs.

Suggested Citation

  • Devlin, Ger & Klvac, Radomir & McDonnell, Kevin, 2013. "Fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions of biomass based haulage in Ireland – A case study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 55-62.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:54:y:2013:i:c:p:55-62
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2013.03.007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544213001837
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2013.03.007?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. Kamakaté, Fatumata & Schipper, Lee, 2009. "Trends in truck freight energy use and carbon emissions in selected OECD countries from 1973 to 2005," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(10), pages 3743-3751, October.
    2. Delivand, Mitra Kami & Barz, Mirko & Gheewala, Shabbir H., 2011. "Logistics cost analysis of rice straw for biomass power generation in Thailand," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 1435-1441.
    3. Wetterlund, Elisabeth & Leduc, Sylvain & Dotzauer, Erik & Kindermann, Georg, 2012. "Optimal localisation of biofuel production on a European scale," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 462-472.
    4. Ruzzenenti, F. & Basosi, R., 2009. "Evaluation of the energy efficiency evolution in the European road freight transport sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(10), pages 4079-4085, October.
    5. Sebastián, F. & Royo, J. & Gómez, M., 2011. "Cofiring versus biomass-fired power plants: GHG (Greenhouse Gases) emissions savings comparison by means of LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) methodology," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 2029-2037.
    6. Rafael-Morales, Mercedes & Cervantes-de Gortar, Jaime, 2002. "Reduced consumption and environment pollution in Mexico by optimal technical driving of heavy motor vehicles," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 27(12), pages 1131-1137.
    7. Devlin, Ger J. & McDonnell, Kevin & Ward, Shane, 2008. "Timber haulage routing in Ireland: an analysis using GIS and GPS," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 63-72.
    8. McKinnon, A.C. & Piecyk, M.I., 2009. "Measurement of CO2 emissions from road freight transport: A review of UK experience," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(10), pages 3733-3742, October.
    9. Selkimäki, Mari & Mola-Yudego, Blas & Röser, Dominik & Prinz, Robert & Sikanen, Lauri, 2010. "Present and future trends in pellet markets, raw materials, and supply logistics in Sweden and Finland," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(9), pages 3068-3075, December.
    10. Ćosić, Boris & Stanić, Zoran & Duić, Neven, 2011. "Geographic distribution of economic potential of agricultural and forest biomass residual for energy use: Case study Croatia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 2017-2028.
    11. López, José M & Gómez, Álvaro & Aparicio, Francisco & Javier Sánchez, Fco., 2009. "Comparison of GHG emissions from diesel, biodiesel and natural gas refuse trucks of the City of Madrid," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(5), pages 610-615, May.
    12. Komor, Paul, 1995. "Reducing energy use in US freight transport," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 2(2), pages 119-128, April.
    13. Liimatainen, Heikki & Pöllänen, Markus, 2010. "Trends of energy efficiency in Finnish road freight transport 1995-2009 and forecast to 2016," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(12), pages 7676-7686, December.
    14. Bandivadekar, Anup & Cheah, Lynette & Evans, Christopher & Groode, Tiffany & Heywood, John & Kasseris, Emmanuel & Kromer, Matthew & Weiss, Malcolm, 2008. "Reducing the fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions of the US vehicle fleet," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 2754-2760, July.
    15. Rentizelas, Athanasios A. & Tolis, Athanasios J. & Tatsiopoulos, Ilias P., 2009. "Logistics issues of biomass: The storage problem and the multi-biomass supply chain," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 887-894, May.
    16. Eom, Jiyong & Schipper, Lee & Thompson, Lou, 2012. "We keep on truckin': Trends in freight energy use and carbon emissions in 11 IEA countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 327-341.
    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. Murphy, Fionnuala & Devlin, Ger & McDonnell, Kevin, 2014. "Forest biomass supply chains in Ireland: A life cycle assessment of GHG emissions and primary energy balances," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 1-8.
    2. Shafie, S.M. & Masjuki, H.H. & Mahlia, T.M.I., 2014. "Life cycle assessment of rice straw-based power generation in Malaysia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 401-410.
    3. Murphy, Fionnuala & Sosa, Amanda & McDonnell, Kevin & Devlin, Ger, 2016. "Life cycle assessment of biomass-to-energy systems in Ireland modelled with biomass supply chain optimisation based on greenhouse gas emission reduction," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 1040-1055.
    4. Amanda Sosa & Kevin McDonnell & Ger Devlin, 2015. "Analysing Performance Characteristics of Biomass Haulage in Ireland for Bioenergy Markets with GPS, GIS and Fuel Diagnostic Tools," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-16, October.
    5. Cartelle Barros, Juan José & Lara Coira, Manuel & de la Cruz López, María Pilar & del Caño Gochi, Alfredo, 2015. "Assessing the global sustainability of different electricity generation systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 473-489.
    6. Yuan, Peng & Shen, Boxiong & Duan, Dongping & Adwek, George & Mei, Xue & Lu, Fengju, 2017. "Study on the formation of direct reduced iron by using biomass as reductants of carbon containing pellets in RHF process," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 472-482.
    7. Flisberg, Patrik & Frisk, Mikael & Rönnqvist, Mikael & Guajardo, Mario, 2015. "Potential savings and cost allocations for forest fuel transportation in Sweden: A country-wide study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 353-365.
    8. Amanda Sosa & Radomir Klvac & Enda Coates & Tom Kent & Ger Devlin, 2015. "Improving Log Loading Efficiency for Improved Sustainable Transport within the Irish Forest and Biomass Sectors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-14, March.
    9. Devlin, Ger & Talbot, Bruce, 2014. "Deriving cooperative biomass resource transport supply strategies in meeting co-firing energy regulations: A case for peat and wood fibre in Ireland," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 1700-1709.

    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. Palander, Teijo & Haavikko, Hanna & Kärhä, Kalle, 2018. "Towards sustainable wood procurement in forest industry – The energy efficiency of larger and heavier vehicles in Finland," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 100-118.
    2. Whyte, Kieran & Daly, Hannah E. & Ó Gallachóir, Brian P., 2013. "Modelling HGV freight transport energy demand in Ireland and the impacts of the property construction bubble," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 245-251.
    3. Ruzzenenti, Franco & Basosi, Riccardo, 2017. "Modelling the rebound effect with network theory: An insight into the European freight transport sector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 272-283.
    4. Li, Hongqi & Lu, Yue & Zhang, Jun & Wang, Tianyi, 2013. "Trends in road freight transportation carbon dioxide emissions and policies in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 99-106.
    5. Akhtari, Shaghaygh & Sowlati, Taraneh & Day, Ken, 2014. "The effects of variations in supply accessibility and amount on the economics of using regional forest biomass for generating district heat," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 631-640.
    6. Svanberg, Martin & Ellis, Joanne & Lundgren, Joakim & Landälv, Ingvar, 2018. "Renewable methanol as a fuel for the shipping industry," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 1217-1228.
    7. Shafie, S.M. & Mahlia, T.M.I. & Masjuki, H.H., 2013. "Life cycle assessment of rice straw co-firing with coal power generation in Malaysia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 284-294.
    8. Batidzirai, B. & Mignot, A.P.R. & Schakel, W.B. & Junginger, H.M. & Faaij, A.P.C., 2013. "Biomass torrefaction technology: Techno-economic status and future prospects," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 196-214.
    9. Turner, Elizabeth H. & Thompson, Mark A., 2023. "Further evidence on the financial impact of environmental regulations on the trucking industry," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 134-143.
    10. Mirkouei, Amin & Haapala, Karl R. & Sessions, John & Murthy, Ganti S., 2017. "A review and future directions in techno-economic modeling and optimization of upstream forest biomass to bio-oil supply chains," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 15-35.
    11. Hu, Ming-Che & Huang, An-Lei & Wen, Tzai-Hung, 2013. "GIS-based biomass resource utilization for rice straw cofiring in the Taiwanese power market," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 354-360.
    12. Liimatainen, Heikki & Pöllänen, Markus, 2013. "The impact of sectoral economic development on the energy efficiency and CO2 emissions of road freight transport," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 150-157.
    13. M'raihi, Rafaa & Mraihi, Talel & Harizi, Riadh & Taoufik Bouzidi, Mohamed, 2015. "Carbon emissions growth and road freight: Analysis of the influencing factors in Tunisia," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 121-129.
    14. Chugh, Shikha & Yu, T. Edward & Jackson, Samuel & Larson, James & English, Burton & Cho, Seong-Hoon, 2015. "Exploring the Potential to Penetrate the Energy Markets for Tennessee-Produced Switchgrass," 2015 Annual Meeting, January 31-February 3, 2015, Atlanta, Georgia 196899, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    15. Mulholland, Eamonn & Teter, Jacob & Cazzola, Pierpaolo & McDonald, Zane & Ó Gallachóir, Brian P., 2018. "The long haul towards decarbonising road freight – A global assessment to 2050," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 678-693.
    16. Shoki Kosai & Muku Yuasa & Eiji Yamasue, 2020. "Chronological Transition of Relationship between Intracity Lifecycle Transport Energy Efficiency and Population Density," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-15, April.
    17. Singh, Jaswinder, 2016. "Identifying an economic power production system based on agricultural straw on regional basis in India," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1140-1155.
    18. Díaz-Ramírez, Maryori & Sebastián, Fernando & Royo, Javier & Rezeau, Adeline, 2012. "Combustion requirements for conversion of ash-rich novel energy crops in a 250 kWth multifuel grate fired system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 636-643.
    19. Kythreotou, Nicoletta & Tassou, Savvas A. & Florides, Georgios, 2011. "The contribution of direct energy use for livestock breeding to the greenhouse gases emissions of Cyprus," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 6090-6097.
    20. Mishra, Gouri Shankar & Zakerinia, Saleh & Yeh, Sonia & Teter, Jacob & Morrison, Geoff, 2014. "Mitigating climate change: Decomposing the relative roles of energy conservation, technological change, and structural shift," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 448-455.

    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:energy:v:54:y:2013:i:c:p:55-62. 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.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    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.